小尺度重力波引起夜光云反照率变化的统计特征

利用AIM卫星搭载的CIPS云成像探测器获得的云图数据，提取2008-2009年南北半球共6664个小尺度重力波（波长10～150km）个例，通过重力波区域与背景云层反照率变化值的对比分析，研究重力波引起云层反照率的变化特征.结果表明，重力波引起的反照率变化值以正值为主，最大平均值4.48×10-6sr-1出现在南半球降交轨道.反照率变化值与IWC变化值正相关，相关系数均在0.85以上.重力波引起的反照率变化呈现出很强的纬度和时间依赖性，且几乎均为正值.反照率变化值在中期阶段（冬/夏至日之后的50天）的高纬地区（>70°）更大，但在中期以外始末阶段的低纬地区（<70°）逐渐变小，甚至开始出现负值.随着背景云层的增强，反照率平均值呈线性增大，小尺度重力波能够引起背景云层反照率约14.6%～28.8%的变化量.当重力波引起的反照率周期性变化的振幅逐渐增大时，反照率变化值也线性增大，变化率约为0.909%～1.194%.南半球的变化率整体比北半球稍小，这与背景大气条件的差异有关      

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.      

基于SABER的平流层顶温度的时空特征分析

利用SABER探测器2002—2017年超过一个太阳活动周的数据，以大气垂直方向上40～60km的最大温度作为平流层顶温度（T_sp），分析50°S—50°N T_sp的时空分布特征.结果表明:T_sp具有明显的纬度特征和季节特征，在赤道和南北半球夏季温度较高，而在南北半球冬季的40°—50°纬度附近温度有最低值.再利用EOF方法分析T_sp，发现其第一模态的解释率达91%，且时间系数与平流层顶高度相关性最大，为-0.75，与平流层顶臭氧体积混合比相关性约0.49，与日地距离相关性为0.44，与太阳活动性（太阳活动指数，太阳黑子数）的相关性约0.33.依据该相关关系，进一步分析各变量原始场，发现T_sp和平流层顶臭氧体积混合比的纬度变化近似相反；与日地距离的季节变化有明显的负相关，约-0.81，且这种相关性与日地距离有弱的正相关关系；年平均T_sp在2002—2017年的变化约为2K，与F_10.7的相关系数为0.6，在南北纬20°附近与太阳活动指数F_10.7的相关性最大，约0.74.      

顶部电离层总离子密度的经度变化

利用DMSP F13卫星1996—2005年共10年的观测数据,研究地磁中低纬地区黄昏时段(18:00LT)顶部电离层总离子密度经度变化的季节、地磁纬度和太阳活动变化特征.结果表明总的经度变化在低纬地区与中纬地区具有明显不同特征.不同经度结构的季节变化均以年变化为主,但纬度分布具有明显差异.一波结构主要集中在中纬地区,且南半球明显强于北半球;二波结构南北半球不对称性非常明显;三波结构和四波结构均为低纬地区明显强于中纬地区.通过分析不同波结构对总经度变化的贡献发现,一波结构在南半球中纬地区贡献最大,二波结构在12月前后的15°N附近贡献较大,三波结构和四波结构仅在低纬地区有较强贡献.在不同太阳活动条件下,不同波结构的贡献率有明显变化.     

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.      

顶部电离层总离子密度经度的变化

利用DMSP F13卫星1996-2005年共10年的观测数据,研究地磁中低纬地区黄昏时段(18:00 LT)顶部电离层总离子密度经度变化的季节、地磁纬度和太阳活动变化特征.结果表明总的经度变化在低纬地区与中纬地区具有明显不同特征.不同经度结构的季节变化均以年变化为主,但纬度分布具有明显差异.一波结构主要集中在中纬地区,且南半球明显强于北半球;二波结构南北半球不对称性非常明显;三波结构和四波结构均为低纬地区明显强于中纬地区.通过分析不同波结构对总经度变化的贡献发现,一波结构在南半球中纬地区贡献最大,二波结构在12月前后的15°N附近贡献较大,三波结构和四波结构仅在低纬地区有较强贡献.在不同太阳活动条件下,不同波结构的贡献率有明显变化.      

