Study of mid-latitude ionospheric convection during quiet and disturbed periods using the SuperDARN Hokkaido radar

Westward ionospheric convective flows around midnight are frequently observed at mid-latitudes. They can be generated by so-called disturbance dynamo mechanisms working mainly in the mid-latitudes. To understand the influence of disturbance dynamo effects in the mid-latitudes, we studied the latitudinal distribution of westward flows in association with several kinds of geomagnetic disturbances using the SuperDARN Hokkaido radar. This radar creates high temporal resolution (1 s to 2 min), two-dimensional observations measuring the line-of-sight velocities of ionospheric plasma irregularities, which can be regarded as line-of-sight velocities of ionospheric convection in the mid-latitude region from 40° to 50°. This region could not be monitored using preexisting SuperDARN radars. In this study, we used ionospheric echo data obtained by the SuperDARN Hokkaido radar over 5 years (December 2006 to November 2011). We identified westward flows around midnight at about 40° to 55° geomagnetic latitude. Additionally, the data showed that the westward flow around midnight intensified under high geomagnetic activity (high Kp). This suggests that the disturbance dynamo could affect the mid-latitude ionospheric convection. We performed Superposed Epoch Analysis (SEA) to study the influences from the geomagnetic disturbances on mid-latitude ionospheric convection. We found no obvious influence during major storms (minimum Dst below −60 nT). SEA was also used to study the temporal and latitudinal dependence on the influences from substorms. From analysis of 36 events of AL-defined substorms, we saw that the influence of substorms lasted from 5 to 20 h after the onset between 44° and 53° geomagnetic latitude. The westward flow at mid-latitude grew to a maximum at 12 h after the geomagnetic substorm onset. This is consistent with the results of past numerical simulation studies of the disturbance dynamo effects.     

Dynamics of the convection in the inner magnetosphere by observations of the diffuse aurora,SAR arc and ionospheric drift

The first results of the comparison of subauroral luminosity dynamics in 557,7 and 630,0 nm emission with simultaneous measurements of the ionospheric drift in the F2 region with a digisonde DPS-4 at the Yakutsk meridian (CGMC: 55–60N, 200°E) at Kp = 2–6 are presented. It is shown from the analysis of individual events that during the magnetospheric convection intensification after the turn of the IMF B_z – component to the south the equatorward extension of diffuse aurora takes place. At the same time the westward ionospheric drift velocity increases both in the diffuse aurora region and much equatorward of it due to the occurrence of the northward polarization electric field. We suppose that the generation of polarization field can be associated with the development of the region 2 FAC during the intensification of magnetospheric convection. The comparison of ground-based observations with measurements of the plasma drift aboard the DMSP-F15 satellite has been carried out.     

Comparison of topside electron density computed by ionospheric models and plasma density observed by DMSP satellites

Electron density obtained by IRI (topside options NeQuick and IRI-Corr) and NeQuick models in their standard versions have been compared with plasma density values measured by F13 and F15 DMSP satellites for years of different solar activities. A statistical study of the differences between modeled and experimental data has been carried out to investigate each model performance.     

Local ionospheric electron density profile reconstruction in real time from simultaneous ground-based GNSS and ionosonde measurements

The purpose of the LIEDR (local ionospheric electron density profile reconstruction) system is to acquire and process data from simultaneous ground-based total electron content (TEC) and digital ionosonde measurements, and subsequently to deduce the vertical electron density distribution above the ionosonde’s location. LIEDR is primarily designed to operate in real time for service applications and, for research applications and further development of the system, in a post-processing mode. The system is suitable for use at sites where collocated TEC and digital ionosonde measurements are available. Developments, implementations, and some preliminary results are presented and discussed in view of possible applications.     

