Seasonal variations of GPS derived TEC at three different latitudes of the southern hemisphere during geomagnetic storms

Data from the archive of the International GNSS Services (IGS) were used to study the seasonal variations of Total Electron Content (TEC) over three stations located at different latitudes in the southern hemisphere during the geomagnetic storms of 11 January, 6 April, 8 June, and 13 October 2000, representing storms that occurred in summer, autumn equinox, winter and spring equinox, respectively. The percentage TEC deviation with respect to reference values differs substantially from season to season. A strong seasonal anomaly and clear equinoctial asymmetry in TEC response to the storms were observed. Weak and short-lived positive TEC deviations as well as strong and long-lasting negative trends were observed in summer storm during the main and recovery phases respectively over the high and low latitudes whereas in winter storm, the highest positive TEC deviations was recorded during the main phase over the entire latitudes. TEC enhancement dominated all the stations during the autumn (March) equinox storm while TEC depletion was majorly observed during the spring (September) equinox. All these variations find their explanations in the thermospheric composition change and circulation. Future work with direct or modeled measurement of atomic Oxygen to molecular Nitrogen ratio (O/N₂), large number of storms and other possible factors such as variations in storm’s intensity and local time dependence of the storm onset is expected to validate the observations in this study.     

The ionospheric response to high-intensity long duration continuous AE activity (HILDCAA) event (13–15 April 2005) over mid-latitude African region

The ionospheric responses to High-Intensity Long Duration Continuous Auroral Electrojet Activity (HILDCAA) event which happened following the CIR-driven storm were studied over the southern hemisphere mid-latitude in the African sector. The 13–15 April 2005 event was analysed to understand some of the mechanisms responsible for the ionospheric changes during HILDCAA event. The ionosonde critical frequency of F2 layer (foF2) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Total Electron Content (TEC) were used to analyse the ionospheric responses. The daytime increase in foF2 and TEC values were observed on 13 April 2005. The TEC and foF2 enhancement could be attributed to Large Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (LSTIDs), increase in thermospheric neutral composition changes, Prompt Penetration Electric Field (PPEF) and an expansion of Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) to the mid-latitude.     

Monthly trends in temporal and spatial distribution of Ionospheric Irregularities across the African region during the descending phase of solar cycle 24

Ionospheric irregularities are well-known phenomena associated with ionospheric scintillation. These irregularities comprise steep electron density gradients in the equatorial F region some 1 to 2 h after sunset in regions close to the geomagnetic equator. Using the IGS network of GNSS receivers spread across the low-latitude region over the African sector, we present the monthly trends in ionospheric irregularity activity levels based on Rate of TEC Index (ROTI) during the declining phase of solar 24. The monthly trends are statistically represented by counts of the night time ROTI values exceeding a threshold of 0.4 TECU/min. A clear trend emerges on the irregularity occurrence across the African sector: during the first four months of the year, the irregularity occurrence is highly pronounced on the western side of the region. The irregularity occurrence then shifts to the eastern side during the months of May, June, July, and August. During the last four months of the year, the irregularity occurrence is again more intense on the western side of Africa than on the eastern side. The occurrence of irregularity structures on only one side of the region during a given night is an unusual feature reported here for the first time.     

Temporal variation of the arterial pressure in healthy young people and its relation to geomagnetic activity in Mexico

We present a study of the temporal behavior of the systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure for a sample of 51 normotensive, healthy volunteers, 18 men and 33 women with an average age of 19 years old in Mexico City, Mexico, during April and May, 2008. We divided the data by sex along the circadian rhythm. Three geomagnetic storms occurred during the studied time-span. The strongest one, a moderate storm, is attributed to a coronal hole border that reached the Earth. The ANOVA test applied to the strongest storm showed that even though we are dealing with a moderate geomagnetic storm, there are statistically significant responses of the blood pressure. The superposed epoch analysis during a three-day window around the strongest storm shows that on average the largest changes occurred for the SBP. Moreover, the SBP largest increases occurred two days before and one day after this storm, and women are the most sensitive group as they present larger SBP and DBP average changes than men. Finally, given the small size of the sample, we cannot generalize our results.     

Modeling the pre-earthquake electrostatic effect on the F region ionosphere

This paper presents the results of modeling the ionospheric effect of the seismogenic electrostatic field (SEF) seen at the earth’s surface as a perturbation of the vertical atmospheric electrostatic field in the earthquake preparation zone. The SEF distribution at ionospheric altitudes is obtained as an analytical solution of the continuity equation for the electric current density. It is shown that at night, the horizontally large scale SEF can efficiently penetrate into the ionosphere and produce noticeable changes in the horizontal distribution of the F region electron density. The results suggest that the seismogenic electrostatic field could be a possible source for the ionospheric variations observed over Taiwan before the strong Chi Chi earthquake of September 21, 1999.     

我国中部地区电离层扰动时空尺度的统计分析

将最大熵动态互普方法用于高频多普勒台阵数据处理，从覆盖太阳活动高、低年份的高频多普勒台阵观测数据中，得出了中国中部地区电离层声重波扰动的传播方向、时空尺度等参量之间的统计分布特性，进而探讨了有关扰动源的情况，结果表明，极区源和局地源两种不同的激发源所激发的声波，分别反映了电离层扰动的全球传播和地区特性两种不同的特征。     

1998年5月磁暴事件期间全球电离层响应形态与机制的研究

利用全球40余个电离层台站的f0F2观测数据，采取对经度进行分区处理的方法，通过计算各台站f0F2参数对其月中的偏离百分比，对1998年5月大磁爆期间的电离层扰动形态进行了分析，并对可能的扰动机制进行了探讨，结果表明本次磁暴事件中，在磁暴主要活动相期间的电离层扰动与暴环流理论所描述的电脑层扰动特征相符，但在恢复相后期欧洲扇区台站出现的正相扰动似不能用暴环流理论来解释，它可能对应期间的行星行条件（太阳风与行星际磁场）的变化有关。     

电离层参数的混沌特性及可预报的时间尺度

本文用相空间重构方法，把电离层参数的时变序列重构一个ｍ维相空间，研究相点之间的距离关系，提取关联维数和Ｌｙａｐｕｎｏｖ特征指数，从而揭示电离层参数的混沌特性，及参数的最大可预报时间尺度。     

BD2系统广域差分格网电离层模型研究与应用

电离层延迟误差是影响BD2卫星导航系统定位测速精度的关键因素,如何减少电离层误差是当前卫星导航定位领域研究的热点问题.常见的电离层模型包括广域差分格网模型和Klobuchar模型,已有研究主要关注Klobuchar模型,对BD2广域差分格网模型的研究较少.本文分析比较了广域差分格网电离层模型和Klobuchar模型对电离层延迟误差的影响,并进行了真实环境下的评测.实验结果表明,使用广域差分格网电离层模型修正电离层延迟可以减小电离误差,从而提高单频接收机导航定位精度.     

利用C频段卫星电视信号研究电离层闪烁

本文介绍卫星电视信号特性和电高层闪烁的观测结果。结果说明在民用卫星TV接收机上配接口电路接收卫星电视信号能作c频段电离层闪烁研究。