Bibliography

A Statistical Analysis of Plasma Bubbles Observed by Swarm Constellation during Different Types of Geomagnetic Storms

Based on the observations of Ionospheric Bubble Index (IBI) data from the Swarm mission, the characteristics of plasma bubbles are investigated during different types of geomagnetic storms recorded from 2014 to 2020. The geometrical constellation of the Swarm mission enabled us to investigate the altitudinal profile of the IBIs during different activity levels in a statistical mean. Results show that the majority of IBIs associated with moderate storms are observed at low altitudes and the probability of observing IBIs at high altitudes (Swarm-B) increases with the increase in storm level. This is confirmed by observing the F2 layer peak height (hmF2) during super storm events at larger altitudes using COSMIC data. The maximum number of IBIs is recorded within the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region with a long duration time and tends to increase only during dusk time. Both the large duration time and number of IBIs over the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) suggest that the gradient in the electron density and the depression in the magnetic field are the main factors controlling IBI events. Also, the IBIs at high altitudes are larger at sunset and at low altitudes pre-midnight. In addition, the occurrence of IBIs is always larger in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere irrespective of the type of storm, as well as during the summer months. Moreover, there is no correlation between the duration time of IBIs and both the altitudinal observation of the IBIs and the storm type. Seasonal occurrence of IBIs is larger during equinoxes and vice versa during solstices irrespective of both the type of storm and the altitude of the satellite. The large number of IBIs during equinoxes agrees with the previous studies, which expect that the large electron density is a developer of steeper ∇n. Large occurrences of super storm IBIs observed within the pre-midnight during summer and at sunset during equinoxes are a novel observation that needs further investigation. Also, the majority of IBIs are observed a few hours after geomagnetic substorms, which reflects the role of the Disturbance Dynamo Electric Field (DDEF) as a main driver of IBIs.

Hussien, Fayrouz; Ghamry, Essam; Fathy, Adel;

Published by: Universe      Published on: apr

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.3390/universe7040090

geomagnetic storm; ionospheric irregularity; plasma bubble; Swarm mission

Ionospheric response to the 2015 St. Patrick's Day storm: A global multi-instrumental overview

We present the first multi-instrumental results on the ionospheric response to the geomagnetic storm of 17\textendash18 March 2015 (the St. Patrick\textquoterights Day storm) that was up to now the strongest in the 24th solar cycle (minimum SYM-H value of -233 nT). The storm caused complex effects around the globe. The most dramatic positive ionospheric storm occurred at low latitudes in the morning (~100\textendash150\% enhancement) and postsunset (~80\textendash100\% enhancement) sectors. These significant vertical total electron content increases were observed in different local time sectors and at different universal time, but around the same area of the Eastern Pacific region, which indicates a regional impact of storm drivers. Our analysis revealed that this particular region was most concerned by the increase in the thermospheric O/N₂\ ratio. At midlatitudes, we observe inverse hemispheric asymmetries that occurred, despite the equinoctial period, in different longitudinal regions. In the European-African sector, positive storm signatures were observed in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), whereas in the American sector, a large positive storm occurred in the Southern Hemisphere, while the NH experienced a negative storm. The observed asymmetries can be partly explained by the thermospheric composition changes and partly by the hemispherically different nondipolar portions of the geomagnetic field as well as by the IMF By component variations. At high latitudes, negative ionospheric storm effects were recorded in all longitudinal regions, especially the NH of the Asian sector was concerned. The negative storm phase developed globally on 18 March at the beginning of the recovery phase.

Astafyeva, Elvira; Zakharenkova, Irina; Förster, Matthias;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 10/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021629

geomagnetic storm; hemispheric asymmetry; Ionosphere; negative storm; positive storm; Swarm mission