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  • August 18, 2022
[Frontier Letter] Topside equatorial spread F-related field-aligned Poynting flux: observations and simulations

Equatorial spread F (ESF) occurs globally at low magnetic latitudes in the Earth’s nighttime ionosphere. ESF is well-known for its adverse effect on the propagation of radio waves affecting navigation, telecommunication, and scientific satellite systems. Due to scarce observations, the ESF’s electrodynamics has mainly been addressed theoretically. Rodríguez-Zuluaga et al. (2022) use satellite measurements and numerical simulations to report on ESF-related electromagnetic energy. The authors address the ESF energy’s magnitude and its relation with plasma density and the local time of the ESF occurrence. They also report on the location of the energy generator and its association with neutral winds.