First results on low‐latitude E and F region irregularities obtained using the Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interferometer

Author(s):  
A. K. Patra ◽  
P. Srinivasulu ◽  
P. Pavan Chaitanya ◽  
M. Durga Rao ◽  
A. Jayaraman
2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 1243-1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Moldwin ◽  
Shasha Zou ◽  
Tom Heine

Abstract. The name “plume” has been given to a variety of plasma structures in the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. Some plumes (such as the plasmasphere plume) represent elevated plasma density, while other plumes (such as the equatorial F region plume) represent low-density regions. Despite these differences these structures are either directly related or connected in the causal chain of plasma redistribution throughout the system. This short review defines how plumes appear in different measurements in different regions and describes how plumes can be used to understand magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling. The story of the plume family helps describe the emerging conceptual framework of the flow of high-density–low-latitude ionospheric plasma into the magnetosphere and clearly shows that strong two-way coupling between ionospheric and magnetospheric dynamics occurs not only in the high-latitude auroral zone and polar cap but also through the plasmasphere. The paper briefly reviews, highlights and synthesizes previous studies that have contributed to this new understanding.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 809-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navin Parihar ◽  
Sandro Maria Radicella ◽  
Bruno Nava ◽  
Yenca Olivia Migoya-Orue ◽  
Prabhakar Tiwari ◽  
...  

Abstract. Simultaneous observations of OI 777.4 and OI 630.0 nm nightglow emissions were carried at a low-latitude station, Allahabad (25.5° N, 81.9° E; geomag. lat.  ∼  16.30° N), located near the crest of the Appleton anomaly in India during September–December 2009. This report attempts to study the F region of ionosphere using airglow-derived parameters. Using an empirical approach put forward by Makela et al. (2001), firstly, we propose a novel technique to calibrate OI 777.4 and 630.0 nm emission intensities using Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate/Formosa Satellite Mission 3 (COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3) electron density profiles. Next, the electron density maximum (Nm) and its height (hmF2) of the F layer have been derived from the information of two calibrated intensities. Nocturnal variation of Nm showed the signatures of the retreat of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) and the midnight temperature maximum (MTM) phenomenon that are usually observed in the equatorial and low-latitude ionosphere. Signatures of gravity waves with time periods in the range of 0.7–3.0 h were also seen in Nm and hmF2 variations. Sample Nm and hmF2 maps have also been generated to show the usefulness of this technique in studying ionospheric processes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolai Tsyganenko ◽  
Varvara Andreeva ◽  
Mikhail Sitnov ◽  
Jesper Gjerloev ◽  
Xiangning Chu ◽  
...  

<p>First results are presented of reconstructing the evolution of magnetospheric configurations through the full cycle of isolated substorms. The modeling covers the low- and mid-latitude magnetosphere in the range of radial distances from 2 to 20 Re and is based on a synthesis of (1) a high-resolution representation of the magnetic field by cylindrical basis functions, (2) the ever largest pool of magnetospheric and interplanetary data spanning the last quarter century (1995-2019), (3) an archive of concurrent ground-based indices and their temporal trends, quantifying the geomagnetic activity over the full range of latitudes, including the low-latitude ring current SMR-index, the midlatitude positive bay MPB-index, the auroral SML-index, and the polar cap PC-index, (4) the data-mining nearest-neighbour (NN) technique of the data selection and weighting in the geometric and parametric spaces. The obtained successive diagrams of magnetic depression/compression, electric current, and field line maps demonstrate all the typical features of the substorm cycle: the initial relatively slow stretching of the nightside tail during the growth phase, followed by its sudden collapse associated with a dramatic disruption of the tail current at R~11-16 Re, and finally a gradual recovery of the configuration after the expansion phase is over.</p>


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 2191-2200 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Bertoni ◽  
Y. Sahai ◽  
W. L. C. Lima ◽  
P. R. Fagundes ◽  
V. G. Pillat ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this work, the F-region critical frequency (foF2) and peak height (hmF2) measured by digital ionosondes at two Brazilian low-latitude stations, namely Palmas (10.17° S, 48.20° W, dip –10.80°) and São José dos Campos (23.20° S, 45.86° W, dip –38.41°), are compared with the IRI-2001 model predictions. The comparison at the latter station shows quite a reasonable agreement for both parameters. The former station exhibits a better agreement for hmF2 than for foF2. In general, the model generates good results, although some improvements are still necessary to implement in order to obtain better simulations for equatorial ionospheric regions.


