Lower ionosphere response to external forcing: A brief review

There are two ways of external forcing of the lower ionosphere, the region below an altitude of about 100 km: (1) From above, which is directly or indirectly of solar origin. (2) From below, which is directly or indirectly of atmospheric origin. The external forcing of solar origin consists of two general factors – solar ionizing radiation variability and space weather. The solar ionization variability consist mainly from the 11-year solar cycle, the 27-day solar rotation and solar flares, strong flares being very important phenomenon in the daytime lower ionosphere due to the enormous increase of the solar X-ray flux resulting in temporal terminating of MF and partly LF and HF radio wave propagation due to heavy absorption of radio waves. Monitoring of the sudden ionospheric disturbances (SIDs – effects of solar flares in the lower ionosphere) served in the past as an important tool of monitoring the solar activity and its impacts on the ionosphere. Space weather effects on the lower ionosphere consist of many different but often inter-related phenomena, which govern the lower ionosphere variability at high latitudes, particularly at night. The most important space weather phenomenon for the lower ionosphere is strong geomagnetic storms, which affect substantially both the high- and mid-latitude lower ionosphere. As for forcing from below, it is caused mainly by waves in the neutral atmosphere, i.e. planetary, tidal, gravity and infrasonic waves. The most important and most studied waves are planetary and gravity waves. Another channel of the troposphere coupling to the lower ionosphere is through lightning-related processes leading to sprites, blue jets etc. and their ionospheric counterparts. These phenomena occur on very short time scales. The external forcing of the lower ionosphere has observationally been studied using predominantly ground-based methods exploiting in various ways the radio wave propagation, and by sporadic rocket soundings. All the above phenomena are briefly mentioned and some of them are treated in more detail.     

X级质子耀斑的特征研究

为了更加准确地判断X级耀斑是否引发质子事件,对X级质子耀斑和非质子耀斑的耀斑积分通量、源区、CME速度、CME角宽度、背景太阳风速度及背景X射线通量的分布进行了统计研究.发现非质子耀斑和质子耀斑的积分通量、经度、CME速度和CME角宽度具有明显不同的分布.非质子耀斑大多集中在东部,耀斑积分通量小于0.3J·m-2,CME速度小于1300km·s-1的区域内;质子耀斑大多集中在中部或西部,耀斑积分通量大于0.3J·m-2,CME速度大于1300km·s-1的区域内.质子耀斑伴随的CME角宽度主要集中在360°,非质子耀斑的CME角宽度分布则相对分散.两类耀斑的背景太阳风速度和背景X射线通量分布差别不大.利用两类耀斑各个参量分布上的差异,有望提高X级耀斑预报的准确率.      

基于PCA方法对太阳活动区主要参量的分析

太阳耀斑与太阳质子事件的发生通常与太阳活动区存在非常密切的关系, 对这种关系的深入分析有助于太阳耀斑和太阳质子事件预报模型的建立. 本文利用主成分分析(Principal Component Analysis, PCA)方法对1997-2010年太阳质子事件所在活动区的主要参量进行分析, 选取的参量包括黑子磁分类、 McIntosh分类、太阳黑子群面积、10.7 cm射电流量、耀斑指数、质子耀斑位置和软X射线耀斑强度. 结果得到81个太阳活动主成分得分值排序(得分值代表每个事件的强弱), 与太阳质子事件峰值流量、太阳黑子年均值以及10.7 cm射电流量年均值的对比显示相似度非常高, 表明主成分得分值一定程度上可以反映太阳活动的强弱规律.      

Ionospheric heating due to solar flares as measured by SROSS-C2 satellite

The data on thermal fluctuations of the topside ionosphere have been measured by Retarding Potential Analyser (RPA) payload aboard the SROSS-C2 satellite over the Indian region for half of the solar cycle (1995–2000). The data on solar flare has been obtained from National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) Boulder, Colorado (USA) and other solar indices (solar radio flux and sunspot number) were download from NGDC website. The ionospheric electron and ion temperatures show a consistent enhancement during the solar flares. The enhancement in the electron temperature is 28–92% and for ion temperature it is 18–39% compared to the normal day’s average temperature. The enhancement of ionospheric temperatures due to solar flares is correlated with the variation of sunspot and solar radio flux (F10.7cm). All the events studied in the present paper fall in the category of subflare with almost same intensity. The ionospheric electron and ion temperatures enhancement have been compared with the IRI model values.     

