Bibliography

Solar and interplanetary events that drove two CIR-related geomagnetic storms of 1 June 2013 and 7 October 2015, and their ionospheric responses at the American and African equatorial ionization Anomaly regions

This study investigates the sequence of solar and interplanetary events that drove the 1 June 2013 and October 2015 geomagnetic storms and how the American (68°–78oE) and African (32°–42oE) Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) regions responded to them. We constructed the EIA structures by using Total Electron Content (TEC) and ionospheric irregularities derived from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers along with the study locations. We also analyzed disturbed time ionospheric electric field and model data alongside the GNSS data. The 1 June 2013 geomagnetic storm was driven by a combination of a weak CME and HSSs from solar coronal holes, while the 7 October 2015 storm was solely driven by HSSs. Storm-time hemispherical asymmetry in ionospheric TEC and irregularities distributions was consistently observed. Storm with minimum SYM-H value at day-side locations caused enhancement in plasma ionization and pole-ward movement of EIA crests, while storm with minimum SYM-H value at night-side locations caused reduction in plasma ionization and equator-ward movement of EIA crests. The phase of responses of the ionosphere to geomagnetic storms depends on the local time of storm’s onset and local time of the storm’s main phase minimum which also determine the orientation of Prompt Penetration Electric Field (PPEF). At storm’s onset time in the low latitude regions, the main storm-induced electric field is PPEF. Daytime eastward PPEF intensified plasma fountain to increase the EIA crests locations, while nighttime westward PPEF reversed plasma fountain to cause equator-ward collapse of the EIA crests. However, around the storm’s recovery phase, under southward turning of IMF Bz, depending on their orientations, PPEF and Disturbed Dynamo Electric Field (DDEF) collectively influenced low latitude ionosphere. Eastward PPEF at the Pre-Reversal Enhancement (PRE) time enhanced irregularities generation, while westward DDEF at PRE time inhibited irregularities generation. The season of storm’s occurrence is also a factor that dictates ionospheric response to a storm, for instance, the 7 October storm (SYM-H −124 nT) influenced the ionosphere more than the 1 June storm (SYM-H −137 nT). Both storms had long recovery phase. On pre-storm days, we observed stronger and well-developed EIA crests over the American sector than over the African sector.

Oyedokun, Oluwole; Amaechi, P.; Akala, A.; Simi, K.; Ogwala, Aghogho; Oyeyemi, E.;

Published by: Advances in Space Research      Published on: mar

YEAR: 2022     DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2021.12.027

geomagnetic storm; total electron content; Corotating Interacting Region; ionospheric irregularities

Ionospheric Disturbances and Irregularities during the 25--26 August 2018 Geomagnetic Storm

We use ground-based (GNSS, SuperDARN, and ionosondes) and space-borne (Swarm, CSES, and DMSP) instruments to study ionospheric disturbances due to the 25–26 August 2018 geomagnetic storm. The strongest large-scale storm-time enhancements were detected over the Asian and Pacific regions during the main and early recovery phases of the storm. In the American sector, there occurred the most complex effects caused by the action of multiple drivers. At the beginning of the storm, a large positive disturbance occurred over North America at low and high latitudes, driven by the storm-time reinforcement of the equatorial ionization anomaly (at low latitudes) and by particle precipitation (at high latitudes). During local nighttime hours, we observed numerous medium-scale positive and negative ionospheric disturbances at middle and high latitudes that were attributed to a storm-enhanced density (SED)-plume, mid-latitude ionospheric trough, and particle precipitation in the auroral zone. In South America, total electron content (TEC) maps clearly showed the presence of the equatorial plasma bubbles, that, however, were not seen in data of Rate-of-TEC-change index (ROTI). Global ROTI maps revealed intensive small-scale irregularities at high latitudes in both hemispheres within the auroral region. In general, the ROTI disturbance “imaged” quite well the auroral oval boundaries. The most intensive ionospheric fluctuations were observed at low and mid-latitudes over the Pacific Ocean. The storm also affected the positioning accuracy by GPS receivers: during the main phase of the storm, the precise point positioning error exceeded 0.5 m, which is more than five times greater as compared to quiet days.