二维计算机图象检测系统

目前,利用机器视觉系统监测生产过程和进行质量控制是一个非常活跃的研究领域。当把视觉系统用于几何量测量时,必须解决其硬件的分辨力极限所带来的问题:测量精度高意味着测量范围小,或者,测量范围大意味着测量精度低。提出了解决上述问题的方法:一个由步进电机驱动的XY工作台与图象处理系统相结合。产生出一个多坐标系统结构。测量参数在两个坐标系之间传送,并在100mm×100mm范围内,在X和Y两个方向,达到的测量精度为0.02mm。     

Comparisons of foF2 with IRI model and equatorial vertical drifts

Measurements of the critical frequency, foF2 recorded over Ibadan: 7.4°N, 3.9°E (geographic), 6°S (dip angle) have been compared with the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2007) model for solar maximum geomagnetically quiet conditions, with a view to determining what modifications might bring about better predictions for the model. Our results reveal that the present version of IRI essentially reproduces diurnal trends and the general features of the experimental observations for all seasons, except for nighttime June solstice periods, which the model seriously overestimated. The model errors ranging from 50% to 125% over the four seasons considered in this study. It is also indicated that the percentage relative deviations between the observed and the modeled values vary approximately from −11% to 12% (March), −34% to 11% (June), −16% to 12% (September), and −10% to 13% (December). An unexpected feature of foF2 is obvious and remarkable reduction in values during nighttime June solstice periods compared to that in other seasons. Relationship between equatorial vertical drift and foF2 is also investigated. However, cross correlation analysis reveals strong anti-correlation between vertical drift and critical frequency during the daytime hours, but exceptionally opposite is the case for the nighttime sector. The discrepancies which are noted, particularly during June solstice season are attributed to processes most likely within the thermosphere and from meteorological influences during quiet magnetic conditions.     

Accuracy of IRI profiles of ionospheric density and temperatures derived from comparisons to Kharkov incoherent scatter radar measurements

The incoherent scatter radar (ISR) facility in Kharkov, Ukraine (49.6°N, 36.3°E) measures vertical profiles of electron density, electron and ion temperature, and ion composition of the ionospheric plasma up to 1100 km altitude. Acquired measurements constitute an accurate ionospheric reference dataset for validation of the variety of models and alternative measurement techniques. We describe preliminary results of comparing the Kharkov ISR profiles to the international reference ionosphere (IRI), an empirical model recognized for its reliable representation of the monthly-median climatology of the density and temperature profiles during quiet-time conditions, with certain extensions to the storm times. We limited our comparison to only quiet geomagnetic conditions during the autumnal equinoxes of 2007 and 2008. Overall, we observe good qualitative agreement between model and data both in time and with altitude. Magnitude-wise, the measured and modeled electron density and plasma temperatures profiles appear different. We discovered that representation accuracy improves significantly when IRI is driven by observed-averaged values of the solar activity index rather than their predictions. This result motivated us to study IRI performance throughout protracted solar minimum of the 24th cycle. The paper summarizes our observations and recommendations for optimal use of the IRI.     

A MARS-based method for estimating regional 2-D ionospheric VTEC and receiver differential code bias

The geometry-free linear combination of dual-frequency GNSS reference station ground observations are currently used to build the Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) model of the ionosphere. As it is known, besides ionospheric delays, there are differential code bias (DCB) of satellite (SDCB) and receiver (RDCB) in the geometry-free observation equation. The SDCB can be obtained using the International GNSS Service (IGS) analysis centers, but the RDCB for regional and local network receivers are not provided. Therefore, estimating the RDCB and VTEC model accurately and simultaneously is a critical factor investigated by researchers. This study uses Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) to estimate the VTEC approximate model and then substitutes this model in the observation equation to form the normal equation. The least squares method is used to solve the RDCB and VTEC model together. The research findings show that this method has good modeling effectiveness and the estimated RDCB has good reliability. The estimated VTEC model applied to GPS single-frequency precise point positioning has better positioning accuracy in comparison to the IGS global ionosphere map (GIM).     

