GPS scintillation and TEC depletion near the northern crest of equatorial anomaly over South China

This study presents a statistical analysis of GPS L-band scintillation with data observed from July 2008 to March 2012 at the northern crest of equatorial anomaly stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen of South China. The variations of the scintillation with local time, season, solar activity and duration of scintillation patches were investigated. The relationship between the scintillation and TEC depletion was also reported. Our results revealed that GPS scintillation occurred from 19:30 LT (pre-midnight) to 03:00 LT (post-midnight). During quiet solar activity years, the scintillation was only observed in pre-midnight hours of equinox months and patches durations were mostly less than 60 min. During high solar activity years, more scintillation occurred in the pre-midnight hours of equinox and winter months; and GPS scintillation started to occur in the post-midnight hours of summer and winter. The duration of scintillation patches extended to 180 min in high solar activity years. Solar activity had a larger effect to strong scintillations (S₄ > 0.6) than to weak scintillations (0.6 ? S₄ > 0.2). Strong scintillations were accompanied by TEC depletion especially in equinox months. We also discussed the relationship between TEC depletion and plasma bubble.     

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.     

A study of L band scintillations during the initial phase of rising solar activity at an Indian low latitude station

The ionospheric scintillation and TEC (Total Electron Content) variations are studied using GPS (Global Positioning System) measurements at an Indian low latitude station Surat (21.16°N, 72.78°E; Geomagnetic: 12.90°N, 147.35°E), situated near the northern crest of the equatorial anomaly region. The results are presented for data collected during the initial phase of current rising solar activity (low to moderate solar activity) period between January 2009 and December 2011. The results show that within a total number of 656 night-time scintillation events, 340 events are observed with TEC depletions, Rate of change of TEC (ROT) fluctuations and enhancement of Rate of change of TEC Index (ROTI). A comparison of night-time scintillation events from the considered period reveal strong correlation amongst the duration of scintillation activity in S₄ index_, TEC depletion, ROT fluctuations and ROTI enhancement in the year 2011, followed by the year 2010 and least in 2009. The statistical analyses of scintillation activity with enhancement of ROTI also show that about 70–96% scintillation activity took place in equinox and winter months. Moreover, from a nocturnal variation in occurrence of scintillation with (S₄ ? 0.2) and enhancement of ROTI with (ROTI ? 0.5), a general trend of higher occurrence in pre-midnight hours of equinox and winter seasons is observed in both indices during the year 2011 and 2010, while no significant trend is observed in the year 2009. The results suggest the presence of F-region ionospheric irregularities with scale sizes of few kilometers and few hundred meters over Surat and are found to be influenced by solar and magnetic activity.     

Variation of ionospheric total electron content in Indian low latitude region of the equatorial anomaly during May 2007–April 2008

The ionospheric total electron content (TEC), derived by analyzing dual frequency signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) recorded near the Indian equatorial anomaly region, Varanasi (geomagnetic latitude 14°, 55′N, geomagnetic longitude 154°E) is studied. Specifically, we studied monthly, seasonal and annual variations as well as solar and geomagnetic effects on the equatorial ionospheric anomaly (EIA) during the solar minimum period from May 2007 to April 2008. It is found that the daily maximum TEC near equatorial anomaly crest yield their maximum values during the equinox months and their minimum values during the summer. Using monthly averaged peak magnitude of TEC, a clear semiannual variation is seen with two maxima occurring in both spring and autumn. Statistical studies indicate that the variation of EIA crest in TEC is poorly correlated with Dst-index (r = −0.03) but correlated well with Kp-index (r = 0.82). The EIA crest in TEC is found to be more developed around 12:30 LT.     