F2层对地磁扰动的响应

利用37个电离层垂直探测站1974-1986年的数据,采用f0F2与地磁ap指数相关分析的方法,首次得到一个太阳活动周期各年东亚-澳大利亚扇区,欧洲-非洲扇区和美洲-东太平洋扇区F2层对地磁扰动响应随地磁纬度的分布.结果指出,地磁高纬和中纬地区为负响应,低纬和赤道地区为正响应,大约在±30°附近换向.最大正响应在磁赤道附近,最大负响应在地磁纬度±50°附近,最大负响应的幅度大于最大正响应的幅度.存在明显的经度差别和南北半球不对称性.     

平流层爆发性增温事件中大气准16日行星波

2014年1月上中旬高纬平流层发生弱增温事件,增温幅度约25K,纬向西风减弱并于2月初转向.行星波在平流层爆发性增温（SSW）事件产生中具有重要作用.利用北半球近东经120°链上中低纬5个流星雷达探测的风场数据,研究了此SSW事件发生前和发生期间中间层和低热层区（MLT）大气风场的行星波状况.结果显示,极区平流层增温前MLT区大气呈现出明显增强的准16日波动,增温达到最大时,16日波也最强,表明中低纬MLT区的行星波变化与SSW事件存在耦合关系.进一步利用欧洲中心平流层再分析资料数据,分析SSW期间北半球平流层的波动和零风线状况,发现平流层准16日波和零风线随时间由低纬向高纬移动,反映出16日波与SSW之间存在某种动力学联系.      

利用COSMIC数据研究顶部电离层O+扩散流的统计特征

从等离子体运动方程出发, 利用COSMIC星座的掩星数据, 借助相关经验模式, 计算了太阳活动低年顶部电离层O+场向扩散速度和扩散通量, 并分析了其全球分布和日变化特征. 结果表明, 白天等离子体扩散速度的方向随高度增加由向下(极向)逐步变为向上(赤道向), 方向转变的高度一般在hmF2+80 km以下. 在白天较高高度, 南北磁纬10o ~20 o存在着向上方向的最大扩散速度和扩散通量; 而在夜间, 南北磁纬30o~40 o存在向下方向的最大扩散速度和扩散通量. 在分点, 南北半球的扩散通量和扩散速度大致对称; 而在至点, 扩散通量存在着明显的南北半球不对称现象. 另外, 不同纬度的扩散速度有着不同的日变化特征.      

基于Cluster观测的磁尾场向电流在南北半球投影位置的分布

利用Cluster四颗卫星的磁场探测数据计算磁尾场向电流并投影到极区电离层,研究其投影位置在南北半球的分布规律,统计过程中去除了强磁暴（磁暴主相Dst<–100 nT）期间的场向电流事件。结果显示:磁尾场向电流事件在极区投影位置的纬度分布具有明显的南北半球不对称性,北半球为单峰结构,南半球为双峰结构。在北半球投影到较低纬度（<64°）的场向电流事件数目明显多于南半球,并且所能达到的最低纬度更低;在南半球投影到较高纬度（>74°）的场向电流事件数目明显多于北半球,并且所能达到的最高纬度更高。地磁平静条件下（|AL|<100 nT）,磁尾场向电流密度随磁地方时（MLT）呈递增趋势,这一结果与低高度卫星在极区对I区场向电流的探测结果符合很好。研究结果表明,磁尾场向电流投影位置的纬度分布呈现出明显的南北不对称性,这与南北半球磁尾场向电流的空间分布以及磁层中磁场结构具有密切关系。      

Temporal evolution of the EIA along 95°E as obtained from GNSS TEC measurements and SAMI3 model

The total electron content (TEC) derived from GNSS measurements at a trans-hemispheric meridional chain of ground stations around 95°E longitude are used to study the quiet time inter-hemispheric structure and dynamics of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) during the period March 2015 to February 2016. The stations are Dibrugarh (27.5°N, 95°E, 43° dip), Kohima (25.6°N, 94.1°E, 39° dip), Aizawl (23.7°N, 92.8°E, 36° dip), Port Blair (11.63°N, 92.71°E, 9° dip) and Cocos Islands (12.2°S, 96.8°E, 43° dip). The observation shows that the northern crest of the EIA lies in the south of 23°N (Aizawl) in all seasons but recedes further south towards the equator during December solstice. The largest poleward expansion of the northern (southern) EIA is observed in the March equinox (December solstice). The equinoctial and hemispherical asymmetry of TEC is noted. The winter anomaly is observed in the northern hemisphere but not in the southern hemisphere. The highest midday TEC over any station is observed in the March equinox. The TEC in southern summer (December solstice) is significantly higher than that in the northern summer (June solstice). The observed northern EIA contracts equatorward in the postsunset period of solstice but the southern EIA persists late into the midnight in the December solstice. The asymmetry may be attributed to the different geographic location of the magnetically conjugate stations. The SAMI3 simulations broadly capture the EIA structure and the inter-hemispheric asymmetry during solstices. The difference between observations and the SAMI3 is higher in March equinox and December solstice. The higher E?×?B vertical drift in the 90–100°E sector and the large geographic-geomagnetic offset in observing stations may have contributed to the observed differences.     

