华南地区电离层闪烁的时空分布特征研究

利用位于赤道异常区的广州(23.17°N, 113.34°E)和茂名(21.45°N, 111.31°E)两台站2011年7月至2012年6月观测到的GPS电离层闪烁数据, 分析比较了这两地电离层闪烁出现的逐月变化及地方时变化和空间分布特征. 结果表明, 中等强度闪烁(S₄ > 0.4)和强闪烁(S₄ > 0.6)的出现均呈现明显季节分布规律, 两站的闪烁活动均表现出春秋强, 冬夏弱的特点, 在时间上主要发生在20:00LT-24:00LT; 从空间分布来看, 两站的闪烁活动在2011年秋季, 闪烁出现的区域比较分散, 而在2012年春季, 主要在两站上空区域出现的闪烁最为频繁.      

北驼峰区电离层GPS卫星闪烁事件时空特征及对通信的影响

基于子午工程北大深圳站（22.59°N,113.97°E）电离层GPS双频接收机在2011年1月1日至2017年12月31日连续7年的长时间序列闪烁和TEC观测数据,分析不同太阳活条件下华南赤道异常北驼峰区观测到的GPS卫星L波段电离层闪烁事件时空分布特征及其对通信的影响.结果表明:GPS闪烁事件几乎都发生在夜间,且主要发生在春秋分月份;在不同太阳活动条件下,夜间GPS闪烁事件都主要发生在北驼峰区域靠近磁赤道的一侧,且GPS闪烁事件存在明显的东-西侧天区不对称性,即在台站西侧天区发生的闪烁事件明显偏多;在不同太阳活动条件下,弱闪烁事件伴随的TEC耗尽和卫星失锁事件比例相对较低,强闪烁事件则大部分都伴随着TEC耗尽和卫星失锁事件的发生.      

第24太阳活动周中国地区电离层闪烁统计特性研究

利用第24太阳活动周中国多个地区GNSS电离层闪烁监测站数据,统计分析中国中低纬地区电离层闪烁特性.结果显示:电离层闪烁主要发生在春秋分及夜间20:00—02:00LT时段;在28°N以南地区,纬度越低电离层闪烁强度和发生概率越高;电离层闪烁发生概率与太阳活动呈正相关,太阳活动上升年电离层闪烁发生概率高于下降年;不同强度地磁活动条件下,电离层闪烁均可能发生,且与地磁活动强度整体呈负相关.通过研究电离层闪烁统计特性,可以为电离层闪烁机理的深入研究、预报及工程应用提供参考.      

利用聚类算法区分小尺度电离层行扰事件与赤道等离子体泡事件

利用Swarm卫星2015年1月1日至2019年12月31日的50Hz高频磁场数据，根据阈值判断垂直于主磁场方向的扰动，对磁纬45°N-45°S之间的小尺度电离层行扰事件进行探测.为避免混淆而产生的干扰，可以根据阈值判断平行于主磁场方向是否发生扰动，从而排除典型的赤道等离子体泡事件.但对于较弱的赤道等离子体泡事件，扰动阈值判断无效.为避免弱赤道等离子体泡事件的污染，根据小尺度电离层行扰事件和赤道等离子体泡事件在不同参数空间中的密度分布差异，利用基于密度的聚类算法将赤道等离子体泡事件进一步甄别提取.结果表明，聚类算法能够有效地将赤道等离子体泡事件从小尺度电离层行扰事件中甄选出来，并使小尺度电离层行扰事件聚类与赤道等离子体泡事件聚类形成清晰的边界.由聚类算法导出的弱赤道等离子体泡事件主要分布在磁纬15°N-15°S，地理经度20°-60°W，月份10至3月之间，并且在20:00MLT-24:00MLT存在高发生率，同时依赖于太阳活动，这也验证了前人的相关研究结果.      

利用TIE-GCM模式计算电离层电流及夜间电离层磁场

电离层电流产生的磁场是地磁场卫星测绘时需要剔除的干扰源.利用电离层热层模式TIE-GCM计算电离层中的中性风、重力驱动和压强梯度等形成的电离层电流的全球分布,分析电流在特定位置产生的磁场及磁场三分量随纬度的变化规律.结果表明,E层尤其是磁赤道和极区的电流密度较大,可达103nA·m-2量级,F层电流密度量级约为10nA·m-2.在磁静日（Kp≤ 1）夜间22:00LT-04:00LT,电离层电流在中低纬度（南北纬50°之间）产生的磁场量级为几个nT,且磁场的南北向分量和径向分量基本大于东西向分量.通过与CHAMP卫星磁测数据分析比较,发现TIE-GCM模式计算电离层干扰磁场在中低纬度可以取得较好的结果,但在高纬度地区的效果不理想,还需进一步改进模式以提高计算精度.      

