Three-dimensional simulation of the coupled Perkins and Es-layer instabilities in the nighttime midlatitude ionosphere

Plasma density structures and associated irregularities in the nighttime midlatitude ionosphere are frequently observed as frontal structures elongated from northwest to southeast (NW-SE) in the Northern Hemisphere. The frontal structures and the coupling process between the E and F regions are studied with a three-dimensional numerical model, which can simulate two instability mechanisms: Perkins instability in the F-region and sporadic-E (E-s)-layer instability in the E region. The fastest growth of the coupled instability occurs when the unstable conditions on NW-SE perturbation are satisfied in both regions. The perturbation of F-region integrated conductivity grows much faster than the isolated Perkins instability. The meridional component of a rotational wind shear blows an existing E-s layer southward, and the F-region structure follows the E-region drift velocity. The NW-SE structure in the E region can be formed from random perturbation regardless of the F-region condition. When the F region is unstable on the NW-SE perturbation, however, the NW-SE structure is formed in both regions with a common scale length. We conclude that (1) the E-s-layer instability plays a major role in seeding NW-SE structure in the F region, and the Perkins instability is required to amplify its perturbation; (2) the rotational wind shear in the E region produces southwestward phase propagation of the NW-SE structure in both the E and F regions; and (3) the coupling process has a significant effect on the scale of the E-s-layer perturbation rather than the growth rate of the E-s-layer instability.