Mid-latitude anomalies in the diurnal variation of electron density in the ionosphere

The main morphological features of the F region of the mid-latitude ionosphere as obtained from Intercosmos-19 satellite measurements are presented. The causes of the anomalies in the diurnal variation of the electron density in certain longitudinal areas at the June and December solstice in the northern (Yakutsk anomaly) and southern (Weddell Sea anomaly (WSA)) hemispheres are determined. For both anomalies, the nighttime values of the critical frequency of the F2 layer, foF2, are higher than the daytime ones. Based on Intercosmos-19 satellite data, global maps of foF2 distribution for midday and midnight local time under high solar activity are drawn. Both anomalies occupy a large area in latitude and longitude, about 100° and 30°, respectively. The maximum difference between nighttime and daytime values of foF2 in the Yakutsk anomaly area reaches 1.0–1.5 MHz, smaller than that for the WSA (3.5–4.0 MHz). In the present work, these anomalies are reproduced with the help of a global self-consistent model of the thermosphere, ionosphere, and protonosphere (GSM TIP), and the mechanisms of their formation are preliminary investigated.