Short-term periodicities in the downward longwave radiation and their associations with cosmic ray and solar interplanetary data

In this study downward longwave (LW) atmospheric radiation data for the period of 2014–2020 were used to search for short-term periodicities using fast Fourier transform (FFT). Several local peaks in the power spectrum density were found and established. The time series exhibits a series of significant peaks (exceeding the 95% confidence limit), such as at 273 days, 227 days, 200 days, 178 days, 157 days, 110 days, 120 days, 87 days, 73 days, 53–56 days, 35–30 days, 25–27 days, 21 days, 13 days, and 9–10 days.Moreover, cosmic ray data from KACST muon detector and the Oulu neutron monitor, as well as the data for the solar radio flux at 10.7 cm (F10.7 cm), Dst index, and solar wind speed for the same period as the LW data, were used to look for common cyclic variations and periodicities matching those found in the LW radiation. This was done to investigate the possible effect of the solar activity parameters on LW radiation. Several common periodicities were observed in the spectra of all the variables considered, such as 227 days, 154–157 days, 25–27 days, and 21 days. Some of the periodicities found in the LW radiation spectrum can be attributed to the modulation of the cosmic ray intensity by solar activity. Others are attributed to the disturbances in the interplanetary magnetic field. Based on the spectral results, we suggest that the solar signals may directly or indirectly affect the variations of the downward longwave radiation, which in turn may affect climate change.     

Statistical characteristics of low latitude Pc4s: Influence of solar wind and IMF parameters

Pc4 signatures for the year 2013, extracted from geomagnetic north–south and east–west components of induction coil magnetometer (LEMI 30) from low latitude station Desalpar (DSP), operated by Institute of Seismological Research (ISR), India have been investigated vis-à-vis the prevalent interplanetary parameters (IMF) as well as the geomagnetic activity indices. A clear dominance of Pc4-5 (467 events) over Pc3 (17 events) is observed. Local time variation of Pc4 shows a peak in the noon sector in both X and Y components. Our investigations show that the dominant peak frequency is 10 mHz at low latitude region. Correlations with solar wind and IMF parameters illustrate highest occurrence of Pc4 for a solar wind speed of 300–400 km/s and average IMF B field of 3–6 nT. The amplitude of Pc4s at DSP shows an increase with increasing solar wind speed, plasma density, solar wind dynamic pressure and average B field which is also reflected in the trend of frequency variation of these pulsations. We report that IMF clock angle at low latitude does not have influence on Pc4 occurrence. Based on the characteristics of these events, detected in latitudinally distributed stations from low and mid-latitudes from northern and southern hemisphere, we infer that modes were compressional, which could be driven by K-H instability or solar wind dynamic pressure, as compressional modes can propagate to low latitude with little attenuation.     

The potential of Meudon spectroheliograph for investigating long term solar activity and variability

Observations of the chromosphere with Deslandres’s spectroheliograph started at Paris Observatory in 1893 and were followed by systematic observations at Meudon since 1908. The solar collection of H$\alpha$ and CaII K images is probably the longest available worldwide, with associated products such as synoptic maps and tables. Since 2018, Meudon spectroheliograph is the only instrument producing data-cubes of full line profiles of CaII H, CaII K and H$\alpha$, for each pixel of the solar disk. Slices of the cubes provide monochromatic images. We summarize in this paper the capabilities of the successive generations of the instrument, and explore the potential of the collection and products for analysis of rare events, investigations of past solar activity and studies of long term variability.     