Impulsive acceleration during gradual type solar radio flares

Gradual rise and fall type solar radio flares recorded at 37 GHz (8 mm wavelength) are analysed and compared with simultaneous soft and hard X-ray events. Emission measures and plasma temperatures were calculated from the GOES soft X-ray data, and optically thin thermal bremsstrahlung flux at 37 GHz was calculated assuming the same emitting volumes. The main emission mechanism behind the millimeter wave radio flares was determined to be thermal bremsstrahlung although many of the flares showed impulsive, non-thermal features. The radio flares were compared with simultaneous BATSE hard X-ray events, but significant temporal correlation was not found. It is suggested that there might be two different types of gradual radio flares, connected to gradual or more impulsive hard X-ray events. Another explanation for the observed two types would be different viewing angles to the emitting regions.     

质子事件上升时间及峰值强度的统计研究

在耀斑已基本确定为质子耀斑的情况下, 为了对即将到达地球的太阳质子作出半定量的粗略预报(警报), 即估计从观测到光学耀斑开始, 需经多长时间质子通量将到达峰值;峰值强度有多大。为此, 我们收集了1967年5月—1972年12月约五年半期间国外发表的比较系统的质子事件资料, 以及相应的太阳耀斑和太阳射电资料。      

同无黑子耀斑相协的微波爆发机制的探讨

1980—1984年期间,我们在云南天文台9375MHz,3653MHz和2902 HHz三个波段的射电观测资料中,查到11组微波爆发与无黑子耀斑相伴随。本文研究了这些爆发与耀斑的大气层高度,射电爆发类型以及通过落进峰值流量-时间图的位置,确认出爆发机制是活动区中作麦克斯韦分布电子的热轫致辐射。     

一种短波SID监测记录及其在太阳X射线耀斑观测中的应用

本文介绍了北京大学目前进行的电离层观测中的一种SID地面连续监测设备;着重讨论它在太阳耀斑观测方面的应用.通过对1982-1983年资料的分析表明,此方法对太阳耀斑活动十分敏感.所记录到的SID现象与世界上其他主要台站的报告基本上一致.文中介绍的几个实例说明有可能利用SID形态研究耀斑时的X射线强度的时间演变.统计结果还表明1-8A谱段的X射线峰值流量与SID扰动强度之间满足一个较简单的关系式,可据此对较大的太阳X射线耀斑的峰值流量做出估计.      

第21～24太阳周4类空间天气事件爆发特征统计分析

对第21～24太阳周不同等级的太阳X射线耀斑事件、太阳质子事件、地磁暴事件及高能电子增强事件的爆发频次特征进行统计,结果表明:太阳周耀斑爆发的总数量与该太阳周的黑子数峰值呈正比,耀斑总数、X级耀斑事件数与峰值的相关系数分别为0.974,0.997;太阳质子事件主要发生在峰年前后1～2年,约占总发生次数的80%,峰值通量大于10pfu （1 pfu=1 cm-2·sr-1·s-1）的质子事件中,84%伴有耀斑爆发,并且主要伴随M或X级耀斑,少量伴随C级耀斑,峰值通量大于1000pfu的质子事件中,98%伴随M或X级耀斑,并且以X级耀斑为主;第21,22,23和24太阳周发生地磁暴最频繁的时间分别在1982,1991,2003年和2015年,分别滞后黑子数峰值时间3年、2年、2年和1年;72%的高能电子增强事件发生在太阳周下降期,24%的高能电子增强事件发生在太阳周上升期.      