All-sky-imaging capabilities for ionospheric space weather research using geomagnetic conjugate point observing sites

Optical signatures of ionospheric disturbances exist at all latitudes on Earth—the most well known case being visible aurora at high latitudes. Sub-visual emissions occur equatorward of the auroral zones that also indicate periods and locations of severe Space Weather effects. These fall into three magnetic latitude domains in each hemisphere: (1) sub-auroral latitudes ～40–60°, (2) mid-latitudes (20–40°) and (3) equatorial-to-low latitudes (0–20°).Boston University has established a network of all-sky-imagers (ASIs) with sites at opposite ends of the same geomagnetic field lines in each hemisphere—called geomagnetic conjugate points. Our ASIs are autonomous instruments that operate in mini-observatories situated at four conjugate pairs in North and South America, plus one pair linking Europe and South Africa. In this paper, we describe instrument design, data-taking protocols, data transfer and archiving issues, image processing, science objectives and early results for each latitude domain. This unique capability addresses how a single source of disturbance is transformed into similar or different effects based on the unique “receptor” conditions (seasonal effects) found in each hemisphere. Applying optical conjugate point observations to Space Weather problems offers a new diagnostic approach for understanding the global system response functions operating in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.     

Hemispheric,seasonal and latitudinal dependence of storm-time ionosphere during low solar activity period

Analysis of the seasonal, hemispheric and latitudinal variation of the ionospheric F2 peak during periods of disturbed geomagnetic conditions in 2011, a year of low solar activity, had been studied using hourly data obtained from low- and mid-latitude ionosonde stations. Our results showed an enhancement in F2-layer maximum electron density (NmF2) at daytime over low latitudes. For the mid-latitude stations, NmF2 depletion pre-dominates the daytime and overturned at nighttime. In general, the variation in terms of magnitude is higher in the low-latitude than at mid-latitude. The nighttime decrease in NmF2 is accompanied by a corresponding F2 peak height (hmF2) increase and overturned at daytime. The hmF2 response during the equinoctial months is lower than the solstices. NmF2 shows distinct seasonal, hemispheric and latitudinal dependence in its response. Appearance of a significant ionospheric effect in southern hemisphere is higher than in the northern hemisphere, and is more pronounced in the equinoxes at low latitudes. At mid-latitudes, the ionospheric effect is insignificant at both hemispheres. A negative ionospheric response dominates the whole seasons at the mid-latitude except for March equinox. The reverse is the case for the hmF2 observation. The amplitudes of both the NmF2 and hmF2 increase with increasing latitude and maximize in the southern hemisphere in terms of longitude.     

Proposal for a reference model of the middle atmosphere of the southern hemisphere

Available rocketsonde information has been used to compile tables of monthly mean temperature, pressure, density and zonal wind for the middle atmosphere of the southern hemisphere with the purpose of revising similar tables presented to COSPAR earlier. The altitude range is 25 to 80 km in steps of 5 km. The latitude range is 0° to 70°S with a 10° step. The compatability of different sets of temperature measurements is discussed. Mean values of temperature, pressure and zonal wind obtained for the southern hemisphere are compared with northern hemisphere model values. Large differences between the hemispheres (up to 20°C in temperature, 20–30% in pressure, 30–50 m/s in wind) imply that reference atmospheres such as CIRA should be complemented by southern hemisphere climatology.     