A study of GPS ionospheric scintillations observed at Shenzhen

Ionospheric scintillation variations are studied using GPS measurements at the low latitude station of Shenzhen (22.59°N, 113.97°E), situated under the northern crest of the equatorial anomaly region, from the Chinese Meridian Project. The results are presented for data collected during the current phase of rising solar activity (low to high solar activity) from December 2010 to April 2014. The results show that GPS scintillation events were largely a nighttime phenomenon during the whole observation period. Scintillation events mainly occurred along the inner edge of the northern crest of the equatorial anomaly in China. The occurrence of scintillations in different sectors of the sky was also investigated, and the results revealed that it is more likely for the scintillations to be observed in the west sector of the sky above Shenzhen. During the present period of study, a total number of 512 total electron content (TEC) depletions and 460 lock loss events were observed. In addition, both of these events are likely to increase during periods of high solar activity, especially because the strong scintillations are often simultaneously accompanied by TEC depletions and lock losses by GPS receivers.     

Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly (EIA) and comparison with IRI model during descending phase of solar activity (2005–2009)

The ionospheric variability at equatorial and low latitude region is known to be extreme as compared to mid latitude region. In this study the ionospheric total electron content (TEC), is derived by analyzing dual frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) data recorded at two stations separated by 325 km near the Indian equatorial anomaly region, Varanasi (Geog latitude 25°, 16^/ N, longitude 82°, 59^/ E, Geomagnetic latitude 16°, 08^/ N) and Kanpur (Geog latitude 26°, 18^/ N, longitude 80°, 12^/ E, Geomagnetic latitude 17°, 18^/ N). Specifically, we studied monthly, seasonal and annual variations as well as solar and geomagnetic effects on the equatorial ionospheric anomaly (EIA) during the descending phase of solar activity from 2005 to 2009. It is found that the maximum TEC (EIA) near equatorial anomaly crest yield their maximum values during the equinox months and their minimum values during the summer. Using monthly averaged peak magnitude of TEC, a clear semi-annual variation is seen with two maxima occurring in both spring and autumn. Results also showed the presence of winter anomaly or seasonal anomaly in the EIA crest throughout the period 2005–2009 only except during the deep solar minimum year 2007–2008. The correlation analysis indicate that the variation of EIA crest is more affected by solar activity compared to geomagnetic activity with maximum dependence on the solar EUV flux, which is attributed to direct link of EUV flux on the formation of ionosphere and main agent of the ionization. The statistical mean occurrence of EIA crest in TEC during the year from 2005 to 2009 is found to around 12:54 LT hour and at 21.12° N geographic latitude. The crest of EIA shifts towards lower latitudes and the rate of shift of the crest latitude during this period is found to be 0.87° N/per year. The comparison between IRI models with observation during this period has been made and comparison is poor with increasing solar activity with maximum difference during the year 2005.     

Response of Hainan GPS ionospheric scintillations to the different strong magnetic storm conditions

Using the GPS ionospheric scintillation data at Hainan station (19.5°N, 109.1°E) in the eastern Asia equatorial regions and relevant ionospheric and geomagnetic data from July 2003 to June 2005, we investigate the response of L-band ionospheric scintillation activity over this region to different strong magnetic storm conditions (Dst < −100 nT) during the descending phase of the solar cycle. These strong storms and corresponding scintillations mainly took place in winter and summer seasons. When the main phase developed rapidly and reached the maximum near 20–21 LT (LT = UT + 8) after sunset, scintillations might occur in the following recovery phase. When the main phase maximum occurred shortly after midnight near 01–02 LT, following the strong scintillations in the pre-midnight main phase, scintillations might also occur in the post-midnight recovery phase. When the main phase maximum took place after 03 LT to the early morning hours no any scintillation could be observed in the latter of the night. Moreover, when the main phase maximum occurred during the daytime hours, scintillations could also hardly be observed in the following nighttime recovery phase, which might last until the end of recovery phase. Occasionally, scintillations also took place in the initial phase of the storm. During those scintillations associated with the nighttime magnetic storms, the height of F layer base (h’F) was evidently increased. However, the increase of F layer base height does not always cause the occurrence of scintillations, which indicates the complex interaction of various disturbance processes in ionosphere and thermosphere systems during the storms.     

