磁暴期间电离层扰动的GPS台网观测分析

给出了一种利用GPS台网观测获取TEC快速变化的计算方法，并将该方法用于东亚一澳大利亚扇区的GPS台网观测数据，分析了2000年7月14—18H大磁暴期间的电离层响应，揭示出电离层暴期间赤道异常峰的压缩和移动等特性．计算结果表明，在站点分布不均匀、原始观测数据不足且随时间跳变等多种不利因素的影响下，这种新的算法仍能保持很好的计算稳定性，并能快速地提取给定时空范围内的三维TEC短时变化的特征，适用于研究电离层暴等情况下引起的TEC扰动．     

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.     

2004年11月一次磁暴期间全球电离层TEC扰动分析

利用全球分布的GPS原始观测数据提取的电离层总电子含量(TEC)分析了2004年11月6日至12日期间全球电离层暴的形态特点与发展过程.结果表明,11月8日磁暴主相期间电离层暴以大范围的强烈正暴为主,在11月10日的恢复相,Dst又一次降到最低值前后期间,电离层再次受到很强的扰动,大范围的正暴和负暴交替出现.这次磁暴期间夏季半球的负暴更加强烈,反映出负暴偏向于在夏季半球发生的季节变化特点.另外,磁暴期间,夜晚TEC值普遍比磁暴前的平静期要低,具体是什么机制导致还需要进一步收集数据和分析.      

磁暴期间全球TEC扰动特性分析

磁暴期间白天电离层总电子含量（TEC）大幅度扰动.TEC扰动与磁暴发生时的世界时（UT）有关.利用7年的数据对TEC对磁暴的响应进行统计研究.结果显示,磁暴期间白天TEC增大明显,且在午后TEC的增大比例有一个高峰.在18:00UT-04:00UT,南美地区与其他地区相比TEC增长较大,这可能与白天的光照有关.为了研究TEC变化与磁暴的关系,结合同样时间段的Dst指数,把TEC数据分为磁暴日（Dst<-100nT）和平静日（Dst>-50nT）.研究发现,将TEC前移2h,低纬日侧地区TEC增大值随着世界时的变化与Dst变化的负相关性较好,相关系数为-0.75.在中纬度地区,将TEC扰动前移1h,相关系数为-0.61.这可能是行进式大气扰动携带着赤道向的子午风,由极区向低纬传播引起.可以认为,TEC的变化可能是由磁暴引起的.在高纬地区,TEC增大值随着世界时的变化与Dst变化的相关性较差.这可能是由于太阳高度角较低,光辐射通量较小,导致电子密度的增加不明显.      

2008—2009年电离层对重现型地磁活动的响应

利用2008—2009年的GPS TEC数据,分析了电离层对冕洞引起的重现型地磁活动的响应. 结果表明,在太阳活动低年,电离层TEC表现出与地磁 ap指数（采用全球3h等效幅度指数ap来表征）和太阳风速度相似的9天和13.5天短周期变化,表明TEC的这种短周期特性主要与重现型地磁活动相关. 地磁纬度和地方时分析表明,夜间高纬地区正负相扰动明显,中低纬地区则以正相扰动为主,较大的TEC变幅主要发生在南北半球高纬地区,夜间南半球高纬地区TEC变化相对ap指数变化有相位延迟. 白天中低纬地区正负相扰动明显,TEC短周期变化与ap指数变化相位基本一致. 2008年TEC的9天和13.5天周期变化幅度大于2009年.      

地磁暴期间中国中低纬电离层的CIT研究

利用电离层层析成像技术(Computerized Ionospheric Tomography, CIT)处理115°E子午圈附近6个台站的GPS观测数据, 分析了2004年11月地磁暴期间中国中低纬电离层的响应情况. 结果表明, 电离层呈正相扰动, 且不同高度上的响应不同, 800 km以下电子密度有不同程度的增加, 且在峰值高度附近增幅最大, 800 km以上地磁暴的影响并不显著; 伴随地磁能量的注入, 赤道异常峰极向扩展; 随磁扰强度的降低, 电子密度也逐渐恢复至平静水平. 这些结果与以往的理论和观测结果一致, 初步估计扰动是由热层暴环流引起的, 并受到赤道异常峰移动的影响.      

