Survey of electron density changes in the daytime ionosphere over the Arecibo Observatory due to lightning and solar flares

Silva, Caitano L. da; Salazar, Sophia D.; Brum, C. G. M.; Terra, Pedrina

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-89662-x

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Figure 4 shows the height profile, i.e., vertical electron-density profile before, after and during the M1.3-and C2.5-class solar flares that occurred on 10 May 2013. Electron-density altitude profile changes describe the variation of ionization at the D layer due to SF events and are relevant for mapping the low ionosphere [30,31] and moreover are important for checking the validity of the method and results [32] as shown in many examples. For unperturbed (preflare) ionospheric conditions (blue line) and post flare, there is a moderate increment in N e (from 2.8•10 7 m −3 at h = 60 km height, to 6.7•10 8 m −3 at the upper part of this region, i.e., at h = 80 km).…”

Section: Analyses Of Sf Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel Modelling Approach for Obtaining the Parameters of Low Ionosphere under Extreme Radiation in X-Spectral Range

et al. 2021

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Strong radiation from solar X-ray flares can produce increased ionization in the terrestrial D-region and change its structure. Moreover, extreme solar radiation in X-spectral range can create sudden ionospheric disturbances and can consequently affect devices on the terrain as well as signals from satellites and presumably cause numerous uncontrollable catastrophic events. One of the techniques for detection and analysis of solar flares is studying the variations in time of specific spectral lines. The aim of this work is to present our study of solar X-ray flare effects on D-region using very low-frequency radio signal measurements over a long path in parallel with the analysis of X-spectral radiation, and to obtain the atmospheric parameters (sharpness, reflection height, time delay). We introduce a novel modelling approach and give D-region coefficients needed for modelling this medium, as well as a simple expression for electron density of lower ionosphere plasmas. We provide the analysis and software on GitHub.

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Section: Analyses Of Sf Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel Modelling Approach for Obtaining the Parameters of Low Ionosphere under Extreme Radiation in X-Spectral Range

et al. 2021

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“…Several works have reported that the ionosphere could be remarkably disturbed by lower atmospheric forcing, such as the energy release related to earthquakes, thunderstorms, and volcanic eruptions (e.g., [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]). The external driving of the upper atmosphere mainly comes from the energy deposition due to solar wind and magnetosphere coupling (e.g., [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]) and from changes in solar radiation (e.g., [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]). During the interaction between solar winds and the geomagnetic field, the energized particles carried by solar winds are deposited into the upper thermosphere along the open field lines, causing changes in the electric field and neutral temperatures through ion-neutral collisions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ionosphere at equatorial latitudes is different from that at middle and high latitudes in that the equatorial geomagnetic field is nearly horizontal. Previous studies have demonstrated that the equatorial ionosphere could be modulated by the forcings from lower atmospheric forcing, such as the energy release related to earthquakes, thunderstorms, and volcanic eruptions (e.g., [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]); the energy deposition due to solar wind and magnetosphere coupling (e.g., [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]); and changes in solar radiation [16]. The ionospheric currents are key in the energy transfer in the near-Earth geospace.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Turkey Earthquake Induced Equatorial Ionospheric Current Disturbances on 6 February 2023

Zhang,

Wang,

Xia

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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An earthquake is a seismic event resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere, which produces waves that can propagate through the atmosphere into the ionosphere, causing ionospheric disturbances, and excites an additional electric field in the lower ionosphere. Two large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (LSTIDs) at daytime Turkey longitudes were found, with phase speeds of 534 and 305 m/s, respectively, after the second strong earthquake at 10:24 UT on 6 February 2023. During strong earthquakes, the equatorial ionospheric currents including the E-region equatorial electrojet (EEJ) and F-region ionospheric radial current (IRC) might be perturbed. At the Tatuoca station in Brazil, we observed a stronger-than-usual horizontal magnetic field associated with the EEJ, with a magnitude of ~100 nT. EEJ perturbations are mainly controlled by neutral winds, especially zonal winds. In the equatorial F-region, a wave perturbation of the IRC was caused by a balance of the electric field generated by the zonal winds at ~15° MLat, the F-region local winds driven by atmospheric resonance, and the additional polarization electric field. Our findings better the understanding of the complex interplay between seismic events and ionospheric current disturbances.

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“…Silva et al (2021) found that daytime sudden Ne changes registered by Arecibo's incoherent-scatter radar during thunderstorm times were, on average, different from those happening during fair weather conditions (driven by other external factors). These changes typically correspond to Ne depletion in the D and E regions, and these disturbances are different from those associated with solar flares [27]. Baumann et al (2022) reported the Ne measurements from the Arecibo incoherent-scatter radar being performed during sunset and sunrise conditions and found an asymmetry of the Ne with a higher Ne during sunset than during sunrise, which extended from the solar zenith angles of 80 • to 100 • [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation of Electron Density in the D-Region Using Kunming MF Radar under Low Solar Activity

Tang,

Li,

Wang

et al. 2023

Atmosphere

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So far, the least is known about the D-region ionosphere out of the entire ionosphere due to the lack of a conventional detecting method and continuous data accumulation. Medium frequency (MF) radar is an important conventional tool for understanding the D-region ionosphere by measuring the electron density (Ne) within the height range of 60–90 km. To investigate the statistical variation of the D-region, especially at the mid-low latitude area, this study presents the statistical variations in the D-region Ne with the solar zenith angle (SZA), season, and altitude observed by Kunming MF radar (25.6° N, 103.8° E) under low solar activity (2008–2009). The diurnal variation of Ne behaves like typical diurnal changes, which are closely consistent with the SZA. The outstanding feature, the diurnal asymmetry phenomenon, significantly appears in different seasons and at different altitudes. The Ne has obvious semi-annual characteristics, and is larger in summer and fall and the smallest in winter. Compared to other seasons, the variation in the Ne with altitude is the most stable in summer. Due to the impacts of the highest SZA, the value of Ne in winter is the smallest, with a maximum value of less than 300 electrons/cm3, and the largest in summer and fall, with a maximum of 472 electrons/cm3. Particularly, the peaks of Ne above 76 km do not always appear at the time when the SZA is the smallest (at noon). Both the simulations by the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI2016) and observations using MF radar present a strong positive correlation with solar radiation. Meanwhile, it cannot be ignored that there were still large differences between the simulations and observations. To quantitatively analyze the differences between the observations and simulations, the observed value was subtracted from the simulated value. The results show that the maximum value between them was up to 350 electrons/cm3, and the minimum difference appeared at around 72 km, with a value less than 100 electrons/cm3. However, below 66 km, the observations were larger than the simulations, which were, on the contrary, above 76 km.

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Survey of electron density changes in the daytime ionosphere over the Arecibo Observatory due to lightning and solar flares

Cited by 4 publications

References 44 publications

Novel Modelling Approach for Obtaining the Parameters of Low Ionosphere under Extreme Radiation in X-Spectral Range

Novel Modelling Approach for Obtaining the Parameters of Low Ionosphere under Extreme Radiation in X-Spectral Range

The Turkey Earthquake Induced Equatorial Ionospheric Current Disturbances on 6 February 2023

Variation of Electron Density in the D-Region Using Kunming MF Radar under Low Solar Activity

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