NURUL SHAZANA BINTI ABDUL HAMID
Prof. Madya Ts. Dr. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Fakulti Sains & Teknologi
zana@ukm.edu.my

NO	NAME	INSTITUTION	FACULTY/SCHOOL/ CENTRE/UNIT
1	PROF. IR. DR. MARDINA BT. ABDULLAHMARDINA ABDULLAH	UKM	Institut Perubahan Iklim
2	WAN MOHD AIMRAN BIN WAN MOHD KAMIL	UKM	Fakulti Sains & Teknologi
3	HUIXIN LIU	Kyushu University
4	YOSUKE YAMAZAKI	GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences

2 years 9 months (1/1/2019 - 30/09/2021)

Since its discovery in 1922, the global longitudinal profiles of equatorial electrojet (EEJ) current have often been a subject of interest in the space physics research. Despite our previous successfulness in clarifying EEJ variability and findings reported by other researchers, the cause of the observed EEJ longitudinal variations remains unclear. The significant inequalities of EEJ current intensity over longitude has raised question of whether the variation is as a result of the regional ground measurement data or the possible effect of lower atmosphere phenomena. The present study will be conducted in a way to answer this question with the utilization of data from global ground-based magnetometer networks such as MAGDAS and SuperMAG. Apart from that, we will also exploit continuous data from low-Earth orbiting satellites such as CHAMP and Swarm with the aid of ground-to-topside atmospheric model namely GAIA model. The objective of this study is to examine potential contributions from quasi biennial oscillation (QBO) originating from lower atmosphere in explaining both spatial and temporal longitudinal variation of EEJ current. The analysis involves normalization technique in order to minimize the latitudinal effect of the ground station followed by classifying EEJ current based on the direction of the QBO (easterly and westerly). The expected research output is the QBO-EEJ interaction threshold value which able to define the impact of QBO on EEJ longitudinal variation. Moreover, the usage of long-term data in this proposed study will reveal the discrepancies between EEJ profiles observed from ground and satellite data as recently arise in this research area. Consequently, this study will enhance the understanding of EEJ variability and explain phenomena involving currents in equatorial ionosphere e.g. plasma bubble. The research is also within the scope of National Space Policy since ionospheric current intensity affects the propagation signal from satellite and navigation communication system.

1. To characterize the global equatorial electrojet, EEJ, current longitudinal profile.
2. To investigate the impact of the stratospheric QBO on the EEJ current.
3. To explore the discrepancies between EEJ longitudinal profile measurements from ground and satellite magnetometer data.

1. Human Capital :
   • TBA
2. Publication : Article in Indexed Journals
   • TBA

This project has strengthened the collaboration between UKM and Kyushu University and National Space Agency of Malaysia. Throughout the project, Kyushu University has provided a ground-based magnetometer which has been installed at a new location in Penang, Malaysia that has benefited both space science and geophysical studies. On the other hand, in this project, a collaboration between UKM and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) has been established specially to understand and utilize the satellite dataset. The transfer of knowledge has also increased the skills of both researchers and student. This study has supported the government's agenda in the National Space Policy 2030 (DAN2030). In addition, this study, to some extent, has increased awareness of the impact of space weather on the Earth, especially technology on Earth through knowledge sharing in international conferences and publications.