1958年7月8日磁暴的电离层响应

本文用遍布全球的52个电离层垂测台站资料,研究1958年7月8日磁暴期间全球电离层扰动的发展变化;各扇区的响应特性;扰动的传播轨迹及速度等。获得以下结果:1.几大扇区的电离层扰动始于南北两极,美洲扇区除具这一特征外,其赤道地区在磁暴急始后不久,出现一个扰动中心,邻近区域的扰动受其控制。2.扰动由高纬向低纬发展,由扰动中心向外传播。3.扰动峰面几乎与地磁力线垂直,即扰动沿磁力线方向发展,其传播速度大约在150—600m/s范围。     

磁暴期间中低纬电离层暴形态和物理机制分析

本文利用东亚地区１２个低纬电离层台站的测高仪观测数据，对１９７８年８月２７日发生的一次曲型磁暴期间电离层峰值高度和密度的变化进行了分析。采用滑动平均区分开电离层中不同时间尺度的扰动，分析了影响中低纬度电离层暴的几种扰动形态特征，并对其物理机制进行了讨论。结果表明：伴随磁暴急始的磁层压缩，电离层中表现出峰值密度增加和峰值高度下降；磁暴主相期间热层大气暴环流及其所引起的中性大气成分变化控制着电离层的大     

全球电离层对2000年4月6-7日磁暴事件的响应

利用分布于全球的电离层台站的测高仪观测数据，对扰动期间，foF2值与其宁静期间参考值进行比较，研究了2000年4月6—7日磁暴期间全球不同区域电离层的响应形态，并通过对比磁扰期间NmF2的变化与由MSISR90经验模式估算的中性大气浓度比(no／nN2)的变化，探讨了本次事件期间的电离层暴扰动机制．结果表明，在磁暴主相和恢复相早期，出现了全球性的电离层F2层负相暴效应．最大负相暴效应出现在磁暴恢复相早期，即电离层暴恢复相开始时间滞后于磁暴恢复相开始时间．在磁暴恢复相后期，一些台站出现正相扰动．研究结果表明，本次事件期间的电离层暴主要是由磁暴活动而诱发的热层暴环流引起的．     

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.     

Statistical study of the time delay of ionospheric TEC storms to geomagnetic storms in Taoyuan,Taiwan

We have studied the time delay of ionospheric storms to geomagnetic storms at a low latitude station Taoyuan (25.02°N, 121.21°E), Taiwan using the Dst and TEC data during 126 geomagnetic storms from the year 2002 to 2014. In addition to the known local time dependence of the time delay, the statistics show that the time delay has significant seasonal characteristics, which can be explained within the framework of the seasonal characteristics of the ionospheric TEC. The data also show that there is no correlation between the time delay and the intensity of magnetic storms. As for the solar activity dependence of the time delay, the results show that there is no relationship between the time delay of positive storms and the solar activity, whereas the time delay of negative storms has weakly negative dependence on the solar activity, with correlation coefficient −0.41. Especially, there are two kinds of extreme events: pre-storm response events and long-time delay events. All of the pre-storm response events occurred during 15–20 LT, manifesting the Equator Ionospheric Anomaly (EIA) feature at Taoyuan. Moreover, the common features of the pre-storm response events suggest the storm sudden commencement (SSC) and weak geomagnetic disturbance before the main phase onset (MPO) of magnetic storms are two main possible causes of the pre-storm response events. By analyzing the geomagnetic indices during the events with long-time delay, we infer that this kind of events may not be caused by magnetic storms, and they might belong to ionospheric Q-disturbances.     

Responses of the African equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) to some selected intense geomagnetic storms during the maximum phase of solar cycle 24

This study investigates the morphology of the GPS TEC responses in the African Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) region to intense geomagnetic storms during the ascending and maximum phases of solar cycle 24 (2012–2014). Specifically, eight intense geomagnetic storms with Dst ≤ ?100 nT were considered in this investigation using TEC data obtained from 13 GNSS receivers in the East African region within 36–42°E geographic longitude; 29°N–10°S geographic latitude; ± 20°N magnetic latitude. The storm-time behavior of TEC shows clear positive and negative phases relative to the non-storm (median) behavior, with amplitudes being dependent on the time of sudden commencement of the storm and location. When a storm starts in the morning period, total electron content increases for all stations while a decrease in total electron content is manifested for a storm that had its sudden commencement in the afternoon period. The TEC and the EIA crest during the main phase of the storm is significantly impacted by the geomagnetic storm, which experiences an increase in the intensity of TEC while the location and spread of the crest usually manifest a poleward expansion.     