The equatorial ionization anomaly at the topside F region of the ionosphere along 75°E

Electron density measured by the Indian satellite SROSS C2 at the altitude of ∼500 km in the 75°E longitude sector for the ascending half of the solar cycle 22 from 1995 to 1999 are used to study the position and density of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). Results show that the latitudinal position and peak electron density of the EIA crest and crest to trough ratios of the anomaly during the 10:00–14:00 LT period vary with season and from one year to another. Both EIA crest position and density are found to be asymmetric about the magnetic equator and the asymmetry depends on season as well as the year of observation, i.e., solar activity. The latitudinal position of the crest of the EIA and the crest density bears good positive correlation with F_10.7 and the strength of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ).     

Solar and magnetic control on night-time enhancement in TEC near the crest of the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly

The ionospheric Total Electron Content (TECs), derived by dual frequency signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) recorded near the Indian equatorial anomaly region, Bhopal (23.2°N, 77.4°E, Geomagnetic 14.2°N) were analyzed for the period of January, 2005 to February, 2008. The work deals with monthly, diurnal, solar and magnetic activity variations on night-time enhancement in TEC. From a total of 157 night-time enhancements, 75 occur during pre-midnight and 82 post-midnight hours. The occurrence of night-time enhancement in TEC is utmost during summer months, followed by equinox and winter months. The occurrence of night-time enhancement in TEC decreases with increase in solar and magnetic activities. We observed that peak size and half amplitude duration are positively correlated, while time of occurrence of night-time enhancement in TEC and time of peak enhancement are negatively correlated with solar activity. The peak size, half amplitude duration, time of peak enhancement and time of occurrence of night-time enhancement in TEC shows negative correlation with magnetic activity. The results have been compared with the earlier ones and discussed in terms of possible source mechanism responsible for the enhancement at anomaly crest region.     

Transient variations of vertical total electron content over some African stations from 2002 to 2012

This paper presents the vertical total electron content vTEC variations for three African stations, located at mid-low and equatorial latitudes, and operating since more than 10 years. The vTEC of the middle latitude GPS station in Alexandria, Egypt (31.2167°N; 29.9667°E, geographic) is compared to the vTEC of two others GPS stations: the first one in Rabat/Morocco (33.9981°N; 353.1457°E, geographic), and the second in Libreville/Gabon (0.3539°N; 9.6721°E, geographic). Our results discussed the diurnal, seasonal, and solar cycle dependences of vTEC at the local ionospheric conditions, during different phases of solar cycle in the light of the classification of Legrand and Simon. The vTEC over Alexandria exhibits the well-known equinoctial asymmetry which changes with the phases of the solar cycle; the spring vTEC is larger than that of autumn during the maximum, decreasing and minimum phases of solar cycle 23. During the increasing phase of solar cycle 24, it is the contrary. The diurnal variation of the vTEC presents multiple maxima during the equinox from 2005 to 2008 and during the summer solstice from 2006 to 2012. A nighttime vTEC enhancement and winter anomaly are also observed. During the deep solar minimum (2006–2009) the diurnal variation of the vTEC observed over Alexandria is similar to the diurnal variation observed during quiet magnetic period at equatorial latitudes. We observed also that the amplitude of vTEC at Libreville is larger than the amplitude of vTEC observed at Alexandria and Rabat, indeed Libreville is near the southern crest of the Equatorial Ionization anomaly. Finally, the correlation coefficient between vTEC and the sunspot number Rz is high and changes with solar cycle phases.     