Astafyeva, E.; Yasyukevich, Y.; Maletckii, B.; Oinats, A.; Vesnin, A.; Yasyukevich, A.; Syrovatskii, S.; Guendouz, N.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2022     DOI: 10.1029/2021JA029843

Geomagnetic storms; Ionosphere; ROTI; ionospheric disturbances; ionospheric irregularities; multi-instrumental approach

Spread-F occurrence during geomagnetic storms near the southern crest of the EIA in Argentina

This work presents, for the first time, the analysis of the occurrence of ionospheric irregularities during geomagnetic storms at Tucumán, Argentina, a low latitude station in the Southern American longitudinal sector (26.9°S, 294.6°E; magnetic latitude 15.5°S) near the southern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). Three geomagnetic storms occurred on May 27, 2017 (a month of low occurrence rates of spread-F), October 12, 2016 (a month of transition from low to high occurrence rates of spread-F) and November 7, 2017 (a month of high occurrence rates of spread-F) are analyzed using Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and ionosondes. The rate of change of total electron content (TEC) Index (ROTI), GPS Ionospheric L-band scintillation, the virtual height of the F-layer bottom side (h F) and the critical frequency of the F2 layer (foF2) are considered. Furthermore, each ionogram is manually examined for the presence of spread-F signatures. The results show that, for the three events studied, geomagnetic activity creates favorable conditions for the initiation of ionospheric irregularities, manifested by ionogram spread-F and TEC fluctuation. Post-midnight irregularities may have occurred due to the presence of eastward disturbance dynamo electric fields (DDEF). For the May storm, an eastward over-shielding prompt penetration electric field, (PPEF) is also acting. A possibility is that the PPEF is added to the DDEF and produces the uplifting of the F region that helps trigger the irregularities. Finally, during October and November, strong GPS L band scintillation is observed associated with strong range spread-F (SSF), that is, irregularities extending from the bottom-side to the topside of the F region.

González, Gilda;

Published by: Advances in Space Research      Published on: feb

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2020.10.051

Geomagnetic storms; ionospheric irregularities; space weather; Spread-F

Multi-wavelength coordinated observations of ionospheric irregularity structures from an anomaly crest location during unusual solar minimum of the 24th cycle

The present paper reports coordinated ionospheric irregularity measurements at optical as well as GPS wavelengths. Optical measurements were obtained from Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (TIP) sensors installed onboard the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) satellites. GPS radio signals were obtained from a dual frequency GPS receiver operational at Calcutta (22.58\textdegreeN, 88.38\textdegreeE geographic; geomagnetic dip: 32.96\textdegree; 13.00\textdegreeN, 161.63\textdegreeE geomagnetic) under the SCIntillation Network Decision Aid (SCINDA) program. Calcutta is located near the northern crest of Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) in the Indian longitude sector. The observations were conducted during the unusually low and prolonged solar minima period of 2008\textendash2010. During this period, four cases of post-sunset GPS scintillation were observed from Calcutta. Among those cases, simultaneous fluctuations in GPS Carrier-to-Noise ratios (C/N_o) and measured radiances from TIP over a common ionospheric volume were observed only on February 2, 2008 and September 25, 2008. Fluctuations observed in measured radiances (maximum 0.95 Rayleigh) from TIP due to ionospheric irregularities were found to correspond well with C/N₀ fluctuations on the GPS links observed from Calcutta, such effects being noted even during late evening hours of 21:00\textendash22:00 LT from locations around 40\textdegree magnetic dip. These measurements indicate the existence of electron density irregularities of scale sizes varying over several decades from 135.6\ nm to 300\textendash400\ m well beyond the northern crest of the EIA in the Indian longitude sector during late evening hours even in the unusually low solar activity conditions.

Paul, Ashik; Sur, Dibyendu; Haralambous, Haris;

Published by: Advances in Space Research      Published on: 03/2020

YEAR: 2020     DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2019.11.035

GPS radio measurements; ionospheric irregularities; Northern crest of EIA; Optical measurements; solar minimum; TIP

Global-scale Observations of the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly

Abstract The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk ultraviolet spectrograph has been imaging the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA), regions of the ionosphere with enhanced electron density north and south of the magnetic equator, since October 2018. The initial 3 months of observations was during solar minimum conditions, and they included observations in December solstice of unanticipated variability and depleted regions. Depletions are seen on most nights, in contrast to expectations from previous space-based observations. The variety of scales and morphologies also pose challenges to understanding of the EIA. Abrupt changes in the EIA location, which could be related to in situ measurements of large-scale depletion regions, are observed on some nights. Such synoptic-scale disruptions have not been previously identified.