Investigating the Coronal Mass Ejections associated with DH type-II radio bursts and solar flares during the ascending phase of the solar cycle 24

We studied a set of 74 CMEs, with shedding the light on the halo-CMEs (HCMEs), that are associated with decametric – hectometric (DH) type-II radio bursts (1–16?MHz) and solar flares during the period 2008–2014. The events were classified into 3 groups (disk, intermediate, and limb events) based on their longitudinal distribution.We found that the events are mostly distributed around 15.32° and 15.97° at the northern and southern solar hemispheres, respectively. We found that there is a clear dependence between the longitude and the CME’s width, speed, acceleration, mass, and kinetic energy. For the CMEs’ widths, most of the events were HCMEs (～62%), while the partial HCMEs comprised ～35% and the rest of events were CMEs with widths less than 120°. For the CMEs’ speeds, masses, and kinetic energies, the mean values showed a direct proportionality with the longitude, in which the limb events had the highest speeds, the largest masses, and the highest kinetic energies. The mean peak flux of the solar flares for different longitudes was comparable, but the disk flares were more energetic. The intermediate flares were considered as gradual flares since they tended to last longer, while the limb flares were considered as impulsive flares since they tended to last shorter.A weak correlation (R?=?0.32) between the kinetic energy of the CMEs and the duration of the associated flares has been noticed, while there was a good correlation (R?=?0.76) between the kinetic energy of the CMEs and the peak flux of the associated flares. We found a fair correlation (R?=?0.58) between the kinetic energy of the CMEs and the duration of the associated DH type-II radio bursts.     

The impact of large solar events on the total electron content of the ionosphere at mid latitudes

Ionospheric disturbances associated with solar activity may occur via two basic mechanisms. The first is related to the direct impact on the ionosphere of EUV photons from a flare, and the second by prompt electric field penetration into the magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms. In this paper we examine the possibility that these two mechanisms may have an impact at mid latitudes by calculating the total electron content (TEC) from GPS stations in Mexico during several large X-ray flares. We have found that indeed large, complex flares, which are well located, may affect the mid latitude ionosphere. In fact, in the solar events of July 14, 2000 and April 2001 storms, ionospheric disturbances were observed to increase up to 138 and 150 TECu, respectively, due to the influence of EUV photons. Also, during the solar events of July 2000, April 2001, Halloween 2003, January 2005 and December 2006, there are large ionospheric disturbances (up to 393 TECu in the Halloween Storms), due to prompt penetration electric field, associated with CME producing geomagnetic storm.     

2006年12月13日太阳射电暴对GPS观测的影响

日地空间环境不仅影响航天器运行和安全, 也是导航、定位和通信等无线 电应用系统主要的误差源. 其中来自太阳L波段的射电暴被认为是全球导航卫星 系统(GNSS)稳定和性能的潜在威胁因素, 当L波段射电爆发达到一定阈值时, 将给用户带来不同程度的射电噪声干扰, 严重时会引起接收机失锁和定位服务 中断. 本文对2006年12月13日太阳射电暴对GPS造成的影响进行了研究, 利用太阳射电 观测数据、L波段闪烁观测数据和向阳面不同区域的GPS观测网数据, 分析 GPS观测对射电暴的响应. 结果表明, 此次事件对GPS观测产生了明显的影响, 射 电暴期间GPS发生幅度闪烁事件和明显失锁现象, 多个台站上空的多颗GPS 卫星 信号完全中断长达6min左右, 且多个台站上空锁定的卫星数目小于4颗, 使 得GPS定位完全失效. 相对而言, 射电暴期间日下点附近的GPS台站受到的影响 比远离日下点的大.      

Study of ionospheric D region changes during solar flares using MF radar measurements

During solar flares, the X-ray radiation suddenly increases, resulting in an increase in the electron density of the atmospheric D region and a strong absorption of short-wave radio waves. Based on Langfang medium frequency (MF) radar, this paper analyzed the variation characteristics of D region in the lower ionosphere from 62 km to 82 km. The analysis focused on multiple C-level and M-level solar flare events before and after the large-scale flare event at 11:53 (UT) on September 6, 2017. The results show that it is difficult to detect the electron density over 70 km in Langfang during solar flares, but the electron density value can be obtained as low as 62 km, and the stronger the flare intensity, the lower the detectable electron density height. Besides, the equal electron density height, the received power of X and O waves will also be significantly reduced during the flares, and the reduction of equal electron density height has a weak linear relationship with flare intensity.     

VLF相位突然异常与太阳X射线事件相关性的分析

本文通过实测的VLF信号的SPA事件的数据和太阳X射线爆发通量密度之间的相关分析,建立了它们之间的数值关系.由于在SPA事件时,电离层高度的变化与太阳X射线爆发的通量密度之间的相关性很好,可以利用SPA事件的数据来估算太阳X射线爆发的强度.因为大气的吸收,在地面上不能直接观测X射线强度.作为一个实例,用推出的数值关系,计算了1982年6月3日的一次SPA事件,并与X射线爆发的数据作了比较.      

