Diurnal and seasonal variations of F2 layer characteristics over Irkutsk during the decrease in solar activity in 2003–2006: Observations and IRI-2001 model predictions

The diurnal and seasonal variations of F2 layer characteristics (critical frequency, peak height and bottomside thickness) over Irkutsk, Russia (52.3 N and 104.3 E) are studied by the method of running medians. The comparison with the IRI-2001 model during the decrease in solar activity in 2003–2006 revealed cases of both close agreement and systematic differences between predictions and observations. The systematic difference is not the only reason for disagreement between IRI and observations; there are also intrayear variations which are not associated with seasonal behavior. The period of observation was too short to make conclusions about solar activity dependence of the noon bottomside thickness and the modification of its diurnal behavior with decreasing solar activity.     

Longitudinal variations of geomagnetic and ionospheric parameters in the Northern Hemisphere during magnetic storms according to multi-instrument observations

We present a joint analysis of longitude-temporal variations of ionospheric and geomagnetic parameters at middle and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere during the two severe magnetic storms in March and June 2015 by using data from the chains of magnetometers, ionosondes and GPS/GLONASS receivers. We identify the fixed longitudinal zones where the variability of the magnetic field is consistently high or low under quiet and disturbed geomagnetic conditions. The revealed longitudinal structure of the geomagnetic field variability in quiet geomagnetic conditions is caused by the discrepancy of the geographic and magnetic poles and by the spatial anomalies of different scales in the main magnetic field of the Earth. Variations of ionospheric parameters are shown to exhibit a pronounced longitudinal inhomogeneity with changing geomagnetic conditions. This inhomogeneity is associated with the longitudinal features of background and disturbed structure of the geomagnetic field. During the recovery phase of a storm, important role in dynamics of the mid-latitude ionosphere may belong to wave-like thermospheric disturbances of molecular gas, propagating westward for several days. Therefore, it is necessary to extend the time interval for studying the ionospheric effects of strong magnetic storms by a few days after the end of the magnetospheric source influence, while the disturbed regions in the thermosphere continues moving westward and causes the electron density decrease along the trajectories of propagation.     

Regular features of the polar ionosphere characteristics from Digisonde measurements over Norilsk

Regular features of the polar ionosphere have been studied using its local empirical model of the electron density distribution in the bottomside ionosphere. The local empirical model was derived from the hand-scaled ionogram data recorded by DPS-4 Digisonde at Norilsk, Russia (69.4N, 88.1E; 60N GLAT, 166E GLON) for a 6-year period from December, 2002 to December, 2008. The paper describes the technique used to build the local empirical model and discusses its diurnal, seasonal, and solar activity specifications in comparison with the standard IRI-2007 climatological model for the same period of time, long-term observations from the European Incoherent Scatter UHF radar (1988–1999), and the high-latitude ionosondes data. Primary focus of the paper is behavior of the three F2 layer parameters: the F2 peak density (NmF2), the peak height (hmF2) and the bottomside thickness (B0). Special emphasis of the paper is the analysis of the winter anomaly manifestation at Norilsk and the peculiar diurnal–seasonal behavior of hmF2 under low solar activity, named as a “polar day effect”.     

Vertical plasma transport in the ionosphere over Irkutsk during St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm: Observations and modeling

The St. Patrick’s Day storm being the strongest geomagnetic storm of Solar Cycle 24 caused strong changes in ionospheric and thermospheric dynamics. The paper presents a study of vertical plasma transport in the ionosphere during the St. Patrick’s Day storm with using both observations and modeling. The observations give the ionospheric peak height obtained with the chirp vertical sounding ionosonde and the neutral wind velocities obtained with the Fabry-Perot interferometer. The ionospheric peak height is an indicator of the total vertical plasma transport, while meridional wind and electromagnetic drift are the two main drivers of the vertical plasma transport. The Global Self-consistent Model of the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, and Protonosphere used in this study gives the total set of ionospheric and thermospheric parameters including F2-layer peak height, neutral wind velocities, electric field, and neutral composition. The model/data comparison allows us to obtain two main results. The first one is an estimation of the model prediction possibilities under storm conditions. The second result is an indirect assessment of the neutral wind and electric field contribution into the changes in the ionospheric peak height in the case of the St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm.     

Case studies of height structure of TID propagation characteristics using cross-correlation analysis of incoherent scatter radar and DPS-4 ionosonde data

The height structure of TID characteristics is studied on the base of the electron density profiles measured by two beams of the incoherent scatter radar and DPS-4 ionosonde. The height profiles of the TID propagation characteristics are obtained by means of cross-correlation and spectrum analysis of the radar and ionosonde data. The noticeable height variability of the TID parameters is observed. The variability is explained by interference of several TIDs. The obtained TID propagation characteristics are compared with known results of the TID studies.     