GPS derived TEC and foF2 variability at an equatorial station and the performance of IRI-model

The ionosphere induces a time delay in transionospheric radio signals such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) signal. The Total Electron Content (TEC) is a key parameter in the mitigation of ionospheric effects on transionospheric signals. The delay in GPS signal induced by the ionosphere is proportional to TEC along the path from the GPS satellite to a receiver. The diurnal monthly and seasonal variations of ionospheric electron content were studied during the year 2010, a year of extreme solar minimum (F10.7 = 81 solar flux unit), with data from the GPS receiver and the Digisonde Portable Sounder (DPS) collocated at Ilorin (Geog. Lat. 8.50°N, Long. 4.50°E, dip −7.9°). The diurnal monthly variation shows steady increases in TEC and F2-layer critical frequency (foF2) from pre-dawn minimum to afternoon maximum and then decreases after sunset. TEC show significant seasonal variation during the daytime between 0900 and 1900 UT (LT = UT + 1 h) with a maximum during the March equinox (about 35 TECU) and minimum during the June solstice (about 24 TECU). The GPS-TEC and foF2 values reveal a weak seasonal anomaly and equinoctial asymmetry during the daytime. The variations observed find their explanations in the amount of solar radiation and neutral gas composition. The measured TEC and foF2 values were compared with last two versions of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2007 and IRI-2012) model predictions using the NeQuick and CCIR (International Radio Consultative Committee) options respectively in the model. In general, the two models give foF2 close to the experimental values, whereas significant discrepancies are found in the predictions of TEC from the models especially during the daytime. The error in height dependent thickness parameter, daytime underestimation of equatorial drift and contributions of electrons from altitudes above 2000 km have been suggested as the possible causes.     

A morphological study of GPS-TEC data at Agra and their comparison with the IRI model

The temporal and seasonal variations of Total Electron Content (TEC) are studied at Agra (Geographic Lat. 27.17°N, Long. 78.89°E, Dip: 41.4°), India, which is in the equatorial anomaly region, for a period of 12 months from 01 January to 31 December, 2007 using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. The mean TEC values show a minimum at 0500 h LT (LT = UT + 5.5 h) and a peak value at about 1400 h LT. The lowest TEC values are observed in winter whereas largest values are observed in equinox and summer. Anomalous variations are found during the period of magnetic disturbances. These results are compared with the TEC derived from IRI-2007 using three different options of topside electron density, NeQuick, IRI01-corr, and IRI-2001. A good agreement is found between the TEC obtained at Agra and those derived from IRI models.     

Response of the EIA ionosphere to the 7-8 May 2005 geomagnetic storm

In this paper, response of low latitude ionosphere to a moderate geomagnetic storm of 7–8 May 2005 (SSC: 1920 UT on 7 May with Sym-H minimum, ∼−112 nT around 1600 UT on 8 May) has been investigated using the GPS measurements from a near EIA crest region, Rajkot (Geog. 22.29°N, 70.74°E, Geomag.14°), India. We found a decrease in total electron content (TEC) in 12 h after the onset of the storm, an increase during and after 6 h of Sym-H deep minimum with a decrease below its usual-day level on the second day during the recovery phase of the storm. On 8 May, an increase of TEC is observed after sunset and during post-midnight hours (maximum up to 170%) with the formation of ionospheric plasma bubbles followed by a nearly simultaneous onset of scintillations at L-band frequencies following the time of rapid decrease in Sym-H index (−30 nT/h around 1300 UT).     

Response of the ionospheric F-region in the Brazilian sector during the super geomagnetic storm in April 2000 observed by GPS