一次中等磁暴期间全球电离层TEC及ROTI指数变化分析

地磁暴发生时,电离层会有偏离平均水平的强烈扰动.基于全球电离层TEC及其时间变化率ROTI(Rate of TEC Index)数据,对2014年8月一次中等强度磁暴期间的全球电离层影响进行了分析,探讨了磁暴所引发电离层暴的可能机制.研究发现,本次磁暴伴随有明显的电离层暴效应.磁暴期间:南半球电离层以正相暴为主,北半球电离层暴则整体表现为短暂正相暴后长时间强的负相暴;电离层在北半球的下降比南半球强,并且这种下降持续了约一周时间;低纬区域电离层变化幅度明显小于中纬区域,高纬区域则主要表现为负暴效应;赤道北驼峰出现了明显的南移现象,直至磁赤道两侧双驼峰结构消失.对磁暴期间三个不同扇区的电离层ROTI变化的分析表明:欧洲-非洲扇区磁暴前有电离层闪烁发生,磁暴发生后消失,而东亚-澳大利亚及美洲扇区则无此现象出现.研究结果表明,此次磁暴期间的电离层变化存在明显的时间和空间差异.     

一次中等磁暴期间全球电离层TEC及ROTI指数变化分析

地磁暴发生时,电离层会有偏离平均水平的强烈扰动.基于全球电离层TEC及其时间变化率ROTI(Rate of TEC Index)数据,对2014年8月一次中等强度磁暴期间的全球电离层影响进行了分析,探讨了磁暴所引发电离层暴的可能机制.研究发现,本次磁暴伴随有明显的电离层暴效应.磁暴期间:南半球电离层以正相暴为主,北半球电离层暴则整体表现为短暂正相暴后长时间强的负相暴;电离层在北半球的下降比南半球强,并且这种下降持续了约一周时间;低纬区域电离层变化幅度明显小于中纬区域,高纬区域则主要表现为负暴效应;赤道北驼峰出现了明显的南移现象,直至磁赤道两侧双驼峰结构消失.对磁暴期间三个不同扇区的电离层ROTI变化的分析表明:欧洲-非洲扇区磁暴前有电离层闪烁发生,磁暴发生后消失,而东亚-澳大利亚及美洲扇区则无此现象出现.研究结果表明,此次磁暴期间的电离层变化存在明显的时间和空间差异.     

用GPS 观测研究电离层TEC 水平梯度

双频GPS 用户能自动修正电离层总电子含量(TEC) 引起的延时误差, 但是对于电离层中的不规则体造成的信号闪烁而引起的误差则不能消除. 即使是差分GPS 系统, 电离层误差仍然是其主要的误差源, 其中电离层TEC 梯度将会影响到系统的定位精度和性能. 本文用GPS 方法研究了电离层TEC 的水平梯度问题, 用处于赤道异常区NTUS 台站的GPS 观测数据作了具体计算. 结果表明, 在日落以后到子夜前后电离层垂直TEC 出现了大的涨落, 电离层中的不规则体导致L 波段信号强的闪烁, 同时还伴随着大而快速变化的电离层~TEC 水平梯度. 对比发现, ROTI指数、电离层TEC 水平梯度和电离层垂直TEC 三者之间有很好的对应关系, 它们的变化特征均由电离层中的不规则体引起. 我们认为研究电离层闪烁, 特别是在缺乏S4指数时, 电离层TEC 梯度也可以作为一个重要的可选参数.      

磁暴期间中国中低纬电离层不规则体与扰动分析

2017年9月8日发生了一次强磁暴，Kp指数最大值达到8.利用区域电离层格网模型（Regional Ionosphere Map，RIM）和区域ROTI（Rate of TEC Index）地图，分析了磁暴期间中国及其周边地区电离层TEC扰动特征和低纬地区电离层不规则体的产生与发展情况，同时利用不同纬度IGS（International GNSS Service）测站BJFS（39.6°N，115.9°E），JFNG（30.5°N，114.5°E）和HKWS（22.4°N，114.3°E）的GPS双频观测值，获取各测站的ROTI和DROT（Standard Deviation of Differential ROT）指数变化趋势.结果表明:此次磁暴发生期间电离层扰动先以正相扰动为主，主要发生在中低纬区域，dTEC（differential TEC）最大值达到14.9TECU，随后电离层正相扰动逐渐衰减，在低纬区域发生电离层负相扰动，dTEC最小值达到-7.2TECU；在12:30UT-13:30UT时段，中国南部低纬地区发生明显的电离层不规则体事件；相比BJFS和JFNG两个测站，位于低纬的HKWS测站的ROTI和DROT指数变化更为剧烈，这表明电离层不规则体结构存在纬度差异.      

