Effects of Proton Precipitation in Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model During the 17 March 2013 Geomagnetic Storm

Abstract Auroral precipitation plays a crucial role as an energy source for the lower thermosphere in high‐latitude regions. In this study, we have implemented proton precipitation in the Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model (GITM) to quantify the impact of ion auroras in the lower thermosphere during the 17 March 2013 geomagnetic storm. We conducted a comparative study of GITM in the presence and absence of proton precipitation and quantitatively assessed the impact of ion aurora on electron density, nitric oxide (NO) density, temperature, and neutral density in the lower thermosphere across northern polar, southern polar, and equatorial regions. The precipitating protons contribute to of the total energy flux during storm time. Our results suggest that during the storm and recovery phase of the 17 March 2013 geomagnetic storm, the introduction of proton precipitation into GITM leads to a significant enhancement of up to an order of magnitude in electron density at 120 km and up to in NO density at 110 km altitudes. Increases in neutral density up to are observed at 600 km altitude, especially in the southern polar region, along with a change of up to in temperature at 400 km. During storm time, peak changes in global mean NO density occurred at high altitude between 130 and 150 km and during recovery time peak NO changes occurred between 110 and 120 km. Significant changes in global electron density are confined to 120–140 km, and neutral density enhancements are largest above 400 km mostly during storm time.