A global survey of COSMIC ionospheric peak electron density and its height: A comparison with ground-based ionosonde measurements

With a network of ground-based ionosondes distributed around the world, the ionospheric peak electron density and its height measured by FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellites in terms of GPS radio occultation technique are extensively examined in this article. It is found that, in spite of the latitude, the mean values of the peak electron density measured by COSMIC satellites are systematically smaller than those observed by ground-based ionosondes. The discrepancy between them is dependent on the latitude, namely, it is small in low and mid-latitudes and large in high-latitude region. Moreover, statistical analysis shows that the slopes of the regression line that is best fitted to the scatter diagram of occultation-retrieved peak electron density (ordinate axis) versus ionosonde-observed peak density (abscissa axis) are universally less than one. This feature is believed to be the result of path average effect of non-uniform distribution of the electron density along the GSP ray during the occultation. A comparison between COSMIC-measured peak height and ionosonde-derived peak height hmF2 indicates that the former is systematically higher than the latter. The difference in the two can be as large as 20% or more in equatorial and low-latitude regions. This result implies that the peak height hmF2 derived from the virtual height through true height analysis based on Titheridge method seems to underestimate the true peak height. The correlation between COSMIC and ionosonde peak electron densities is analyzed and the result reveals that correlation coefficient seems to be dependent on the fluctuation of the occultation-retrieved electron density profile. The correlation will be higher (lower) for the electron density profiles with smaller (larger) fluctuations. This feature suggests that the inhomogeneous distribution of the electron density along the GPS ray path during the occultation plays an important role affecting the correlation between COSMIC and ionosonde measurements.     

Multi-station observation of ionospheric disturbance of March 9 2012 and comparison with IRI-model

The magnetic storm of 9 March 2012 is a single step intense storm (Dst = −143 nT) whose main phase begins around 0100 UT and lasted for almost 11 h. The increases in NmF2 recorded 33% and 67% incidence respectively during the main and the recovery phase of the storm at the stations considered. The increase in hmF2 occurred concurrently with the increase in thickness parameter B0 between 0000 and 1100 UT, and a simultaneous decrease in the shape parameter B1 for the entire mid-latitude stations. Generally, B1 responded to the storm with a decrease away from the quiet day average, and decreased simultaneously with the increase in NmF2. B0 displays higher variability magnitude during daytime than the nighttime period. The occasional differences in the response of the ionospheric parameters to the storm event are attributed to longitudinal differences. Variation in hmF2 and NmF2 is projected to change in B1, but the rationale behind this effect on B1 is still not known and therefore left open. The two IRI options over-estimate the observed values with that of URSI higher than CCIR. The over-estimation was higher during the nighttime than the daytime for NmF2 response for the mid-latitude stations and the reverse for the equatorial station. A fairer fit of the model with the observed for all parameters over Jicamarca suggests that equatorial regions are better represented on the model. Extensive study of B1 and B0 is recommended to arrive at a better performance of IRI.     

A prediction model of short-term ionospheric foF2 based on AdaBoost

In this paper, the AdaBoost-BP algorithm is used to construct a new model to predict the critical frequency of the ionospheric F2-layer (foF2) one hour ahead. Different indices were used to characterize ionospheric diurnal and seasonal variations and their dependence on solar and geomagnetic activity. These indices, together with the current observed foF2 value, were input into the prediction model and the foF2 value at one hour ahead was output. We analyzed twenty-two years’ foF2 data from nine ionosonde stations in the East-Asian sector in this work. The first eleven years’ data were used as a training dataset and the second eleven years’ data were used as a testing dataset. The results show that the performance of AdaBoost-BP is better than those of BP Neural Network (BPNN), Support Vector Regression (SVR) and the IRI model. For example, the AdaBoost-BP prediction absolute error of foF2 at Irkutsk station (a middle latitude station) is 0.32 MHz, which is better than 0.34 MHz from BPNN, 0.35 MHz from SVR and also significantly outperforms the IRI model whose absolute error is 0.64 MHz. Meanwhile, AdaBoost-BP prediction absolute error at Taipei station from the low latitude is 0.78 MHz, which is better than 0.81 MHz from BPNN, 0.81 MHz from SVR and 1.37 MHz from the IRI model. Finally, the variety characteristics of the AdaBoost-BP prediction error along with seasonal variation, solar activity and latitude variation were also discussed in the paper.     

