太阳活动与热层大气密度的相关性研究

为分析太阳活动对热层大气的影响,使用250km,400km,550km高度处热层大气密度与太阳F_10.7指数数据,研究了二者的周期变化及相关关系. 结果表明,热层大气密度的变化与太阳活动呈现相似的变化趋势;两者均具有显著的27天及11年周期变化特征,热层大气密度还存在7～11天及0.5年和1年的变化特征,且高度越高越明显;热层大气密度对太阳活动的最佳响应滞后为3天,无论何种地磁活动水平下,400km高度处相关性高于250km,550km处相关性最小,且太阳活动下降相期间高于上升相;250km,400km和550km高度处热层大气密度和太阳活动的统计结果分别为饱和、线性和放大关系;高度越高的热层大气密度对太阳活动响应越敏感.     

第23太阳活动周热层大气密度对太阳辐射指数F10.7响应的模拟研究

利用NCAR-TIEGCM计算了第23太阳活动周期间（1996—2008年）400km高度上的大气密度,并统计分析大气密度对太阳辐射指数FF_10.7的响应.结果表明,在第23太阳活动周内,大气密度的变化趋势与太阳辐射指数FF_10.7的变化趋势基本一致,但是大气密度在不同年份、不同月份对太阳辐射指数FF_10.7的响应存在差异.第23太阳活动周内太阳辐射极大值和极小值之比大于4,而大气密度的极大值与极小值之比则大于10.太阳辐射低年的年内大气密度变化不到2倍,而太阳辐射高年的年内大气密度变化可达2倍甚至3倍.大气密度与FF_10.7指数在北半球高纬的相关系数比南半球高纬的相关系数大.在低纬地区,太阳辐射高年大气密度与FF_10.7指数的相关系数比低年的大.不同纬度上,大气密度与太阳辐射指数FF_10.7的27天变化值之间的相关系数都大于其与81天变化值之间的相关系数.      

强地震活动事件期间热层大气密度异常变化的探测结果

地震活动一直是人类非常关注的自然灾害事件, 其对热层大气密度的影响还不是非常清楚. 2008年5月12日中国四川汶川发生震级8.0级强震事件, 随后, 在6月14日日本本州东部, 7月5日鄂霍次克海和7月19日日本本州东海岸发生震级7.0~7.6级强震事件, 利用期间中国星载大气密度探测器在630 km高度上就位探测的热层大气密度对探测结果进行综合分析, 结果表明, 强地震震源中心区域上空附近热层大气密度出现异常降变. 在时间上, 强地震发生前1~3天内就已开始出现大气密度降变, 强地震发生日附近降变达到谷值, 降变比达0.40~0.65. 这种降变的纬度区域范围震前位于强震中心所处纬度的±3º~±9º, 强震发生当日扩大到±8º~±20º.     

不同强度磁暴期间热层大气密度响应特征分析

利用CHAMP卫星数据,对2002-2008年12个不同强度磁暴事件期间的热层大气密度变化特征进行分析,并研究对应磁暴期间大气模式NRLMSISE-00分布特征.结果表明,大磁暴期间日侧大气密度峰值从高纬到低纬的时间延迟为2h,中小磁暴期间的延迟时间为3～4h;春秋季暴时大气密度分布基本呈南北对称分布,而夏冬季大气密度的分布是夏半球大于冬半球,春秋季暴时大气密度大于夏冬季;NRLMSISE-00大气模式得到的热层大气密度很好的体现了半球分布以及季节分布的特征,但模式模拟结果偏小;Dst指数峰值比ap指数峰值更能反应大气密度的变化情况.     

神舟3号运行高度上大气密度的变化

神舟3号(SZ-3)大气密度探测器搭载在SZ-3留轨舱上于2002年3月发射入轨,在轨运行期间获得了轨道舱运行高度范围(330-410km)内的大气密度数据.数据分析表明,无明显太阳和地磁扰动时,热层大气密度的主要变化之一是日照和阴影区域之间的涨落变化,最大涨落变化比约为3.0,变化比与太阳和地磁活动程度有关.在2002-04-17和2002-04-19的强地磁扰动时,全球热层大气密度上涨,同时在磁扰峰期探测获得30°N-40°N区域出现密度扰动异常现象.对强地磁扰动在运行轨道高度上大气密度最大涨幅约为60%左右,响应过程在时间上要比地磁扰动过程滞后6-7h,日照和阴影区域中大气密度的响应变化程度明显不同.在太阳活动程度发生变化时,热层大气密度会呈现出明显的正相关变化关系.     

