Satellite Traces: Ionogram Signatures of Bottom‐Side Upwelling Structures ‐ A Simulation Study

Abstract Satellite Traces (STs) are the important ionogram signatures for the presence of upwellings in the bottom‐side ionosphere, which provide the necessary seed perturbation for the development of equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs). In this study, a virtual ionosonde experiment is simulated to investigate the various ST signatures under the presence of shallow, deep, overhead, and off‐centered upwellings in the bottom‐side ionosphere. It is shown that STs occur at higher and lower virtual heights than the main ionogram trace for the off‐centered and overhead upwellings, respectively. The height separation between the main trace and STs increases with the deepening of overhead upwellings. Further, a proof‐of‐concept is demonstrated that multiple STs from ionograms can be used to reconstruct the spatial structure of bottom‐side upwellings, if the precise Angle‐of‐Arrival information can be resolved from the wide beam Ionosonde systems, and can have potential applications in predicting the occurrence of EPBs.