Diurnal and seasonal variation of F2-layer ionospheric parameters at equatorial ionization anomaly crest region and their comparison with IRI-2001

Diurnal and seasonal variations of critical frequency of ionospheric F2-region ‘foF2’ and the height of peak density ‘hmF2’ are studied using modern digital ionosonde observations of equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crest region, Bhopal (23.2°N, 77.6°E, dip 18.5°N), during solar minimum period 2007. Median values of these parameters are obtained at each hour using manually scaled data during different seasons and compared with the International Reference Ionosphere-2001 model predictions. The observations suggest that on seasonal basis, the highest values of foF2 are observed during equinox months, whereas highest values of hmF2 are obtained in summer and lowest values of both foF2 and hmF2 are observed during winter. The observed median and IRI predicted values of foF2 and hmF2 are analyzed with upper and lower bound of inter-quartile range (IQR) and it is find out that the observed median values are well inside the inter-quartile range during the period of 2007. Comparison of the recorded foF2 and hmF2 values with the IRI-2001 output reveals that IRI predicted values exhibit better agreement with hmF2 as compared to foF2. In general, the IRI model predictions show some agreement with the observations during the year 2007. Therefore it is still necessary to implement improvements in order to obtain better predictions for EIA regions.     

Regional 4-D modeling of the ionospheric electron density from satellite data and IRI

Accurate knowledge of the electron density is the key point in correcting ionospheric delays of electromagnetic measurements and in studying ionosphere physics. During the last decade Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have become a promising tool for monitoring ionospheric parameters such as the total electron content (TEC). In this contribution we present a four-dimensional (4-D) model of the electron density consisting of a given reference part, i.e., the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI), and an unknown correction term expanded in terms of multi-dimensional base functions. The corresponding series coefficients are calculable from the satellite measurements by applying parameter estimation procedures. Since satellite data are usually sampled between GPS satellites and ground stations, finer structures of the electron density are modelable just in regions with a sufficient number of ground stations. The proposed method is applied to simulated geometry-free GPS phase measurements. The procedure can be used, for example, to study the equatorial anomaly.     

Ionospheric F2-Layer critical frequency retrieved from COSMIC radio occultation: A statistical comparison with measurements from a meridional ionosonde chain over Southeast Asia

In this paper, we compared the F2-Layer critical frequency (foF2) derived from FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC radio occultation (RO) and ionosondes at Chiang Mai, Chumphon and Kototabang during the years 2008–2015 to evaluate the performance of COSMIC RO over Southeast Asia region. The results show that the time development of foF2 values derived from COSMIC RO generally agrees well with those from ionosonde measurements. However, the differences between the foF2 derived from COSMIC RO and that derived from ionosonde observations display latitudinal dependence. COSMIC RO tends to underestimate foF2 at Chiang Mai and Kototabang, which is near to the north EIA crest and the south one, respectively, while a little overestimate foF2 at Chumphon, which is close to the geomagnetic equator. COSMIC RO agrees best with ionosonde at Chumphon and worst at Chiang Mai. At each ionosonde station, the quality of COSMIC RO data degrades with the increase of solar activity. In addition, at the station Chiang Mai and Kototabang, COSMIC RO performs better in summer than in equinox and winter. Furthermore, the differences in foF2 derived from COSMIC RO and that from ionosonde measurements vary with local time, i.e., the differences in foF2 are generally smaller at night and larger in noontime when equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) is well developed.     