Eastes, R.; Solomon, S.; Daniell, R.; Anderson, D.; Burns, A.; England, S.; Martinis, C.; McClintock, W.;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on:

YEAR: 2019     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084199

Equatorial ionosphere; ionospheric irregularities; ionospheric dynamics; Ionospheric storms; forecasting; airglow and aurora

GPS L1-Frequency Observations of Equatorial Scintillations and Irregularity Zonal Velocities

In this work, the climatology of ionospheric scintillations at global positioning system (GPS) L-band frequency and the zonal drift velocities of scintillation-producing irregularities were depicted for the equatorial observatory of S\~ao Luis (2.33\textdegreeS; 44.21\textdegreeW; dip latitude 1.3\textdegreeS), Brazil. This is the first time that the hourly, monthly, and seasonal variations of scintillations and irregularity zonal drifts at S\~ao Luis were characterized during periods of different solar activity levels (from December 1998 to February 2007). The percentage occurrence of scintillations at different sectors of the sky was also investigated, and the results revealed that the scintillations are more probable to be observed in the west sector of the sky above S\~ao Luis, whereas the north\textendashsouth asymmetries are possibly related to asymmetries in the plasma density distribution at off-equatorial latitudes. The scintillations on GPS signals occurred more frequently around solar maximum years, but it is also clear from the results of a strong variability in the scintillation activity in the years with moderate solar flux during the descending phase of the solar cycle. The equatorial scintillations occur predominantly during pre-midnight hours with a broad maximum near the December solstice months. In general, weak level of scintillations (S ₄ index between 0.2 and 0.4) dominated at all seasons; however, during the winter months around solar maximum years (although the scintillation occurrence is extremely low), stronger levels of scintillations (S ₄\ \>\ 0.6) may occur at comparable rate with the weak scintillations. The irregularity zonal velocities, as estimated from the GPS spaced-receiver technique, presented a different scenario for the two seasons analyzed; during the equinoxes, the magnitude of the zonal velocities appeared not to change with the solar activity, whereas during the December solstice months, the larger magnitudes were observed around solar maximum years. Other relevant aspects of the observations are highlighted and discussed.

Muella, Marcio; de Paula, Eurico; Jonah, Olusegun;

Published by: Surveys in Geophysics      Published on: 08/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1007/s10712-013-9252-0

GPS; Ionospheric drifts; ionospheric irregularities; Ionospheric scintillation

Estimating the propagation characteristics of large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances using ground-based and satellite data

In this article, the propagation characteristics of large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (LS TIDs) are estimated during the geomagnetic storm periods of 14\textendash16 May 2005 and 25\textendash27 September 2011 over South Africa. One and two GPS arrays have been independently considered for the storms of 15 May 2005 and 26 September 2011, respectively. The average periods of dominant modes (≈ 2.5\textendash3.5h) in the time series data were determined by applying wavelet analysis on both ionosonde and GPS data. The consideration of diurnal GPS total electron content (TEC) variability from receivers along three different longitude sectors showed a time shift in TEC enhancement with increasing latitude, the first indication of equatorward motion of the traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). The statistical method (based on GPS radio interferometry) employed shows that these TIDs were mostly propagating nearly equatorward (for both storm periods), which is consistent with the existing literature about storm-induced TIDs. On storm days, TID horizontal velocities have been determined in the range of ≈200\textendash500m/s. The analysis of diurnal TEC response from different stations confirmed that the positive storm effect observed on 15 May 2005 was a result of the large-scale TIDs of wavelength ≈4000 km. On the other hand, the estimated wavelengths of LS TIDs on 26 September 2011 were ≈2400\textendash3400km between 10 and 17 UT. A time lag is observed between the times at which enhancements in TEC, ionosonde f_oF₂, and h_mF₂ data are revealed, and this has been attributed to the passage of the TID.