SMY和第21太阳周期间地磁及太阳活动特点的分析

本文比较第17—21太阳周黑子数、地磁A_p指数、各周极大年≥2级耀斑数、磁暴数及第一、二、三大磁暴情况;分析了≥2级耀斑数及磁暴的分布。21周3级耀斑对应磁暴比例低于19、20周,Ⅳ型及米波射电爆发是产生磁暴的重要条件。进一步分析了21周最大磁暴、最大射电爆发引起的磁暴,最严重的电离层短波通讯干扰及有明亮物质抛射的大耀斑、双带大耀斑引起的磁暴等典型例子。最后对SMY期间22个无黑子耀斑作了分析,它们可能引起中小幅度的磁暴。      

E10.7指数在软X射线谱段的修正应用

表征EUV辐射通量的E10.7指数在越来越多的研究和应用中被用来代替传统的F10.7指数.X射线对地球D层和E层的电离起着重要作用,但由于D层观测数据的不足和E层电离源的多样性,难以被用来考虑X射线对电离层的影响.火星电离层下层的电离源几乎是单一的软X射线,这为研究X射线对电离层的作用提供了可能性.通过研究火星电离层下层的峰值电子浓度对E10.7的依赖关系,发现即便经过必要的修正,这种关系对不同的观测时段并不具备一致性.通过理论推导和数据分析,得到了一种特别用于描述太阳软X射线辐射通量的新指数,即Xs指数,用来替代E10.7指数.Xs指数在描述火星电离层下层对太阳辐射的依赖关系时,不同的观测时段有很好的一致性,表明Xs指数在表征太阳软X射线辐射强度方面比E10.7指数更加合适.      

CME–flare association during the 23rd solar cycle

The relation between coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares are statistically studied. More than 10,000 CME events observed by SOHO/LASCO during the period 1996–2005 have been analyzed. The soft X-ray flux measurements provided by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), recorded more than 20,000 flares in the same time period. The data is filtered under certain temporal and spatial conditions to select the CME–flare associated events. The results show that CME–flare associated events are triggered with a lift-off time within the range 0.4–1.0 h. We list a set of 41 CME–flare associated events satisfying the temporal and spatial conditions. The listed events show a good correlation between the CME energy and the X-ray flux of the CME–flare associated events with correlation coefficient of 0.76.     

太阳X射线耀斑与LF天波的SPA效应

本文根据武昌电离层观象台的LF天波的SPA观测记录,分析了SPA效应的一些统计特性;从理论上对X射线的流量和LF天波的SPA效应之间的定量关系作了进一步研究,并根据LF天波的反射特性和标准大气模式计算了不同季节、不同太阳天顶角、上、下午不同时间的SPA效应的特性,发现SPA效应除具有季节差别外,还有上、下午的不对称性、同时揭示了SPA效应与X射线的对数流量之间的关系呈非线性相关.理论结果与实验结果相比较,两者很好地吻合.      

太阳质子事件警报

采用人工神经网络预报方法,利用太阳耀斑的日面位置、X射线辐射的峰值流量及其上升时间、2695MHz和8800MHz微波辐射的半积分流量等5个物理参量,提出了一个新的太阳质子事件警报方案,预报太阳质子事件的发生及其流量和时间．该方案在本文检验中达到93．75％的预报准确率．     

太阳质子耀斑X射线辐射特征及质子事件警报

太阳质子耀斑X射线辐射特征的研究, 为太阳质子事件的警报提供一个重要的途径和方法。本文分析了第21周太阳活动峰年(1977—1986)期间质子耀斑和相应的GOES和SMM卫星观测的X射线辐射资料, 结果表明:大部分质子耀斑的硬X射线峰值流量F_HX≥104s/c;积分流量F₀≥106counts;硬X射线辐射到达峰值时间T_R≥100s;持续时间T_D≥103s;X光子最高能量E_x≥300keV;平均能谱指数√r≤3.5;高能时延T_L≥10s。利用这些X射线暴的特征参数, 对第21周峰年大质子事件作警报检验, 结果是:报准率为94％, 虚报率为40％。