Intermediate-term periodicities in relativistic solar electron fluences during solar cycles 22 and 23

In this paper, we have investigated the intermediate-term periodicities of the relativistic (E > 10 MeV) solar electron flares measured by IMP-8 satellite of NASA for the time period of 1986–2001. This period of investigation includes the entire solar cycle 22; ascending, maximum and a part of descending phase of the current solar cycle 23. To determine accurately the occurrence rate of electron flux, we have employed three different spectral decomposition techniques, viz. fast Fourier transformation (FFT); maximum entropy method (MEM) and Lomb–Scargle periodogram analysis method. For solar cycle 22, in the low frequency range, power spectrum analysis exhibits statistically significant periodicities at ∼706, ∼504 and ∼392 days. In the intermediate frequency range, we have found a series of significant periodicities ∼294, ∼221, ∼153, ∼86, ∼73 and ∼66 days. For short term, periodicities of ∼21–23, ∼31 and ∼37 days were found in power spectrum. When solar cycle 23 is considered the significant periodicities are ∼20, ∼23, ∼29, ∼39, ∼54, ∼63, ∼118, ∼133 and ∼154 days. These results provide evidence that the best known Rieger period (∼153 days), appeared in the high energetic electron flux data for cycle 22 and also likely during maxima of cycle 23. The existence of these periodicities has been discussed in the light of earlier results.     

Relationships between energetic storm particle events and interplanetary shocks driven by full and partial halo coronal mass ejections

We have analysed energetic storm particle (ESP) events in 116 interplanetary (IP) shocks driven by front-side full and partial halo coronal mass ejections (CMEs) with speeds $>$400 km s^?1during the years 1996–2015. We investigated the occurrence and relationships of ESP events with several parameters describing the IP shocks, and the associated CMEs, type II radio bursts, and solar energetic particle (SEP) events. Most of the shocks (57 %) were associated with an ESP event at proton energies $>$1 MeV.The shock transit speeds from the Sun to 1 AU of the shocks associated with an ESP event were significantly greater than those of the shocks without an ESP event, and best distinguished these two groups of shocks from each other. The occurrence and maximum intensity of the ESP events also had the strongest dependence on the shock transit speed compared to the other parameters investigated. The correlation coefficient between ESP peak intensities and shock transit speeds was highest (0.73 $\pm$ 0.04) at 6.2 MeV. Weaker dependences were found on the shock speed at 1 AU, Alfvénic and magnetosonic Mach numbers, shock compression ratio, and CME speed. On average all these parameters were significantly different for shocks capable to accelerate ESPs compared to shocks not associated with ESPs, while the differences in the shock normal angle and in the width and longitude of the CMEs were insignificant.The CME-driven shocks producing energetic decametric–hectometric (DH) type II radio bursts and high-intensity SEP events proved to produce also more frequently ESP events with larger particle flux enhancements than other shocks. Together with the shock transit speed, the characteristics of solar DH type II radio bursts and SEP events play an important role in the occurrence and maximum intensity of ESP events at 1 AU.     

Prediction of geosynchronous electron fluxes using an artificial neural network driven by solar wind parameters

There are hundreds of satellites operating at the geosynchronous (GEO) orbit where relativistic electrons can cause severe damage. Thus, predicting relativistic electron fluxes is significant for spacecraft safety. In this study, using GOES satellite data during 2011–2020, we propose two neural network models with two hidden layers to predict geosynchronous relativistic electron fluxes at two energy channels (>0.8 MeV and > 2 MeV). The number of input neurons of the two channels (>0.8 MeV and > 2 MeV) are determined to be 36 and 44, respectively. The > 0.8 MeV model has 22 and 9 neurons in the hidden layers, while the > 2 MeV model has 25 and 15 neurons in the hidden layers. The input parameters include the north–south component of the interplanetary magnetic field, solar wind speed, solar wind dynamic pressure and solar wind proton density. Through the analysis of different time delays, we determine that the optimal time delays of two energy channels (>0.8 MeV and > 2 MeV) are 8 days and 10 days, respectively. The training set and validation set (Jan 2011-Dec 2018) are divided by the 10-fold cross-validation method, and the remaining data (Jan 2019-Feb 2020) is used to analyze the model performance as a test set. The prediction results of both energy channels show good agreement with satellite observations indicated by low RMSE (～0.3 cm^-2sr^-1s^?1), high PE (～0.8) and CC (～0.9). These results suggest that only using solar wind parameters is capable of obtaining reasonable predictions of geosynchronous relativistic electron fluxes.     