The response of the ionospheric F-region in the equatorial and low latitude regions in the Brazilian sector during the super geomagnetic storm on 06–07 April 2000 has been studied in the present investigation. The geomagnetic storm reached a minimum D_st of −288 nT at 0100 UT on 07 April. In this paper, we present vertical total electron content (VTEC) and phase fluctuations (in TECU/min) from GPS observations obtained at Imperatriz (5.5°S, 47.5°W; IMPZ), Brasília (15.9°S, 47.9°W; BRAZ), Presidente Prudente (22.12°S, 51.4°W; UEPP), and Porto Alegre (30.1°S, 51.1°W; POAL) during the period 05–08 April. Also, several GPS-based TEC maps are presented from the global GPS network, showing widespread and drastic TEC changes during the different phases of the geomagnetic storm. In addition, ion density measurements on-board the satellite Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F15 orbiting at an altitude of 840 km and the first Republic of China satellite (ROCSAT-1) orbiting at an altitude of 600 km are presented. The observations indicate that one of the orbits of the DMSP satellite is fairly close to the 4 GPS stations and both the DMSP F15 ion-density plots and the phase fluctuations from GPS observations show no ionospheric irregularities in the Brazilian sector before 2358 UT on the night of 06–07 April 2000. During the fast decrease of D_st on 06 April, there is a prompt penetration of electric field of magnetospheric origin resulting in decrease of VTEC at IMPZ, an equatorial station and large increase in VTEC at POAL, a low latitude station. This resulted in strong phase fluctuations on the night of 06–07 April, up to POAL. During the daytime on 07 April during the recovery phase, the VTEC observations show positive ionospheric storm at all the GPS stations, from IMPZ to POAL, and the effect increasing from IMPZ to POAL. This is possibly linked to the equatorward directed meridional wind. During the daytime on 08 April (the recovery phase continues), the VTEC observations show very small negative ionospheric storm at IMPZ but the positive ionospheric storm effect is observed from BRAZ to POAL possibly linked to enhancement of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly.     

The response of sporadic E-layer to the total solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 over the equatorial ionization anomaly region of the Indian zone

The digital ionosonde located in Bhopal (23.2°N, 77.2°E), India has been used to investigate the responses of the Es layer in the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crest to the total solar eclipse (TSE) of July 22, 2009. Results show the presence of intense Es layer during and after the eclipse period. The gravity waves induced by the solar eclipse propagated upward in the Es layer and produced the periodic disturbance. The results of the wavelet analysis display the presence of dominant oscillation of about 24–32, 16–20 and 8 min. The appearance of intense sporadic-E concomitantly with the signatures of gravity wave suggests that the wind shear introduced by the solar eclipse induced gravity wave might be the plausible mechanism behind the intensification of Es-layer ionization.     

Study of TEC changes during geomagnetic storms occurred near the crest of the equatorial ionospheric ionization anomaly in the Indian sector

GPS satellites data obtained at Bhopal (23.16° N, 77.36° E, geomagnetic latitude 14.23° N) India were analyzed to study the TEC changes during several geomagnetic storms (−300 nT < Dst < −50 nT) occurred in 2005–2007. We had segregated the storms according to the Dst value, i.e. moderate storms (−100 nT < Dst ? −50 nT), strong storms (−150 nT < Dst < −100 nT), and severe storms (Dst less than −150 nT). Total of 21 geomagnetic storms (10 moderate, 9 strong, 2 severe) are considered for the present study. Deviation in vertical total electron content (VTEC) during the main phase of the storm was found to be associated with the prompt penetration of electric field originated due to the under-shielding and over-shielding conditions for almost all geomagnetic storms discussed in this paper. For most of the storms VTEC shows the positive percentage deviation during the main phase while it shows positive as well as the negative deviation during the recovery phase of the storms. The −80% deviation in VTEC was found for geomagnetic storm occurred on July 17, 2005 and the negative trend continued for recovery phase of the storm. This was mainly due to the thermospheric composition changes by Joule heating effect at auroral latitudes that generate electric field disturbance at low latitudes. Traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) were responsible for the formation of wave like nature in VTEC for the storms occurred on May 15, 2005, whereas it was not observed for storm occurred on August 24, 2005.     