Habarulema, John; Katamzi, Zama; McKinnell, Lee-Anne;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 12/2013

YEAR: 2013     DOI: 10.1002/2013JA018997

characteristics of large scale TIDs; Geomagnetic storms; ionospheric irregularities

Is Space Weather Different Over Africa, and If So, Why? An AGU Chapman Conference Report

With the increasing reliance on technology, the impact of space weather on engineered systems will certainly increase unless suitable protective measures are taken. Understanding the physics behind space weather impacts and improving the forecasting are the major objectives of the space science community. It is well recognized that many space weather impacts, especially on communications systems, arise from structures in the ionosphere. The equatorial ionosphere, in particular, is one of the most complex and is host to numerous instabilities and interactions, with many unresolved questions regarding its dynamics and variability. Radio waves, either transmitted through the ionosphere, for satellite communication and navigation, or reflected off the ionosphere for HF and radar applications, are all impacted by ionospheric variability and structure. Ionospheric irregularities or plasma \textquotedblleftbubbles\textquotedblright occurring at low latitudes are one such source of interference. These irregularities cause scintillations on satellite radio transmissions, resulting in information loss in communications, as well as degradation in positioning and navigation used in aviation and maritime industries.

Yizengaw, Endawoke; Doherty, Patricia; Fuller-Rowell, Tim;

Published by: Space Weather      Published on: 07/2013

YEAR: 2013     DOI: 10.1002/swe.20063

atmosphere ionosphere interactions; ionospheric irregularities; space weather

Ionospheric scintillations at Guilin detected by GPS ground-based and radio occultation observations

The occurrence of ionospheric scintillations with S4⩾0.2 was studied using GPS measurements at Guilin, China (25.29°N, 110.33°E; geomagnetic: 15.04°N, 181.98°E), a station located near the northern crest of the equatorial anomaly. The results are presented for data collected from January 2009 to March 2010. The results show that nighttime amplitude scintillations only took place in February and March of the considered years, while daytime amplitude scintillations occurred in August and December of 2009. Nighttime amplitude scintillations, observed in the south of Guilin, always occurred with phase scintillations, TEC (Total Electron Content) depletions, and ROT (Rate Of change of TEC) fluctuations. However, TEC depletions and ROT fluctuations were weak during daytime amplitude scintillations, and daytime amplitude scintillations always took place simultaneously for most of the GPS satellites which appeared over Guilin in different azimuth directions. Ground-based GPS scintillation/TEC observations recorded at Guilin and signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) measurements obtained from GPS-COSMIC radio occultation indicate that nighttime and daytime scintillations are very likely caused by ionospheric F region irregularities and sporadic E, respectively. Moreover, strong daytime amplitude scintillations may be associated with the plasma density enhancements in ionospheric E region caused by the Perseid and Geminid meteor shower activities.

Zou, Yuhua;

Published by: Advances in Space Research      Published on:

YEAR: 2011     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2010.11.016

Ionospheric scintillation; ionospheric irregularities; GPS; GPS-COSMIC radio occultation

Coordinated UV imaging of equatorial plasma bubbles using TIMED/GUVI and DMSP/SSUSI

Comberiate, Joseph; Paxton, L.;

Published by: Space Weather      Published on: Jan-01-2010

YEAR: 2010     DOI: 10.1029/2009SW000546

Equatorial ionosphere; ionospheric irregularities; scintillation

Neutral density depletions associated with equatorial plasma bubbles as observed by the CHAMP satellite

Using CHAMP observations from 2002 to 2005 we investigate neutral density depletions (NDDs) associated with equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs). The seasonal–longitudinal distribution of NDDs generally follows that of EPBs. However, there are several important differences between them. The maximum NDD occurrence rate is much smaller than the maximum EPB occurrence. NDDs occur at latitudes north and south of the dip equator with an offset of about 15∘, which is collocated with the Appleton anomaly peaks and slightly poleward of EPB occurrence maxima. The NDD occurrence maximizes around 21 LT, and has nearly died out after 23 LT. Meanwhile, the EPB occurrence shows a broad maximum between 20 and 24 LT. NDD distribution deviates slightly from that of EPBs shifted toward the region of high ion–neutral interaction. Based on our statistical results, as well as on some physics-based calculations, we suggest that an enhanced friction between ions and neutrals is needed for the NDD generation.

Park, Jaeheung; Lühr, Hermann; Min, Kyoung;

Published by: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2010     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2009.11.003

ionospheric irregularities; Equatorial ionosphere; thermospheric dynamics; ionosphere/atmosphere interactions