Influence of DE3 tide on the equinoctial asymmetry of the zonal mean ionospheric electron density

Through respectively adding September DE3 tide and March DE3 tide at the low boundary of Global Coupled Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Electrodynamics Model, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GCITEM-IGGCAS), we simulate the influence of DE3 tide on the equinoctial asymmetry of the zonal mean ionospheric electron density. The influence of DE3 tide on the equinoctial asymmetry of the zonal mean electron density varies with latitude, altitude, and solar activity level. Compared with the density driven by the September DE3 tide, the March DE3 tide mainly decreases the lower ionospheric zonal mean electron density and mainly increases the electron density at higher ionosphere. In the low-latitude ionosphere, DE3 tide drives an equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) structure at higher ionosphere in the relative difference of zonal mean electron density, which suggests that DE3 tide affects the longitudinal mean equatorial vertical E × B plasma drifts. Although the lower ionospheric equinoctial asymmetry driven by DE3 tide mainly decreases with the increase of solar activity, the asymmetry at higher ionosphere mainly increases with solar activity. However, EIA in equinoctial asymmetry mainly decreases with the increase of solar activity.