When Geomagnetic Storms Strike: The Emergence of Super Equatorial Plasma Bubbles in the Ionosphere
Equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) represent a typical post-sunset quiet-time phenomenon, when large-scale plasma density depletions form in the equatorial ionosphere and can grow to altitudes well above 1000 km. The occurrence of quiet-time EPBs depends on season, geographic location, and solar activity, with most events occurring in the equatorial and low-latitude regions, typically confined within 10–15° S/N of magnetic latitude. During geomagnetic storms, the EPB formation is largely altered by the intense storm-driven electric fields, which may significantly boost the EPB growth, resulting in formation of extreme EPBs capable to reach much higher latitudes and altitudes. Storm-induced super-EPBs, capable of expanding to 25–40° magnetic latitude, constitute a potentially serious space weather threat for critical systems dependent on transionospheric radio-wave propagation. Their impact is compounded by the limited understanding of the physical mechanisms governing their formation and the current lack of reliable capabilities to predict. Although the occurrence of super plasma bubbles is generally considered a rare space weather phenomenon, the number of detected events in which super bubbles extend to middle latitudes has increased noticeably during intense geomagnetic storms in the current solar cycle 25. This talk will provide an overview of super-EPB events, focusing on their occurrence and common characteristics, our current understanding and remaining knowledge gaps, and the major challenges in understanding and predicting this phenomenon.
Dr. Irina Zakharenkova is a project scientist in the COSMIC Program at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). She received Ph.D. in Radiophysics in 2007 from Immanuel Kant State University of Russia. She worked as a scientific researcher in IZMIRAN (Russia), University of Warmia and Mazury (Poland), and Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (France). Since 2019, she works in UCAR COSMIC as a space weather scientist, supporting research, operations, and quality assessment of space weather products derived from COSMIC-2 and other satellite missions. Her research interests focus on the investigation of the Earth’s upper atmosphere using GNSS and low-Earth-orbit satellite observations, with an emphasis on ionospheric monitoring, climatology, and space weather effects.