Temporal Evolution of Low‐Latitude Plasma Blobs Identified From Multiple Measurements: ICON, GOLD, and Madrigal TEC

Low‐latitude plasma blobs have been studied since their first being reported in 1986. However, investigations on temporal evolution of a blob or on continental scale (>2,000 km) ionospheric contexts around it are relatively rare. Overcoming these limitations can help elucidate the blob generation mechanisms. On 21 January 2021, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer satellite encountered a typical low‐latitude blob near the northeastern coast of South America. The event was collocated with a local enhancement in 135.6 nm nightglow at the poleward edge of an equatorial plasma bubble (EPB), as observed by the Global‐scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) imager. Total electron content maps from the Global Navigation Satellite System confirm the GOLD observations. Unlike typical medium‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs), the blob had neither well‐organized wavefronts nor moved in the southwest direction. Neither was the blob a monotonically decaying equatorial ionization anomaly crest past sunset. Rather, the blob varied following latitudinal expansion/contraction of EPBs at similar magnetic longitudes. The observational results support that mechanisms other than MSTIDs, such as EPBs, can also contribute to blob generation.