An analysis of the topside ionosphere parameters based on the long-duration Irkutsk incoherent scatter radar measurements

The topside ionosphere parameters are studied based on the long-duration Irkutsk incoherent scatter radar (52.9N, 103.3E) measurements conducted in September 2005, June and December 2007. As a topside ionosphere parameter we chose the vertical scale height (VSH) related to the gradient of the electron density logarithm above the peak height. For morphological studies we used median electron density profiles. Besides the median behavior we also studied VSH disturbances (deviations from median values) during the magnetic storm of September 11th 2005. We compared the Irkutsk incoherent scatter radar data with the Millstone Hill and Arecibo incoherent scatter radar observations, the IRI-2007 prediction (using the two topside options) and VSH derived from the Irkutsk DPS-4 Digisonde bottomside measurements.     

Comparative study of high-latitude,mid-latitude and low-latitude ionosphere on basis of local empirical models

The analysis of the regular features of the high-, mid- and low-latitude ionosphere characteristics has been carried out using local empirical models. The local empirical models were derived from the manual scaled ionogram data recorded by DPS-4 Digisondes located at Norilsk (69 N, 88E), Irkutsk (52 N, 104E) and Hainan (19 N, 109E) for a 6-year period from December, 2002 to December, 2008. The technique used to build the local empirical model is described. Primary focuses are diurnal, seasonal and solar cycle variations of the peak electron density and the peak height under low solar activity and their changes with increasing solar activity. The main objective of the paper is to reveal both common and specific features of high-, mid- and low-latitude ionosphere. Based on earlier comparisons with the International Reference Ionosphere model, we analyze how the common and specific features are reproduced by this model.     

Morphology of the G condition occurrence over Irkutsk

Using Irkutsk digisonde data obtained in 2003–2011, a morphological analysis of the G condition occurrence has been made. The G condition was found to occur during daylight hours in summer; in winter, it is extremely rare, and its appearance is associated with intense magnetic storms. In the years of moderate solar activity, the G condition is most frequently registered at Kp ? 4, in the forenoon. During low solar activity, it can be observed under quiet geomagnetic conditions; in most cases, local time of its appearance shifts to afternoon hours. The highest percentage of the G condition occurrence (7.7–6.4%) was recorded in June and July 2008 when the levels of solar and geomagnetic activity were abnormally low.     

Disturbances in the ionospheric F-region peak heights in the American longitudinal sector during geomagnetic storms of September 2005

In this paper, we use the modified GSM TIP model to explore how the thermosphere–ionosphere system in the American longitudinal sector responded to the series of geomagnetic storms on September 9–14, 2005. Comparison of modeling results with experimental data at Millstone Hill, USA (42.6°N, 71.5°W), Ramey, Puerto Rico (18.3°N, 66.8°W) and Jicamarca, Peru (11.9°S, 76.9°W) has shown a good agreement of ionospheric disturbances in the F-region maximum height. We examine in detail the formation mechanisms of these disturbances at different latitudes and describe some of the important physical processes affecting the behavior of the F-region. In addition, we consider the propagation of thermospheric wind surge and the formation of additional layers in the low-latitude ionosphere during geomagnetic storms.     

Diurnal and longitudinal variations in the earth’s ionosphere in the period of solstice in conditions of a deep minimum of solar activity

The results of studies of longitudinal and LT variations in parameters of the ionosphere–plasmasphere system, obtained using the Global Self-Consistent Model of the Thermosphere, Ionosphere and Protonosphere (GSM TIP), assimilation ionospheric model IRI Real-Time Assimilation Mapping (IRTAM), and satellite and ground-based observational data are presented in the paper. The study of the main morphological features of longitudinal and LT variations in the critical frequency of the ionospheric F2 layer (foF2) and total electron content (TEC) depending on latitude in the winter solstice during a solar-activity minimum (December 22, 2009) is carried out. It is shown that the variations in foF2 and TEC, on the whole, are identical, and so mutually substitutable, while creating empirical models of these parameters in quiet geomagnetic conditions. The longitudinal and LT variations in both foF2 and TEC are within an order of magnitude everywhere except for the equator anomaly region, where LT variation is larger by an order of magnitude than longitudinal variation. According to the results of the study, in the American longitudinal sector at all latitudes of the Southern (summer) Hemisphere, maxima of foF2 and TEC are formed. The near-equatorial and high-latitudinal maxima are separated out from these. The estimate of the contribution into the longitudinal variation in foF2 and TEC for various local time sectors and at various latitudes has been obtained for the first time. In the Southern (summer) Hemisphere, longitudinal variation in foF2 and TEC is formed in the nighttime.