2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 745-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Niranjan ◽  
P. S. Brahmanandam ◽  
P. Ramakrishna Rao ◽  
G. Uma ◽  
D. S. V. V. D. Prasad ◽  
...  

Abstract. A study carried out on the occurrence of post midnight spread-F events at a low-latitude station, Waltair (17.7° N, 83.3° E), India revealed that its occurrence is maximum in the summer solstice months of the low solar activity period and decreases with an increase in the sunspot activity. The F-region virtual height variations show that 80% of these spread-F cases are associated with an increase in the F-region altitude. It is suggested with the support of the night airglow 6300 A zenith intensity data obtained with co-located ground-based night airglow photometer and electron temperature data from the Indian SROSS C2 satellite that the seasonal variation of the occurrence and probable onset times of the post midnight spread-F depend on the characteristics of the highly variable semipermanent equatorial Midnight Temperature Maximum (MTM).Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric irregularities; ionosphere atmosphere interactions) Atmospheric composition and structure (airglow and Aurora)


2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 773-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Patra ◽  
S. Sripathi ◽  
P. B. Rao ◽  
K. S. V. Subbarao

Abstract. The first results of simultaneous observations made on the low-latitude field-aligned irregularities (FAI) using the MST radar located at Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E, dip 12.5°) and the Es parameters using an ionosonde at a nearby station Sriharikota (13.7° N, 80.1° E, dip 12.6°) are presented. The observations show that while the height of the most intense radar echoes is below the virtual height of Es (h'Es) during daytime, it is found to be either below or above during nighttime. The strength of the FAI is better correlated with the top penetration frequency (ftEs) and the blanketing frequency (fbEs) during the night (r=0.4 in both cases) as compared to the day (r=0.35 and -0.04, respectively). Furthermore, the signal strength of FAI is reasonably correlated with (ftEs-fbEs) during daytime (r=0.59) while very poorly correlated during nighttime (r=0.18). While the radar observations in general appear to have characteristics close to that of mid-latitudes, the relationship of these with the Es parameters are poorer than that of mid-latitudes. The observations reported here, nevertheless, are quite consistent with the expectations based on the gradient drift instability mechanism.


2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 3221-3229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Sahai ◽  
P. R. Fagundes ◽  
F. Becker-Guedes ◽  
J. R. Abalde ◽  
G. Crowley ◽  
...  

Abstract. A new ionospheric sounding station using a Canadian Advanced Digital Ionosonde (CADI) was established for routine measurements by the "Universidade do Vale do Paraiba (UNIVAP)" at São José dos Campos (23.2° S, 45.9° W), Brazil, in August 2000. A major geomagnetic storm with gradual commencement at about 01:00 UT was observed on 31 March 2001. In this paper, we present and discuss salient features from the ionospheric sounding measurements carried out at S. J. Campos on the three consecutive UT days 30 March (quiet), 31 March (disturbed) and 1 April (recovery) 2001. During most of the storm period, the foF2 values showed negative phase, whereas during the two storm-time peaks, large F-region height variations were observed. In order to study the longitudinal differences observed in the F-region during the storm, the simultaneous ionospheric sounding measurements carried out at S. J. Campos, El Arenosillo (37.1° N, 6.7° W), Spain, Okinawa (26.3° N, 127.8° E), Japan and Wakkanai (45.5° N, 141.7° E), Japan, during the period 30 March-1 April 2001, have been analyzed. A comparison of the observed ionospheric parameters (h'F and foF2) in the two longitudinal zones (1. Japanese and 2. Brazilian-Spanish) shows both similarities and differences associated with the geomagnetic disturbances. Some latitudinal differences are also observed in the two longitudinal zones. In addition, global ionospheric TEC maps from the worldwide network of GPS receivers are presented, showing widespread TEC changes during both the main and recovery phases of the storm. The ionospheric sounding measurements are compared with the ASPEN-TIMEGCM model runs appropriate for the storm conditions. The model results produce better agreement during the quiet period. During the disturbed period, some of the observed F-region height variations are well reproduced by the model results. The model foF2 and TEC results differ considerably during the recovery period and indicate much stronger negative phase at all the stations, particularly at the low-latitude ones.


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