Changes in sea-level pressure over South Korea associated with high-speed solar wind events

We explore a possibility that the daily sea-level pressure (SLP) over South Korea responds to the high-speed solar wind event. This is of interest in two aspects: first, if there is a statistical association this can be another piece of evidence showing that various meteorological observables indeed respond to variations in the interplanetary environment. Second, this can be a very crucial observational constraint since most models proposed so far are expected to preferentially work in higher latitude regions than the low latitude region studied here. We have examined daily solar wind speed V, daily SLP difference ΔSLP, and daily log(BV²) using the superposed epoch analysis in which the key date is set such that the daily solar wind speed exceeds 800 km s⁻¹. We find that the daily ΔSLP averaged out of 12 events reaches its peak at day +1 and gradually decreases back to its normal level. The amount of positive deviation of ΔSLP is +2.5 hPa. The duration of deviation is a few days. We also find that ΔSLP is well correlated with both the speed of solar wind and log(BV²). The obtained linear correlation coefficients and chance probabilities with one-day lag for two cases are r ? 0.81 with P > 99.9%, and r ? 0.84 with P > 99.9%, respectively. We conclude by briefly discussing future direction to pursue.     

Interplanetary shocks and sudden impulses during solar maximum (2000) and solar minimum (1995–1996)

In this work a study is performed on the correlation between fast forward interplanetary shock parameters at 1 Astronomical Unit and sudden impulse (SI) amplitudes in the H-component of the geomagnetic field, for periods of solar activity maximum (year 2000) and minimum (year 1995–1996). Solar wind temperature, density and speed, and total magnetic field, were taken to calculate the static pressures (thermal and magnetic) both in the upstream and downstream sides of the shocks. The variations of the solar wind parameters and pressures were then correlated with SI amplitudes. The solar wind speed variations presented good correlations with sudden impulses, with correlation coefficients larger than 0.70 both in solar maximum and solar minimum, whereas the solar wind density presented very low correlation. The parameter better correlated with SI was the square root dynamic pressure variation, showing a larger correlation during solar maximum (r = 0.82) than during solar minimum (r = 0.77). The correlations of SI with square root thermal and magnetic pressure were smaller than with the dynamic pressure, but they also present a good correlation, with r > 0.70 during both solar maximum and minimum. Multiple linear correlation analysis of SI in terms of the three pressure terms have shown that 78% and 85% of the variance in SI during solar maximum and minimum, respectively, are explained by the three pressure variations. Average sudden impulse amplitude was 25 nT during solar maximum and 21 nT during solar minimum, while average square root dynamic pressure variation is 1.20 and 0.86 nPa^1/2 during solar maximum and minimum, respectively. Thus on average, fast forward interplanetary shocks are 33% stronger during solar maximum than during solar minimum, and the magnetospheric SI response has amplitude 20% higher during solar maximum than during solar minimum. A comparison with theoretical predictions (Tsyganenko’s model corrected by Earth’s induced currents) of the coefficient of sudden impulse change with solar wind dynamic pressure variation showed excellent agreement, with values around 17 nT/nPa^1/2.     

First measurements of periodicities and anisotropies of cosmic ray flux observed with a water-Cherenkov detector at the Marambio Antarctic base

A new water-Cherenkov radiation detector, located at the Argentine Marambio Antarctic Base (64.24S-56.62 W), has been monitoring the variability of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux since 2019. One of the main aims is to provide experimental data necessary to study interplanetary transport of GCRs during transient events at different space/time scales. In this paper we present the detector and analyze observations made during one full year. After the analysis and correction of the GCR flux variability due to the atmospheric conditions (pressure and temperature), a study of the periodicities is performed in order to analyze modulations due to heliospheric phenomena. We can observe two periods: (a) 1 day, associated with the Earth’s rotation combined with the spatial anisotropy of the GCR flux; and (b) $～$ 30 days due to solar impact of stable solar structures combined with the rotation of the Sun. From a superposed epoch analysis, and considering the geomagnetic effects, the mean diurnal amplitude is $～$ 0.08% and the maximum flux is observed in $～$ 15 h local time (LT) direction in the interplanetary space. In such a way, we determine the capability of Neurus to observe anisotropies and other interplanetary modulations on the GCR flux arriving at the Earth.     