Signatures of troposphere-stratosphere momentum coupling: Implications for global atmospheric angular momentum and earth rotation budgets

During January–August 1978, the global atmospheric angular momentum (M) exhibits distinct patterns of short term momentum interchange across latitudes. In the northern hemisphere winter-spring season, 30–50 day modulations of M are present in which momentum $\text{enhancements}$ at mid-latitudes (20–30°) are closely matched by momentum $\text{depressions}$ at high latitudes (50–60°). During the same interval there are no corresponding variations in M evident in the southern hemisphere. Conversely, during southern hemisphere fall-winter, similar anticorrelations in monthly scale momentum excursions are evident between mid and high latitudes. In the northern hemisphere, the winter-spring momentum signatures are detected throughout the atmosphere, from the lower troposphere to the stratosphere. During the southern hemisphere fall-winter, the modulation patterns are not evident at the higher altitudes. Structural details of the momentum signatures indicate that the coupling is sometimes effective on very short time scales, e.g. 1–2 days, or less. The evidence of distinct anti-correlation between large regions has interesting implications for studies of global atmospheric circulation, and also for studies of the excitation of variations in earth rotation in response to short term modulations of M.     

Negative VTEC with spherical harmonic expansion model under different solar activity conditions

The Earth’s ionosphere can be described by a spherical harmonic (SH) expansion up to a specific degree. However, there exist negative vertical total electron content (VTEC) values in the global ionosphere map (GIM) with the SH expansion model. In this contribution, we specifically investigated the negative VTEC values that are induced by the SH expansion model and validated the performance of the inequality-constrained least squares (ICLS) method in eliminating the negative VTEC values. The GPS data from 2004 to 2017 was selected to cover one solar cycle and the experiments under different solar activity conditions were analyzed. The results in our work show that the occurrence of the negative VTEC values is attributed to the deficiency of the SH expansion model when the VTEC itself is small instead of the unevenly distribution of the GNSS stations. The negative VTEC values appear periodically in the temporal domain, showing apparently one year and half year periods. During one year, two peaks in June and December can be observed in the time series of the negative VTEC values. The number of negative VTEC values in June is obvious larger than that in December. During one solar cycle, the number of negative VTEC values under quiet solar activity condition is obvious larger than that under strong solar activity condition. In the spatial domain, the appearance of the negative VTEC values is strongly related with the movement of the subsolar point. In the latitude of the subsolar point has the largest magnitude, the negative values will appear on the opposite hemisphere and the further from the subsolar point the more negative values. The maximum number of the negative VTEC values in the southern hemisphere appears in June, while the peak value in the northern hemisphere appears in December. The maximum number of negative VTEC values in the southern hemisphere is generally larger than that in the northern hemisphere. In addition, the negative VTEC values are distributed both at middle latitude and high latitude in the southern hemisphere, while they are mainly distributed at high latitude in the northern hemisphere. When the ICLS method is used, the negative VTEC values can be eliminated efficiently and it has nearly no influence on the positive VTEC values. The ICLS method can also improve the receiver’s differential code bias (DCB) and significantly decrease the unreasonable negative slant TEC (STEC) values along the lines of sight. Using the final GIM product of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPLG) as a reference, the root mean square (RMS) of the ICLS solution shows maximum 25%, 20% and 45% improvement relative to the least squares (LS) solution at northern high latitude, southern middle latitude and southern high latitude, respectively.     

On the performance of IRI-2016 to predict the North-South asymmetry of the equatorial ionization anomaly around 73°E longitude

The ionospheric total electron content (TEC) in both northern and southern Equatorial anomaly regions are examined by using the Global Positioning System (GPS) based TEC measurements around 73°E Longitude in the Asian sector. The TEC contour charts obtained at SURAT (21.16°N; 72.78°E; 12.9°N Geomagnetic Lat.) and DGAR (7.27°S; 72.37°E; 15.3°S Geomagnetic Lat.) over 73°E longitude during a very low solar activity phase (2009) and a moderate solar activity (2012) phase are used in this study. The results show the existence of hemispheric asymmetry and the effects of solar activity on the EIA crest in occurrence time, location and strength. The results are also compared with the TEC derived by IRI-2016 Model and it is found that the North-South asymmetry at the EIA region is clearly depicted by IRI-2016 with some discrepancies (up to 20% in the northern hemisphere at SURAT and up to 40% in the southern hemisphere at DGAR station for June Solstice and up to 10% both for SURAT and DGAR for December Solstice). This discrepancy in the IRI-2016 model is found larger during the year 2012 than that during the solar minimum year 2009 at both the hemispheres. Further, an asymmetry index, (A_i) is determined to illustrate the North-South asymmetry observed in TEC at EIA crest. The seasonal, annual and solar flux dependence of this index are investigated during both solstices and compared with the TEC derived by IRI.