Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance-Scale Size for Seeding of Equatorial Plasma Bubbles

This project investigates traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) as a seeding mechanism for equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) formation. Recent studies have shown an association between TID activity and indicating that TID/AGW seeding combined with ionospheric growth rates could facilitate EPB formation. We examine TID characteristics to determine what wavelength of TIDs most efficiently seeds EPB formation. This work seeks to answer the following science questions:
1. What scale-size of TIDs are most likely to seed the generalized Rayleigh-Taylor instability and trigger EPBs?
2. What is the relative contribution of seeding vs. ionospheric conditions in EPB formation?

To answer these science questions, we use data from an HF Sounder that Orion Space Solutions designed and built called, TIDDBIT. TIDDBIT can characterize both horizontal and vertical TID propagation. To examine EPB occurrence, we will used a database of EPB observations from the GOLD mission. This project will follow these steps:
1. Characterize TID activity for one year of TIDDBIT data.
2. Compare TID characteristics (wavelength and amplitude) to the GOLD EPB occurrence.
3. Compare TIDDBIT TID characteristics to Total Electron Content (TEC).
4. Repeat step 2 under different levels of geomagnetic activity.