神舟二号大气密度探测器的探测结果Ⅱ.在太阳和地磁扰动期间高层大气密度的变化

选用了Sz—2大气密度探测器在2001年2—4月间的探测数据,进行日照和阴影区域热层大气密度对太阳和地磁活动程度的响应变化的探讨．结果表明,日照区大气密度峰值主要随F10.7值而变,在地磁扰动期间,阴影区大气密度对扰动的响应更明显,通常响应变化开始于高纬度地区,然后向低纬度地区推移．     

550～600 km高度上热层大气密度的中长期变化

选用了2005年8月20日至2006年7月28日高度550～600 km附近的热层大气密度探测数据,对表征太阳活动的F10.7值和表征地磁活动强度的Ap指数进行了相关特性的统计.分析结果表明,在无明显地磁扰动时热层大气密度日平均值的涨落呈现27日和准半年的周期性变化,但在地磁扰动期间这种变化的周期性会被削弱,且大气密度的周日变化幅度与F10.7值呈正相关关系.     

2005年8月24日强磁暴事件对高层大气密度的扰动

对2005年8月24日发生的突发型强磁暴(Kp峰值达到9)事件,利用星载大气密度探测器在轨实时的连续探测数据进行了处理和分析.结果表明,此次强磁暴事件期间,引起560 km高度附近大气密度剧烈扰动,并存在着两种响应过程.一种是跟随地磁扰动程度变化的全球性大气密度涨落变化,响应时间滞后6h左右, 最大涨落变化比为2.5;另一种为磁暴峰期出现在高纬地区的大气密度突发性跃增,增变比高达5.5.后者存在着区域上的不对称性及时间上的突发性和增幅的差异.此次强磁暴峰期还同时出现了南北半球高纬地区的大气密度跃增双峰.同时还表明这种增变峰可能存在着由高纬向低纬地区迅速推移的现象,在中纬地区推移速度可达15°/h(纬度)左右.      

强磁暴期间TIEGCM模式与CHAMP卫星热层大气密度的比较分析

利用NCAR-TIEGCM模式计算了2003年11月20—21日强磁暴期间410km高度上的大气密度,并与CHAMP/STAR加速度计反演数据进行对比和分析. 结果表明,模式结果能够准确反映磁暴期间大气密度的分布和变化情况,与实测结果在变化趋势和量级上具有较好的一致性,但在精细结构和数值大小上仍存在一定差异. 模式低估了磁暴期间大气密度的增幅,实测大气密度增幅高达250%～400%,而模式结果为100%～125%. 模式结果与实测数据的偏差在高纬地区高于低纬地区,日侧高于夜侧. 通过模式和实测数据的分析发现,磁暴期间大气密度扰动具有日夜侧和南北半球不对称性. 此外,模式能够准确反映磁暴期间大气密度扰动从高纬向低纬的传播以及大气密度对SYM-H指数响应的延迟特性.     

低纬100—200km间电子数密度的变化

利用光化平衡模式计算了低纬100—200km间白天电子数密度的变化。求得E-F₁谷区的谷深,谷宽、谷高的变化特征。获得如下结果:a.太阳活动明显影响电子数密度随高度及太阳天顶角的变化,发现太阳活动指数与电子数密度间不仅存在正相关,而且存在负相关;b.太阳活动明显影响E-F₁谷区的形态。在一定太阳活动条件下,对同一太阳赤纬和地理纬度,谷深、谷宽与太阳天顶角的关系难以用一简单函数来表示;c.太阳耀斑、地磁活动对该区电子密度有明显影响;d.在讨论100—200km间电子密度时不能忽略O⁺（2P）和NO的光电离率。     

Variations of the O(D) and O(S) peak volume emission rates without direct solar effects

