One of the important effects of the ionospheric modification by high-power waves is the airglow enhancement. Both the thermal electrons and the dissociation recombination contribute to generate the airglow emissions during HF heating. However, the relative importance of the airglow emission induced by dissociative recombination and thermal electrons has been rarely investigated. In this study, we carry out a simulation study on the airglow produced by high-power HF heating at nighttime associated with dissociative recombination and thermal electrons. SAMI2 (Sami2 is Another Model of the Ionosphere) is employed to simulate the ionospheric variations during the HF heating. The main conclusions from this study are as follows: (1) For the airglow induced by dissociative recombination, both 630.0 nm and 557.7 nm emissions show a decrease at the heating wave reflection height during the heating period, while when the heating is turned off, an increase is shown at lower altitudes. The reduction of airglow during the heating is caused by the rapid increase of electron temperature and the diffusion of plasmas dominates the after-heating airglow enhancement. (2) 630.0 nm emission due to thermal electrons is greatly enhanced at the wave reflection height, indicating that thermal electrons play a major role in exciting 630.0 nm emission. For the 557.7 nm emission, the excitation threshold (4.17 eV) is too high for thermal electrons. (3) The combined effect of dissociative recombination and thermal electrons could be the possible reason for the observed X-mode (extraordinary mode) suppression of 630.0 nm airglow during O-mode (ordinary mode) enhancement.
On 21 June 2020, an annular solar eclipse will traverse the low latitudes from Africa to Southeast Asia. The highest latitude of the maximum eclipse obscuration is approximately 30°. This low-latitude solar eclipse provides a unique and unprecedented opportunity to explore the impact of the eclipse on the low-latitude ionosphere–thermosphere (I–T) system, especially in the equatorial ionization anomaly region. In this study, we describe a quantitative prediction of the impact of this upcoming solar eclipse on the I–T system by using Thermosphere–Ionosphere–Electrodynamics General Circulation Model simulations. A prominent total electron content (TEC) enhancement of around 2 TEC units occurs in the equatorial ionization anomaly region even when this region is still in the shadow of the eclipse. This TEC enhancement lasts for nearly 4.5 hours, long after the solar eclipse has ended. Further model control simulations indicate that the TEC increase is mainly caused by the eclipse-induced transequatorial plasma transport associated with northward neutral wind perturbations, which result from eclipse-induced pressure gradient changes. The results illustrate that the effect of the solar eclipse on the I–T system is not transient and linear but should be considered a dynamically and energetically coupled system.