The solar eclipse and its associated ionospheric TEC variations over Indian stations on January 15, 2010

An annular solar eclipse occurred over the Indian subcontinent during the afternoon hours of January 15, 2010. This event was unique in the sense that solar activity was minimum and the eclipse period coincides with the peak ionization time at the Indian equatorial and low latitudes. The number of GPS receivers situated along the path of solar eclipse were used to investigate the response of total electron content (TEC) under the influence of this solar eclipse. These GPS receivers are part of the Indian Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) named as ‘GAGAN’ (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation) program. The eight GPS stations located over the wide range of longitudes allows us to differentiate between the various factors induced due to solar eclipse over the equatorial and low latitude ionosphere. The effect of the eclipse was detected in diurnal variations of TEC at all the stations along the eclipse path. The solar eclipse has altered the ionospheric behavior along its path by inducing atmospheric gravity waves, localized counter-electrojet and attenuation of solar radiation intensity. These three factors primarily control the production, loss and transport of plasma over the equatorial and low latitudes. The localized counter-electrojet had inhibited the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) in the longitude belt of 72°E–85°E. Thus, there was a negative deviation of the order of 20–40% at the equatorial anomaly stations lying in this ‘inhibited EIA region’. The negative deviation of only 10–20% is observed for the stations lying outside the ‘inhibited EIA region’. The pre-eclipse effect in the form of early morning enhancement of TEC associated with atmospheric gravity waves was also observed during this solar eclipse. More clear and distinctive spatial and temporal variations of TEC were detected along the individual satellite passes. It is also observed that TEC starts responding to the eclipse after 30 min from start of eclipse and the delay of the maximum TEC deviation from normal trend with respect to the maximum phase of the eclipse was close to one hour in the solar eclipse path.     

Low-latitude ionospheric scintillations and total electron content obtained with the CITRIS instrument on STPSat1 using radio transmissions from DORIS ground beacons

The primary objective of the Scintillation and Tomography Receiver in Space (CITRIS) is to detect ionospheric irregularities from space at low latitude. For this purpose, the satellite receiver uses the UHF and S-Band transmissions of the ground network of Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) beacons. CITRIS, developed at the Naval Research Laboratory, differs from the normal DORIS receiver by being able to capture and store the complex amplitude of the 401.25 and 2036.25 MHz transmissions at 200 Hz sample rate. Ground processing of the CITRIS data yields total electron content (TEC) and both phase and amplitude scintillations. With CITRIS flying on the US Space Test Program (STP) satellite STPSat1, 2 years of data were collected and processed to determine the fluctuations in ionospheric TEC and radio scintillations associated with equatorial irregularities. CITRIS flights over DORIS transmitters yield direct measurements of the horizontal plasma density fluctuations associated with equatorial plasma bubbles. Future flights of CITRIS can provide valuable complements to other satellite instruments such as GPS occultation receivers used to estimate vertical electron density profiles in the ionosphere.     

Variation of ionospheric total electron content in Taiwan region of the equatorial anomaly from 1994 to 2003

The ionospheric total electron content (TEC) in the northern hemispheric equatorial ionospheric anomaly (EIA) region is studied by analyzing dual-frequency signals of the Global Position System (GPS) acquired from a chain of nine observational sites clustered around Taiwan (21.9–26.2°N, 118.4–112.6°E). In this study, we present results from a statistical study of seasonal and geomagnetic effects on the EIA during solar cycle 23: 1994–2003. It is found that TEC at equatorial anomaly crests yield their maximum values during the vernal and autumnal months and their minimum values during the summer (except 1998). Using monthly averaged I_c (magnitude of TEC at the northern anomaly crest), semi-annual variations is seen clearly with two maxima occurring in both spring and autumn. In addition, I_c is found to be greater in winter than in summer. Statistically monthly values of I_c were poorly correlated with the monthly Dst index (r = −0.22) but were well correlated with the solar emission F_10.7 index (r = 0.87) for the entire database for the period during 1994–2003. In contrast, monthly values of I_c were correlated better with Dst (r ? 0.72) than with F_10.7 (r ? 0.56) in every year during the low solar activity period (1994–1997). It suggests that the effect of solar activity on I_c is a longer term (years), whereas the effect of geomagnetic activity on I_c is a shorter term (months).