Periodic Variations of Drag Coefficient for the ANDE Spherical Satellites During its Lifetime

A drag coefficient (C_D) inversion method is introduced to study the variations of the drag coefficient for orbital satellites with spherical geometry. Drag coefficients of the four micro satellites in the Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment (ANDE) are compiled out with this new method. The Lomb-Scargle Periodgram (LSP) analysis of the four ANDE satellites' C_D series has shown that there are obvious 5, 7, 9, and 27 days' period in those data. Interesting results are found through comparing the LSP analysis with series of the daily solar radio flux at 10.7 cm (F_10.7 index), the Ap index, and the daily averaged solar wind speed at 1AU. All series in the same time interval have an obvious period of about 27 days, which has already been explained as the association with the 27 days' solar rotation. The oscillating periods less than 27 days are found in series of C_D, Ap and solar wind speed at 1AU, e.g., the 5, 7, 9 days period. However, these short periods disappeared in the time series of F_10.7 index. The same periodicities of 5, 7, 9 days in Ap and solar wind are presented at the same time interval during the declining phase of solar cycle 23. While in the ascending phase of solar cycle 24, these short oscillations are not so obvious as that in the declining phase of solar cycle 23. These results provide definite evidence that the C_D variations with period of 5, 7 and 9 days are produced by a combination of space weather effects caused by the solar wind and geomagnetic activity.      

Where is the base of the Transition Region? Evidence from TRACE,SDO, IRIS and ALMA observations

Classic solar atmospheric models put the Chromosphere-Corona Transition Region (CCTR) at $～2$ Mm above the ${\tau }_{5000}=1$ level, whereas radiative MHD (rMHD) models place the CCTR in a wider range of heights. However, observational verification is scarce. In this work we review and discuss recent results from various instruments and spectral domains. In SDO and TRACE images spicules appear in emission in the 1600, 1700 and 304 Å bands and in absorption in the EUV bands; the latter is due to photo-ionization of H i and He i, which increases with wavelength. At the shortest available AIA wavelength and taking into account that the photospheric limb is $～0.34$ Mm above the ${\tau }_{5000}=1$ level, we found that CCTR emission starts at $～3.7$ Mm; extrapolating to $\lambda =0$, where there is no chromospheric absorption, we deduced a height of $3.0\pm 0.5$ Mm, which is above the value of 2.14 Mm of the Avrett and Loeser model. Another indicator of the extent of the chromosphere is the height of the network structures. Height differences produce a limbward shift of features with respect to the position of their counterparts in magnetograms. Using this approach, we measured heights of $0.14\pm 0.04$ Mm (at 1700 Å), $0.31\pm 0.09$ Mm (at 1600 Å) and $3.31\pm 0.18$ Mm (at 304 Å) for the center of the solar disk. A previously reported possible solar cycle variation is not confirmed. A third indicator is the position of the limb in the UV, where IRIS observations of the Mg ii triplet lines show that they extend up to $～2.1$ Mm above the 2832 Å limb, while AIA/SDO images give a limb height of $1.4\pm 0.2$ Mm (1600 Å) and $5.7\pm 0.2$ Mm (304 Å). Finally, ALMA mm-$\lambda$ full-disk images provide useful diagnostics, though not very accurate, due to their relatively low resolution; values of $2.4\pm 0.7$ Mm at 1.26 mm and $4.2\pm 2.5$ Mm at 3 mm were obtained. Putting everything together, we conclude that the average chromosphere extends higher than homogeneous models predict, but within the range of rMHD models..     

