Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling

Impulsive events at or near the surface of the Earth, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tropical cyclones, and tornadoes, can generate atmospheric acoustic-gravity waves that propagate upward into the upper atmosphere. This leads to disturbances in the thermosphere and ionosphere, which have been observed extensively. We aim to better characterize the upper atmospheric responses to surface impulsive events and understand the physical mechanism of the lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling.

Selected Publications:

• Meng, X.*, M. Ravanelli, A. Komjathy, and O. P. Verkhoglyadova (2022), On the North-South Asymmetry of Co-seismic Ionospheric Disturbances During the 16 September 2015 Illapel M8.3 Earthquake, Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2022GL098090. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098090.

• Meng, X.*, P. Vergados, O. P. Verkhoglyadova, A. Komjathy (2019), Upper Atmospheric Responses to Surface Disturbances: An Observational Perspective, Radio Science, 54, doi.org/10.1029/2019RS006858. [Invited review paper/Top Downloaded Paper 2018-2019]

Solar Wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling

Small-scale and mesoscale ionospheric disturbances can be triggered by the solar wind and magnetospheric conditions. We aim to better understand the energy transfer process from the solar wind and the magnetosphere to the ionosphere on finer spatiotemporal scales, as well as to differentiate the ionospheric disturbances driven from above and from below. 

Selected Publications:

• Meng, X.*, Hartinger, M. D., Verkhoglyadova, O., Ozturk, D. Su., Shi, X., Bentley, M. J., et al. (2025). Total electron content disturbances driven by solar wind ultra low frequency oscillations on 3 December 2021. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 130, e2025JA034215. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JA034215.

• Meng, X.*, S. Ozturk, O. P. Verkhoglyadova, R. H. Varney, A. S. Reimer, J. L. Semeter, S. R. Kaeppler, and W. Zhan (2022), Energy Deposition by Mesoscale High-latitude Electric Fields into the Thermosphere During the 26 October 2019 Geomagnetic Storm, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 127, e2022JA030716. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JA030716.
  

 

Global Ionospheric Structuring

Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs) spans over decades and contains rich information about the ionosphere state, particularly the comprehensive longitudinal and latitudinal variations of the Total Electron Content (TEC). Using image processing tenchiques, large-scale TEC structures can be identified and extracted from millions of GIMs, allowing for statistical characterization of the global ionosphere. Meanwhile, information theoretical approaches are applied to quantifying the nonlinear relationship between the large-scale TEC structures and the forcings from the lower atmosphere and the Sun/solar wind/magnetosphere.

Selected Publications:

• Meng, X.*, O. P. Verkhoglyadova, S. C. Chapman, N. W. Watkins, and M. Cafolla (2024), Statistical Characteristics of Total Electron Content Intensifications on Global Ionospheric Maps, Space Weather, 22, e2023SW003695. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023SW003695.

• Meng, X.*, & O. P. Verkhoglyadova (2021). Quantifying contributions of external drivers to the global ionospheric state. Space Weather, 19, e2021SW002752. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021SW002752.