Airglow volume emission rates of the O(¹D) red line at 630.0 nm and the O(¹S) green line at 557.7 nm were measured by the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) on the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS) during 1991–1997. Focus of this study is on the peak volume emission rates of the two airglows after removing the direct solar effect, which are referred to as the ‘dark’ peak emission rates. The main results are as follows. For the red line emission, at low and mid-latitudes the daytime variation does not have a clear pattern except an enhancement at dusk; during nighttime there is an enhancement in the equatorial region at 20–03 h, which has a semiannual variation with maxima at equinoxes; at solstices the daytime O(¹D) dark emission rate is stronger in winter than in summer. For both the green line E-and F-layers the distribution of the dark peak volume emission rate is symmetric about noon in all seasons, symmetric about the equator at equinoxes, and stronger in summer than in winter. The O(¹S) E-layer is profoundly affected by tides. For the first time the diurnal and semidiurnal amplitudes for the emission rates are derived using 24-h zero-sun data. The amplitude of the diurnal tide can be as large as 20% of the mean peak volume emission rate, and has maxima at the equator and about 40°N/S, and minima at about 20°N/S. The daily diurnal maximum is at noon at the equator but at midnight at 40°N/S. There is a clear semiannual variation of the diurnal amplitude in the equatorial region with maxima at equinoxes. The amplitude of the semidiurnal tide is mostly less than 10% of the mean peak volume emission rate with maximum amplitudes at noon and midnight. There is an annual variation of the semidiurnal amplitude at mid-latitudes peaking in summer. Aurorae appear in all three emission layers day and night. The green aurorae are brighter than the red aurorae, and the green E-layer aurorae are 2–3 times stronger than the F-layer aurorae. The green aurora has a clear midday gap in the F-layer and an afternoon gap in the E-layer. The red aurorae are particularly strong in the so-called cusp region at equinoxes.     

Variation in the ionospheric propagating factor M(3000)F2 at Ouagadougou,Burkina Faso

We use hourly monthly median values of propagation factor M(3000)F2 data observed at Ouagadougou Ionospheric Observatory (geographic12.4°N, 1.5°W; 5.9^o dip), Burkina Faso (West Africa) during the years Januar1987–December1988 (average F10.7 < 130 × 10⁻²² W/m²/Hz, representative of low solar flux conditions) and for January 1989–December1990 (average F10.7 ? 130 × 10⁻²² W/m²/Hz, representative of high solar epoch) for magnetically quiet conditions to describe local time, seasonal and solar cycle variations of equatorial ionospheric propagation factor M(3000)F2 in the African region. We show that that seasonal trend between solar maximum and solar minimum curves display simple patterns for all seasons and exhibits reasonable disparity with root mean square error (RMSE) of about 0.31, 0.29 and 0.26 for December solstice, June solstice and equinox, respectively. Variability Σ defined by the percentage ratio of the absolute standard deviation to the mean indicates significant dissimilarity for the two solar flux levels. Solar maximum day (10–14 LT) and night (22–02 LT) values show considerable variations than the solar minimum day and night values. We compare our observations with those of the IRI 2007 to validate the prediction capacity of the empirical model. We find that the IRI model tends to underestimate and overestimate the observed values of M(3000)F2, in particular, during June solstice season. There are large discrepancies, mainly during high solar flux equinox and December solstice between dawn and local midnight. On the other hand, IRI provides a slightly better predictions for M(3000)F2 between 0900 and 1500 LT during equinox low and high solar activity and equinox high sunspot number. Our data are of great importance in the area of short-wave telecommunication and ionospheric modeling.     

Ray Structure of the Coronal Streamer Belt and Its Manifestation as Sharp Large Peaks of Solar Wind Plasma Density at the Earth''''s Orbit

The white-light corona calibrated data with processing level L1 from the LASCO-C2/SOHO instrument, and data from the Wind spacecraft with one-hour and one-minute time resolution on quasi-stationary slow (v between 300-450 km/s at the Earth's orbit) the Solar Wind (SW) parameters in the absence of sporadic SW streams are examined. Within distances from the Sun's center less than R in the range of 20-30 Rs, (Rs, the solar radius), slow wind is known as the streamer belt, and at larger distances it is called the He-liospheric Plasma Sheet (HPS). It is shown that the streamer belt comprises a sequence of pairs of rays. In general, ray brightnesses in each pair can differ, and the magnetic field is oppositely directed in them. The neutral line of the radial magnetic field of the Sun runs along the belt between the rays of each of the pairs. The area in which the streamer belt intersects the ecliptic plane and which lies at the central meridian, will be recorded at the earth's orbit with a time delay of 5-6 days, in the form of one or several peaks with Nmax> 10cm-3. Furthermore, the simplest density profile of the portion of the HCS has the form of two peaks of a different or identical amplitude . The such a profile is observed in cases where the angle of intersection of the streamer belt with the ecliptic plane near the Sun is sufficiently large, i.e. close to 90°. The two-ray structure of the cross-section of the streamer-belt moves from the Sun to the Earth, it retains not only the angular size of the peaks but also the relative density variations, and the position of the neutral line (sector boundary) in between. At the Earth's orbit the ray structure of the streamer belt provides the source for sharp (i.e. with steep fronts of a duration of a few minutes or shorter) solar wind plasma density peaks (of a duration of several hours) with maximum values Nmax> 10cm-3.     