Study of the solar Slow Sonic,Alfvén and Fast Magnetosonic transition surfaces

In this paper we study the shape, extend and time variations of the solar wind transition surfaces using the Lima and Priest (1993) hydrodynamic model adequately adapted for the case of the solar wind flow. The transition surfaces, namely the Slow (Sonic), the Alfvén, and the Fast Magnetosonic surface, are important boundaries around the Sun and play a crucial role in the development of the solar wind and the structure of the inner heliosphere. We determine the shape and dimension of these surfaces as a function of heliographic latitude using measurements from Ulysses spacecraft, and we also study their temporal variation using data from spacecrafts at 1 AU (OMNI database). Furthermore, we establish their dependence with the solar activity, demonstrating their shape and location for the last two solar cycles. From this we noticed that the temporal variation of all transition surfaces follows the 11-year solar cycle. Finally, from the OMNI database, we have studied the temporal variation over the past 40 years of the plasma β parameter, the kinetic to magnetic and the kinetic to thermal energy ratios, at a distance of 1 AU from the Sun.     

Geosynchronous magnetic field response to the large and fast solar wind dynamic pressure change

We present a comparison of large and sharp solar wind dynamic pressure changes, observed by several spacecraft, with fast disturbances in the magnetospheric magnetic field measured by the GOES-8, 9 and 10 geosynchronous satellites. Almost 400 solar wind pressure changes in the period 1996–2003 were selected for this study. Using the large statistics we confirmed that increases (decreases) in the dynamic pressure always results in increases (decreases) in the magnitude of geosynchronous B_z component. The amplitude of the geosynchronous B_z response strongly depends on the location of observer relative to the noon meridian, from the value of solar wind pressure before the disturbance arriving and firstly – from the amplitude of the pressure change.     

Decadal variability of tropical Pacific temperature in relation to solar cycles

We use the 8-year long satellite temperature data (2002–2010) from Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) and Atmospheric Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) on the Aqua satellite to identify temperature trends in the troposphere and low stratosphere over the Niño 3.4 region of the Tropical Pacific Ocean in the most recent 11-year solar cycle. Employing more extended sea surface temperature (SST) data for five solar cycles (1950–2009) in this region we show that the satellite trends reflect a typical decrease of the sea surface temperature (SST) in the Niño 3.4 region in the declining phase of the solar cycle. The magnitude of the SST decrease depends on the solar cycle and ranges between 0.07 K/yr and 0.27 K/yr for the last five solar cycles.     

Modeling of the outer heliosphere with the realistic solar cycle

Time-dependent kinetic-continuum model of the solar wind interaction with the two-component local interstellar cloud (LIC) has been developed recently [Izmodenov, V., Malama, Y.G., Ruderman, M.S. Solar cycle influence on the interaction of the solar wind with local interstellar cloud. Astron. Astrophys. 429, 1069–1080, 2005a.]. Here, we adopted this model to the realistic solar cycle, when the solar wind parameters at the Earth’s orbit are taken from space data. This paper focuses on the results related to the termination shock (TS) excursion with the solar cycle that may help to understand Voyager 1 data obtained at and after the crossing of the termination shock and to predict the time of the TS crossing by Voyager 2.     

On mid-term periodicities of high-latitude solar activity

The mid-term periodicities of polar faculae are studied separately for the total disk, northern and southern hemispheres of the Sun for a time interval from 1951 August to 1998 December. Apart from the 11-year Schwabe cycle which is the fundamental period and is found in all of the three time series, the following prominent results are found: (1) the rotational periodicity of solar activity at high latitudes is approximately from 28 to 32 days; (2) a large number of quasi-periods appearing in low-latitude solar activity (annual variation, 1.3–1.7 years, quasi-biennial oscillation, and 4–5 years) also exist in polar faculae; (3) the periodicities on both hemispheres are not identical.