2024 Workshop: Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) and ionospheric irregularities

Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) and ionospheric irregularities (e.g., Scintillations, Equatorial Plasma Bubbles, Spread-F) have been a major focus of the low and mid-latitude ionospheric research community. The behavior of the IT system is influenced by the solar forcing from above, wave activities from below, traveling atmospheric/ionospheric disturbances (TADs/TIDs) from mid/high latitudes, and the equatorial dynamo process. These factors along with the dynamic processes manifest various thermospheric and ionospheric irregularities (e.g., Scintillations, Equatorial Plasma Bubbles, Spread-F). Further, the geometry (such as magnetic declination angle, terminator alignment), geomagnetic activities, and other conditions (e.g., winds and wave activity) regulate the morphology and variability. Determining these conditions and understanding their interactions have challenged the research community for decades. New and existing satellite measurements, ground-based observations, and modeling approaches have revealed several new, interesting characteristics about the EIA variability and ionospheric irregularities.