Comparison of electron density measurements from CSES and Swarm satellites with GNSS ionospheric tomography data

Electron density measurements obtained from China Seismo‐Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) and Swarm-B can play an increasingly important role in the study of ionosphere above F2 peak height. This study presented a comprehensive comparison of electron density products obtained from Langmuir probe mounted on CSES and Swarm-B with ionospheric tomography for a whole year period of 2019. CSES was fully compared with Swarm-B on a global scale, including both absolute and relative differences, and a new index called NFI was developed to better quantify the similarity between two latitudinal profiles of electron density. CSES and Swarm-B were then compared with tomography respectively in four regions, roughly located in America, Europe, Australia and China. Results indicated that CSES data are consistent with Swarm-B, as NFI values exceed 0.6 for most of the analyses. Tomography and Swarm-B were found to have a good agreement as their biases are less than 0.2 × 10⁵ el/cm³ in general. For the comparison between CSES and tomography, the bias increased to around 0.6 × 10⁵ el/cm³ but the standard deviation changed slightly, validating the underestimation of electron density by CSES. The spatiotemporal comparisons of CSES and Swarm-B with tomography showed that: 1) the differences in electron density were relatively low in middle latitudes and increased rapidly in the regions of equatorial ionization anomaly; 2) Swarm-B has a better consistent with tomography than CSES, but both are capable of detecting ionosphere anomalies such as midlatitude arcs; and 3) CSES and Swarm-B both can capture the seasonal changes of electron density, while their values are basically smaller than those from tomography in Spring and Summer months.     

Comparison of ionospheric F2 peak parameters foF2 and hmF2 with IRI2001 at Hainan

Monthly median values of foF2, hmF2 and M(3000)F2 parameters, with quarter-hourly time interval resolution for the diurnal variation, obtained with DPS4 digisonde at Hainan (19.5°N, 109.1°E; Geomagnetic coordinates: 178.95°E, 8.1°N) are used to investigate the low-latitude ionospheric variations and comparisons with the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model predictions. The data used for the present study covers the period from February 2002 to April 2007, which is characterized by a wide range of solar activity, ranging from high solar activity (2002) to low solar activity (2007). The results show that (1) Generally, IRI predictions follow well the diurnal and seasonal variation patterns of the experimental values of foF2, especially in the summer of 2002. However, there are systematic deviation between experimental values and IRI predictions with either CCIR or URSI coefficients. Generally IRI model greatly underestimate the values of foF2 from about noon to sunrise of next day, especially in the afternoon, and slightly overestimate them from sunrise to about noon. It seems that there are bigger deviations between IRI Model predictions and the experimental observations for the moderate solar activity. (2) Generally the IRI-predicted hmF2 values using CCIR M(3000)F2 option shows a poor agreement with the experimental results, but there is a relatively good agreement in summer at low solar activity. The deviation between the IRI-predicted hmF2 using CCIR M(3000)F2 and observed hmF2 is bigger from noon to sunset and around sunrise especially at high solar activity. The occurrence time of hmF2 peak (about 1200 LT) of the IRI model predictions is earlier than that of observations (around 1500 LT). The agreement between the IRI hmF2 obtained with the measured M(3000)F2 and the observed hmF2 is very good except that IRI overestimates slightly hmF2 in the daytime in summer at high solar activity and underestimates it in the nighttime with lower values near sunrise at low solar activity.     

A comparative study of ionospheric IRIEup and ISP assimilative models during some intense and severe geomagnetic storms

