Effects of TADs on the F region of the mid-latitude ionosphere during an intense geomagnetic storm

Based on observations of two ionosondes at Wuhan and Kokubunji, this paper presents effects of TADs on the daytime mid-latitude ionosphere during the intense geomagnetic storm on March 31, 2001. During a positive ionospheric storm, the start of the enhancement of the foF2 (F2 peak plasma frequency) at Wuhan lags that at Kokubunji by 15 min, which corresponds to the time interval of traveling atmospheric disturbances (TADs’) propagation from Kokubunji to Wuhan. Associated with the uplifting of the hmF2 (height of F2 peak) caused by TADs, it is observed by the two ionosondes that the F1 cusp becomes better developed. Therefore, during a geomagnetic storm, TADs originating from the auroral oval may have a strong influence on the shape of the electron density profile in the F1 region ionosphere at middle latitudes. It is highly likely that TADs are responsible for the evolution of the F1 cusp.     

A non-local vectorial total variational model for multichannel SAR image speckle suppression

This paper aims at the multichannel synthetic aperture radar(SAR)image speckle reduction.This paper proposes a novel energy minimized regularization model for multichannel image denoising,which is an extension of the non-local total variational model for gray-scale image.It contains two terms,namely the vectorial data fidelity term and the non-local vectorial total variation term.The latter is constructed by high-dimensional non-local gradient that contains the structure information of the multichannel image.The existence and the uniqueness of the solution of the model are proved.A fixed point iterative algorithm is designed to acquire the solution of this model.The convergence property of this algorithm is proved as well.This model is applied to the multipolarimetric and multi-temporal RADARSAT-2 images despeckling.The result shows that this model performs better than the original vectorial total variational model on texture preserving.     

电离层顶部电子含量对GNSS电离层层析的影响分析

卫星信号射线上的总电子含量(slant total electron content, STEC)是像素基全球卫星导航系统电离层层析(computerized ionospheric tomography, CIT)建模的必要数据来源，但电离层层析通常忽略1 000 km以上的顶部电子含量，为弄清这部分电子含量对层析结果的影响，利用NeQuick2模型计算站星视线上的STEC与其在电离层区域内的STEC比值来改正原始数据，并分别利用改正前后的STEC进行电离层层析。结果显示，电离层顶部电子含量占比约为10%，白天占比略大于黑夜，与测高仪站的数据相比，改正后的均方根值比改正前提高了20%以上；与Swarm卫星提供的电子剖面数据对比，改正后的层析结果精度较改正前提升了19.6%左右，且该方法受地磁扰动影响较为明显。总的来说，利用CIT进行小尺度电离层探测，可较直观地看出，顶部电子含量对层析结果的影响较大，需要采取相应手段予以剔除。     

Rigidity spectrum of the 27-day variation of the galactic cosmic ray intensity in different epochs of solar activity

We study the temporal evolution of the power rigidity spectrum of the first (27 days) and the second (14 days) harmonics of the 27-day variation of the galactic cosmic ray intensity measured by neutron monitors in the period of 1965–2002. The rigidity spectrum of these variations can be approximated by a power law. We show the rigidity spectra of the first and the second harmonics of the 27-day variation of the galactic cosmic ray intensity have similar time profiles. These spectra are hard (γ ≈ 0.5 ± 0.1) and soft (γ ≈ 1.1 ± 0.2) during solar maximum and minimum activity, respectively. We ascribe this to the alternation of the sizes of the modulation regions responsible for the 27-day variation of the galactic cosmic ray intensity in different epochs of solar activity. Especially, the average radial sizes of the modulation regions of the 27-day variation and the heliolatitudinal extension of the heliolongitudinal asymmetry are smaller during solar minimum than during solar maximum. We show also, that the temporal changes of the power rigidity spectra of the first and the second harmonics of the 27-day variation of the galactic cosmic ray intensity are in a negative correlation with the changes of the rigidity spectrum of the corresponding 11-year variation.     

GPS phase difference variation statistics: A comparison between phase scintillation index and proxy indices

Scintillated GPS phase observations are traditionally characterized by the phase scintillation index, derived from specialized GPS receivers usually tracking at 50 Hz. Geodetic quality GPS receivers, on the other hand, are normally tracking at frequencies up to 1 Hz. However, availability of continuously operating geodetic receivers both in time and geographical location are superior to scintillation receiver’s coverage in many parts of the world. This motivates scintillation studies using regional and global geodetic GPS networks. Previous studies have shown the usefulness of GPS estimated total electron content variations for detecting ionospheric irregularities. In this paper, collocated geodetic and scintillation receivers are employed to compare proxy indices derived from geodetic receivers with the phase scintillation index during quiet and moderately disturbed ionospheric conditions. Sensitivity of the phase scintillation indices at high latitude stations to geomagnetic activity is discussed. Global mapping of ionospheric disturbances using proxy indices from real-time 1 Hz GPS stations are also presented.     

校罗差时磁偏差设定为零的机理分析

在飞机地面通常检查时,磁差给定器磁偏差值往往设定为当地磁差,才能得到正确的航向。校正磁罗差时,只有将磁差给定器设定为000.0,不然罗差计算会大大溢出指标。文章通过磁罗差校正的原理和校正方法的论述,进一步分析了校罗差时将磁偏给定器设定为000.0的工作机理。     

Solar activity variations of ionosonde measurements and modeling results

The time series of hourly electron density profiles N(h) obtained at several mid-latitude stations in Europe have been used to obtain N(h) profiles on a monthly basis and to extract both the expected bottomside parameters and a proxy of the ionospheric variability as functions of time and height. With these data we present advances on a “Local Model” technique for the parameters B0 and B1, its applicability to other ionospheric stations, to other bottomside ionospheric parameters, and to modeling the time/height variability of the profile. The Local Model (LM) is an empirical model based on the experimental results of the solar activity dependence of the daily and seasonal behavior of the above parameters. The LM improves the IRI-2001 prediction of the B0 and B1 by factor of two at mid-latitudes. Moreover, the LM can be used to simulate other ionospheric parameters and to build mean N(h) profiles and the deviations from them. The modeling of both the average N(h) profiles and their deviations is an useful tool for ionospheric model users who want to know both the expected patterns and their deviations.     

Science rational for MIERS/IRI collaboration

In this paper, we will shortly highlight some of the aspects that COST Action 296 on Mitigation of Ionospheric Effects on Radio Systems (MIERS) and International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) have in common in an attempt to define science rationale for collaboration between these two international projects.     

Detrend effect on the scalograms of GPS power scintillation

The study of amplitude scintillation on GPS radio links is usually done after detrending the time series of the transmitted power so to define scintillations as the chaotic fluctuation around a unitary value. In a sense, the choice of how to detrend the time series is part of the definition of scintillation.     

Modeling of ionospheric parameter variations in East Asia during the moderate geomagnetic disturbances

The results of modeling of ionospheric disturbances observed in the East Asian region during moderate storms are presented. The numerical model for ionosphere–plasmasphere coupling developed at the ISTP SB RAS is used to interpret the data of observations at ionospheric stations located in the longitudinal sector of 90–130°E at latitudes from auroral zone to equator. There is obtained a reasonable agreement between measurements and modeling results for winter and equinox. In the summer ionosphere, at the background of high ionization by the solar EUV radiation in the quiet geomagnetic period the meridional thermospheric wind strongly impacts the electron concentration in the middle and auroral ionosphere. The consistent calculations of the thermospheric wind permit to obtain the model results which are closer to summer observations. The actual information about the space-time variations of thermosphere and magnetosphere parameters should be taken into account during storms.