A laboratory study on the thermally induced transformation of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) to the cyanogen anion (CN) in Solar System analog ices

Mixtures of molecular nitrogen and methane have been identified in numerous outer Solar Systemices including the icy surfaces of Pluto and Triton. We have simulated the interaction of ionizing radiation in the Solar System by carrying out a radiolysis experiment on a methane – molecular nitrogen ice mixture with energetic electrons. We have identified the hydrogen cyanide molecule as the most prominent carbon–nitrogen-bearing reaction product formed. Upon warming the irradiated sample, we followed for the first time the kinetics and temporal evolution of the underlying acid–base chemistry which resulted in the formation of the cyanide ion from hydrogen cyanide. On the surfaces of Triton and Pluto and on comets in Oort’s cloud this sort of complex chemistry is likely to occur. In particular, hydrogen cyanide can be produced in low temperature environments (Oort cloud comets) and may be converted into cyanide ions once the comets reach the warmer regions of the Solar System.     

Dependence of the F-region peak electron density (foF2) on solar activity observed in the equatorial ionospheric anomaly region in the Brazilian sector

The long-term (solar cycle) changes in the Sun and how it affects the ionospheric F-region observed at São José dos Campos (23.2° S, 45.9° W), Brazil, a location under the southern crest of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly, have been investigated in this paper. The dependence of the F-region peak electron density (foF2) on solar activity during the descending phase of the 23rd solar cycle for the periods of high, medium, and low solar activity has been studied. The ionospheric F-region peak electron densities observed during high and medium solar activity show seasonal variations with maxima close to the equinox periods, whereas during the low solar activity the maxima during the equinox periods is absent. However, during the low solar activity only change observed is a large decrease from summer to winter months. We have further investigated changes in the different ionospheric F-region parameters (minimum virtual height of the F-region (h′F), virtual height at 0.834foF2 (hpF2), and foF2) during summer to winter months in low solar activity periods, 2006–2007 and 2007–2008. Large changes in the two ionospheric parameters (hpF2 and foF2) are observed during summer to winter months in the two low solar activity periods investigated.     

Variation of F-region critical frequency (foF2) over equatorial and low-latitude region of the Indian zone during 19th and 20th solar cycle

The effect of solar cycle and seasons on the daytime and nighttime F-layer ionization has been investigated over the equatorial and low-latitude region during 19th (1954–1964) and 20th (1965–1976) solar cycle. The F-layer critical frequency (foF2) data observed from the three Indian Ionosonde stations has been used for the present study. The dependence of foF2 on solar cycle has been examined by performing regression analysis between the foF2 values and R₁₂ (twelve month running average sunspot number). The result shows that the magnitude of the cycle, seasons and the location of station has considerable effects on foF2. There is a significant nonlinear relationship between the foF2 values and R₁₂ during 19th solar cycle as compared to 20th solar cycle. Further, the nighttime saturation effect is prominently seen during the 19th solar cycle and summer season. It is also observed that the most profound saturation effect appears at the equatorial ionization anomaly crest region. Seasonally, it is seen that all the stations exhibits semiannual anomaly. The phenomenon of winter anomaly decays as we move higher along the latitude and is prominently seen during the intense solar activity.     

Pre-storm behaviour of NmF2 and TEC (GPS) over equatorial and low latitude stations in the Indian sector

The pre-storm behavior of NmF₂ and TEC over an equatorial station, Trivandrum (8.47°N, 76.91°E, dip 0.6°S) and a low latitude station, Waltair (17.7°N,83.3°E, dip 20°N) has been studied for a total of 18 strong geomagnetic storms with DST ? −100 nT. The simultaneous measurements of GPS-TEC and NmF₂ over Trivandrum and Waltair during the period 2000–2005 have been considered for the present study. It is found that there is a substantial increase in NmF₂ and TEC before the onset of the storm over Waltair, while the increase is not present at Trivandrum. The origin of pre-storm enhancements in electron density still remains unresolved owing to several conditions in their potential sources and occurrence mechanisms. In the present study an attempt is made to identify the possible mechanisms responsible for such enhancements in electron density of the F-region.