Three-dimensional (3-D) electron density matrices, computed in the Mediterranean area by the IRI climatological model and IRIEup and ISP nowcasting models, during some intense and severe geomagnetic-ionospheric storms, were ingested by the ray tracing software tool IONORT, to synthesize quasi-vertical ionograms. IRIEup model was run in different operational modes: (1) assimilating validated autoscaled electron density profiles only from a limited area which, in our case, is the Mediterranean sector (IRIEup_re(V) mode); (2) assimilating electron density profiles from a larger region including several stations spread across Europe: (a) without taking care of validating the autoscaled data in the assimilation process (IRIEup(NV)); (b) validating carefully the autoscaled electron density profiles before their assimilation (IRIEup(V)).The comparative analysis was carried out comparing IRI, IRIEup_re(V), ISP, IRIEup(NV), and IRIEup(V) foF2 synthesized values, with corresponding foF2 measurements autoscaled by ARTIST, and then validated, at the truth sites of Roquetes (40.80°N, 0.50°E, Spain), San Vito (40.60°N, 17.80°E, Italy), Athens (38.00°N, 23.50°E, Greece), and Nicosia, (35.03°N, 33.16°E, Cyprus). The outcomes demonstrate that: (1) IRIEup_re(V), performs better than ISP in the western Mediterranean (around Roquetes); (2) ISP performs slightly better than IRIEup_re(V) in the central part of Mediterranean (around Athens and San Vito); (3) ISP performance is better than the IRIEup_re(V) one in the eastern Mediterranean (around Nicosia); (4) IRIEup(NV) performance is worse than the IRIEup(V) one; (5) in the central Mediterranean area, IRIEup(V) performance is better than the IRIEup_re(V) one, and it is practically the same for the western and eastern sectors.Concerning the overall performance, nowcasting models proved to be considerably more reliable than the climatological IRI model to represent the ionosphere behaviour during geomagnetic-ionospheric storm conditions; ISP and IRIEup(V) provided the best performance, but neither of them has clearly prevailed over the other one.     

A 12 year comparison of MIDAS and IRI 2007 ionospheric Total Electron Content

Data assimilation in conventional meteorological applications uses measurements in conjunction with a physical model. In the case of the ionised region of the upper atmosphere, the ionosphere, assimilation techniques are much less mature. The empirical model known as the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) could be used to augment data-sparse regions in an ionospheric now-cast and forecast system. In doing so, it is important that it does not introduce systematic biases to the result. Here, the IRI model is compared to ionospheric observations from the Global Positioning System satellites over Europe and North America. Global Positioning System data are processed into hour-to-hour monthly averages of vertical Total Electron Content using a tomographic technique. A period of twelve years, from January 1998 to December 2009, is analysed in order to capture variations over the whole solar cycle. The study shows that the IRI model underestimates Total Electron Content in the daytime at solar maximum by up to 37% compared to the monthly average of GPS tomographic images, with the greatest differences occurring at the equinox. IRI shows good agreement at other times. Errors in TEC are likely due to peak height and density inaccuracies. IRI is therefore a suitable model for specification of monthly averages of Total Electron Content and can be used to initialise a data assimilation process at times away from solar maximum. It may be necessary to correct for systematic deviations from IRI at solar maximum, and to incorporate error estimation into a data assimilation scheme.     

A comparison of ionosonde measured foF2 and IRI-2016 predictions over China

A comparison of the ionospheric F-region critical frequency (foF2) between ionosonde measurements and IRI-2016 predictions is studied over China during the period from January 2008 to October 2016. Four stations are selected, and the latitude coverage starts at 49.4°N and ends at 23.2°N with a sequential latitude interval of about 10°, the corresponding geomagnetic latitudes are from 39.5°N to 13.2°N. The results show that the variability of the observed foF2 versus latitudes, seasons, local time and levels of solar activity could be well reproduced by IRI-2016. However, the daily lowest value of foF2 from the IRI-2016 prediction occurs earlier than that from the ionosonde. Around the sunrise, the IRI-2016 prediction shows a very sharp rise and grows much faster than the observed foF2 in every month. The foF2 difference between the two options (URSI and CCIR) in IRI-2016 increases as the F10.7 index decreases. During 2008–2009, the annual average deviations of URSI and CCIR range from ?5% to ?10% and from 5% to ?5%, respectively. Generally, the CCIR performs better than URSI during postsunset under low solar activity or in Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) region over China, while it shows no large difference in performance with URSI in other locations or for other time.