广州地区上空电离层F_2层异常

广州电离层观测站位于磁赤道附近(地磁经纬度:183.0°E,11.5°N).根据对18个站电离层资料的分析,广州站位于f_0F_2极大值双驼峰现象北侧的位置;在太阳活动高年期间,f_0F_2极大值在夜间仍然保持存在;另外,电离层骚扰发生的次数多于国内各电离层观测站发生的次数.这些特性都是F_2层赤道异常现象.     

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.     

Assessment of improvement of the IRI model over Ethiopia for the modeling of the variability of TEC during the period 2013–2016

This paper discusses the monthly and seasonal variation of the total electron content (TEC) and the improvement of performance of the IRI model in estimating TEC over Ethiopia during the solar maximum (2013–2016) phase employing as reference the GPS derived TEC data inferred from four GPS receivers installed in different regions of Ethiopia; Assosa (geog 10.05°N, 34.55°E, Geom. 7.01°N), Ambo (8.97°N, 37.86°E, Geom. 5.42°N), Nazret (8.57°N, 39.29°E, Geom. 4.81°N) and Arba Minch (6.06°N, 37.56°E, Geom. 2.62°N). The results reveal that, in the years 2013–2016, the highest peak GPS-derived diurnal VTEC is observed in the March equinox in 2015 over Arba Minch station. Moreover, both the arithmetic mean GPS-derived and modelled VTEC values, generally, show maximum and minimum values in the equinoctial and June solstice months, respectively in 2014–2015. However, in 2013, the minimum and maximum arithmetic mean GPS-derived values are observed in the March equinox and December solstice, respectively. The results also show that, even though overestimation of the modelled VTEC has been observed on most of the hours, all versions of the model are generally good to estimate both the monthly and seasonal diurnal hourly VTEC values, especially in the early morning hours (00:00–03:00?UT or 03:00–06:00?LT). However, it has also been shown that the IRI 2007 and IRI 2012 versions generally perform best in matching the diurnal GPS derived TEC values as compared to that of the IRI 2016 version. In addition, the IRI 2012 version with IRI2001 option for the topside electron density shows the highest overestimation of the VTEC as compared to the other options. None of the versions of the IRI model are proved to be able to capture the effects of geomagnetic storms.     

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.     

Pre-earthquake ionospheric anomalies before three major earthquakes by GPS-TEC and GIM-TEC data during 2015–2017

The dual-frequency satellite-based measurements from Global Positioning System (GPS) may provide feasible ways of studying and potentially detecting of earthquake (EQ) related anomalies in the ionosphere. In this paper, GPS based Total Electron Content (TEC) data are studied for three major M?>?7.0 EQs in Nepal and Iran-Iraq border during 2015–2017 by implementing statistical procedures on temporal and spatial scale. Previous studies presented different time interval of pre-seismic ionospheric anomalies, however, this study showed that EQs ionospheric precursors may occur within 10?days. Furthermore, the ionospheric anomalies on the suspected day occurred during UT?=?08:00–12:00?h before the main shock. The Global Ionospheric Map TEC (GIM-TEC) data retrieved over the epicenter of M7.8 (Nepal EQ) showed a significant increase of 6 TECU on April 24, 2015 (one day before the main shock), which is recorded by the ground GPS station data of Islamabad (station lies within the EQ preparation zone). Furthermore, the spatial GIM-TEC result imply significant anomalies over the epicenter during the time interval between UT?=?08:00–12:00?h (LT?=?13:00–17:00). For M7.3 (Nepal EQ), the TEC anomalies were detected on May 10, 2015 (2?days before the event) in the temporal data. The spatial TEC data imply the huge clouds over the epicenter at about UT?=?08:00–12:00?h on May 10, 2015, that may be associated with this EQ in the quiet geomagnetic storm conditions. Similarly, temporal and spatial TEC showed anomaly on November 3, 2017, during UT?=?08:00–12:00 (9?days before the Iran-Iraq border EQ) after implementing the statistical method on it. Conversely, there exists a short-term but low magnitude TEC anomaly synchronized with a geomagnetic storm on November 7–8, 2017 (4 to 5?days prior to M7.3 Iran-Iraq border EQ). The diurnal and hourly GIM-TEC and VTEC data also imply the execution of ionospheric anomalies within 10?days prior to all events. All these positive anomalies in TEC may be due to the existence of a huge energy from the epicenter during the EQ preparation period.     

