Variability study of the crest-to-trough TEC ratio of the equatorial ionization anomaly around 120°E longitude

In this paper, latitudinal profiles of the vertical total electron content (TEC) deduced from the dual-frequency GPS measurements obtained at ground stations around 120°E longitude were used to study the variability of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). The present study mainly focuses on the analysis of the crest-to-trough TEC ratio (TEC-CTR) which is an important parameter representing the strength of EIA. Data used for the present study covered the time period from 01 January, 1998 to 31 December, 2004. An empirical orthogonal function analysis method is used to obtain the main features of the TEC-CTR’s diurnal and seasonal variations as well as its solar activity level dependency. Our results showed that: (1) The diurnal variation pattern of the TEC-CTR at 120°E longitude is characterized by two remarkable peaks, one occurring in the post-noon hours around 13–14 LT, and the other occurring in the post-sunset hours around 20–21 LT, and the post-sunset peak has a much higher value than the post-noon one. (2) Both for the north and south crests, the TEC-CTR at 120°E longitude showed a semi-annual variation with maximum peak values occurring in the equinoctial months. (3) TEC-CTR for the north crest has lower values in summer than in winter, whereas TEC-CTR for the south crest does not show this ‘winter anomaly’ effect. In other words, TEC-CTR for both the north and south crests has higher values in the northern hemispheric winter than in the northern hemispheric summer. (4) TEC-CTR in the daytime post-noon hours (12–14 LT) does not vary much with the solar activity, however, TEC-CTR in the post-sunset hours (19–21 LT) shows a clear dependence on the solar activity, its values increasing with solar activity.     

The day-to-day variability in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere in low latitudes: A study using MF radar

This study presents the analysis of planetary waves (PWs) using daily mean wind velocities for four years (August 2013 to July 2017) of continuous measurements using MF radar over the low latitude Indian region Kolhapur (16.8° N; 74.2° E). The MF radar at Kolhapur was upgraded in 2013. These are the first results of PWs after the upgradation of MF radar. The seasonal and intra-seasonal variabilities of East-West (EW) traveling PWs in the MLT region have been studied. In the present work, the data was analyzed to study the waves with various periodicities (e.g. 3–4, 5–8, 15–17, and 30–60 days). The 3.5 day [Ultra-Fast Kelvin (UFK)] wave shows semiannual variability with burst like wave activity observed during the summer months and December solstice. In addition, it is observed to be stronger in the spring equinoctial period. A strong semiannual oscillation (SAO) has been observed in a 6.5-day wave with peaks near the equinoxes. Similar to SAO over the low latitude MLT region, the wave activity is stronger in April/May than in September/October. The 6.5-day waves are observed to be stronger when the background mean wind is westward. From the analysis, it has been seen that the period before and after the equinoctial period is favorable for the 6.5-day wave propagation. The 16-day wave has no significant seasonal dependence; instead, the waves spread to almost all seasons. The Madden-Julian Oscillations (MJOs) have been observed to be propagating with an average wind speed of ～ 5 m/s when the background mean wind is eastward. The occurrence of MJO is observed during the summer and winter months. These results are the first of their kind in two aspects: first, they show the PWs with enhanced altitude coverage covering up to 110 km, and second, they show the PWs not contaminated due to equatorial electro jet influence.