Investigation of ionospheric response to two moderate geomagnetic storms using GPS–TEC measurements in the South American and African sectors during the ascending phase of solar cycle 24

The responses of the ionospheric F region using GPS–TEC measurements during two moderate geomagnetic storms at equatorial, low-, and mid-latitude regions over the South American and African sectors in May 2010, during the ascending phase of solar cycle 24, are investigated. The first moderate geomagnetic storm studied reached a minimum Dst value of −64 nT at 1500 UT on 02 May 2010 and the second moderate geomagnetic storm reached a minimum Dst value of −85 nT at 1400 UT on 29 May 2010. In this paper, we present vertical total electron content (VTEC) and phase fluctuations (in TECU/min) from Global Positioning System (GPS) observations from the equatorial to mid-latitude regions in the South American and African sectors. Our results obtained during these two moderate geomagnetic storms from both sectors show significant positive ionospheric storms during daytime hours at the equatorial, low-, and mid-latitude regions during the main and recovery phases of the storms. The thermospheric wind circulation change towards the equator is a strong indicator that suggests an important mechanism is responsible for these positive phases at these regions. A pre-storm event that was observed in the African sector from low- to the mid-latitude regions on 01 May 2010 was absent in the South American sector. This study also showed that there was no generation or suppression of ionospheric irregularities by storm events. Therefore, knowledge about the suppression and generation of ionospheric irregularities during moderate geomagnetic storms is still unclear.     

Low latitude ionospheric TEC responses to dynamical complexity quantifiers during transient events over Nigeria

In this study, the values of chaoticity and dynamical complexity parameters for some selected storm periods in the year 2011 and 2012 have been computed. This was done using detrended TEC data sets measured from Birnin-Kebbi, Torro and Enugu global positioning system (GPS) receiver stations in Nigeria. It was observed that the significance of difference (SD) values were mostly greater than 1.96 but surprisingly lower than 1.96 in September 29, 2011. The values of the computed SD were also found to be reduced in most cases just after the geomagnetic storm with immediate recovery a day after the main phase of the storm while the values of Lyapunov exponent and Tsallis entropy remains reduced due to the influence of geomagnetic storms. It was also observed that the value of Lyapunov exponent and Tsallis entropy reveals similar variation pattern during storm period in most cases. Also recorded surprisingly were lower values of these dynamical quantifiers during the solar flare event of August 8th and 9th of the year 2011. The possible mechanisms responsible for these observations were further discussed in this work. However, our observations show that the ionospheric effects of some other possible transient events other than geomagnetic storms can also be revealed by the variation of chaoticity and dynamical complexity.     

Multi-station observation of ionospheric irregularities over South Africa during strong geomagnetic storms

This paper presents results pertaining to the response of the mid-latitude ionosphere to strong geomagnetic storms that occurred from 31 March to 02 April 2001 and 07–09 September 2002. The results are based on (i) Global Positioning Systems (GPSs) derived total electron content (TEC) variations accompanying the storm, (ii) ionosonde measurements of the ionospheric electrodynamic response towards the storms and (iii) effect of storm induced travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) on GPS derived TEC. Ionospheric data comprising of ionospheric TEC obtained from GPS measurements, ionograms, solar wind data obtained from Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and magnetic data from ground based magnetometers were used in this study. Storm induced features in vertical TEC (VTEC) have been obtained and compared with the mean VTEC of quiet days. The response of the mid-latitude ionosphere during the two storm periods examined may be characterised in terms of increased or decreased level of VTEC, wave-like structures in VTEC perturbation and sudden enhancement in hmF2 and h′F. The study reveals both positive and negative ionospheric storm effects on the ionosphere over South Africa during the two strong storm conditions. These ionospheric features have been mainly attributed to the travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) as the driving mechanism for the irregularities causing the perturbations observed. TEC perturbations due to the irregularities encountered by the satellites were observed on satellites with pseudo random numbers (PRNs) 15, 17, 18 and 23 between 17:00 and 23:00 UT on 07 September 2002.     

Traveling ionospheric disturbances observed at South African midlatitudes during the 29–31 October 2003 geomagnetically disturbed period

This paper presents traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) observations from GPS measurements over the South African region during the geomagnetically disturbed period of 29–31 October 2003. Two receiver arrays, which were along two distinct longitudinal sectors of about 18°-20° and 27°-28° were used in order to investigate the amplitude, periods and virtual propagation characteristics of the storm induced ionospheric disturbances. The study revealed a large sudden TEC increase on 28 October 2003, the day before the first of the two major storms studied here, that was recorded simultaneously by all the receivers used. This pre-storm enhancement was linked to an X-class solar flare, auroral/magnetospheric activities and vertical plasma drift, based on the behaviour of the geomagnetic storm and auroral indices as well as strong equatorial electrojet. Diurnal trends of the TEC and foF2 measurements revealed that the geomagnetic storm caused a negative ionospheric storm; these parameters were depleted between 29 and 31 October 2003. Large scale traveling ionospheric disturbances were observed on the days of the geomagnetic storms (29 and 31 October 2003), using line-of-sight vertical TEC (vTEC) measurements from individual satellites. Amplitude and dominant periods of these structures varied between 0.08–2.16 TECU, and 1.07–2.13 h respectively. The wave structures were observed to propagate towards the equator with velocities between 587.04 and 1635.09 m/s.