Variability study of ionospheric total electron content at crest of equatorial anomaly in China from 1997 to 2007

The variation of TEC data at Wuhan station (geographic coordinate: 30.5°N, 114.4°E; geomagnetic coordinate: 19.2°N, 183.8°E) at crest of equatorial anomaly in China from January 1997 to December 2007 were analyzed. Variability with solar activity, annual, semiannual, diurnal and seasonal variation were also analyzed. The MSIS00 model and ISR model were used to analyze the possible mechanisms of the variabilities found in the results. The TEC data in 1997 and 2001 deduced from another crest station Xiamen (geographic coordinate: 24.4°N, 118.1°E; geomagnetic coordinate: 13.2°N, 187.4°E) were used to contrast. Analysis results show that long-term variations of TEC at Xiamen station are mainly controlled by the variations of solar activities. Typical diurnal variation behaves as a minimum of the TEC in the pre-dawn hours around 05:00–06:00LT and a maximum on the afternoon hours around 13:00–15:00LT. Some features like the semiannual anomaly and winter anomaly in TEC have been reported. The anomaly may be the result of common action of the electric field over the magnetic equatorial and the [O/N₂] at the crest station.     

Latitudinal features of Total Electron Content over the African and European longitude sector following the St. Patrick’s day storm of 2015

GNSS TEC values have been obtained from 18 stations distributed from the magnetic equator to nearly 80°N magnetic dip in the African and west-European longitude sector corresponding to the March 17–18, 2015 geomagnetic storm. Significantly depleted ionosphere have been observed at stations north of 50°N geographic on March 18, 2015 following the above storm over a longitude swath 11.9°–21°E covering the Eastern Africa and Western European longitude sector. High ROTI values were noted on March 17^th at locations around 80°N magnetic dip. Two prominent peaks in PCN were noted around 09:00 UT and 14:00 UT on March 17, 2015 and around 15:00 UT on March 18, 2015. Daytime thermospheric (O/N₂) ratio was markedly less on March 18th at latitudes above 60°N geographic which is suggested to be the major driver behind depleted high latitude ionosphere during the recovery phase of the storm on March 18, 2015.     

L-band nighttime scintillations at the northern edge of the EIA along 95°E during the ascending half of the solar cycle 24

The characteristics of nighttime ionospheric scintillations measured at the L-band frequency of 1.575 GHz over Dibrugarh (27.5°N, 95°E, MLAT ～ 17°N, 43° dip) during the ascending half of the solar cycle 24 from 2010 to 2014 have been investigated and the results are presented in this paper. The measurement location is within or outside the zone of influence of the equatorial ionization anomaly depending on solar and geomagnetic activity. Maximum scintillation is observed in the equinoxes irrespective of solar activity with clear asymmetry between March and September. The occurrence frequency in the solstices shifts from minimum in the June solstice in low solar activity to a minimum in the December solstice in high solar activity years. A significant positive correlation of occurrence of scintillations in the June solstice with solar activity has been observed. However, earlier reports from the Indian zone (～75°E) indicate negative or no correlation of scintillation in June solstice with solar activity. Scintillations activity/occurrence in solstices indicates a clear positive correlation with Es recorded simultaneously by a collocated Ionosonde. In equinoxes, maximum scintillations occur in the pre-midnight hours while in solstices the occurrence frequency peaks just after sunset. The incidence of strong scintillations (S₄ ≥ 0.4) increases with increase in solar activity. Strong (S₄ ≥ 0.4) ionospheric scintillations accompanied by TEC depletions in the pre-midnight period is attributed to equatorial irregularities whereas the dusk period scintillations are related to the sporadic-E activity. Present results thus indicate that the current location at the northern edge of the EIA behaves as low as well as mid-latitude location.     

Total electron content variations in equatorial anomaly region

Diurnal variations in the total electron content (TEC) at Makerere University (00°19′N, 32°40′E, Geo Dip −22°), Uganda, have been investigated using a NovAtel GSV400B GPS receiver for the year 2010. The highest TEC values occurred from 13h00 to 17h00 local time (LT) throughout the year, with the highest values being exhibited during equinoctial months. In addition, there was some correlation between this high TEC and the moderate storms that occurred in 2010. These high TEC values have been attributed to the solar EUV ionization coupled with the upward vertical ExB drift. Nighttime enhancements were also found to be seasonally dependant, attaining maximum values during equinoctial months. These results were also compared with modeled TEC values by the IRI-2007 model. The modeled values were in good agreement with the measured values except for these two points: (1) the model had a short-fall in predicting the nighttime enhancements; and (2) the model’s minimum TEC did not coincide with the measured minimum in most of the months. Observed TEC depletions were found to correlate with an increase in the S₄ index and have been identified as a manifestation of the plasma density depletions of the equatorial origin.