scholarly journals Some characteristics of atmospheric gravity waves observed by radio-interferometry

1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude Mercier

Abstract. Observations of atmospheric acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs) are considered through their effect on the horizontal gradient G of the slant total electron content (slant TEC), which can be directly obtained from two-dimensional radio-interferometric observations of cosmic radio-sources with the Nançay radioheligraph (2.2°E, 47.3°N). Azimuths of propagation can be deduced (modulo 180°). The total database amounts to about 800 h of observations at various elevations, local time and seasons. The main results are: a) AGWs are partially directive, confirming our previous results. b) The propagation azimuths considered globally are widely scattered with a preference towards the south. c) They show a bimodal time distribution with preferential directions towards the SE during daytime and towards the SW during night-time (rather than a clockwise rotation as reported by previous authors). d) The periods are scattered but are larger during night-time than during daytime by about 60%. e) The effects observed with the solar radio-sources are significantly stronger than with other radio-sources (particularly at higher elevations), showing the role of the geometry in line of sight-integrated observations.

Author(s):  
Irfan Azeem

Atmospheric Gravity Waves (AGWs) excited by meteorological sources are one of the prominent sources of variability in the ionosphere. Partially-concentric Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) associated with AGWs launched by convective storms have been reported in Total Electron Content (TEC) data from distributed networks of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers. In this paper, TEC data from GNSS receivers in the COntiguous United States (CONUS) are presented to examine AGWs in the ionosphere generated by a convective thunderstorm on April 28, 2014 over Mississippi (MS) and Tennessee (TN). Our analysis of the TID perturbations in the TEC data shows zonal asymmetry of the wave frequencies. This spectral asymmetry is examined to determine the effects of the background neutral wind on the intrinsic periods of the underlying AGWs. This work shows that if the relative motion of the TID wavefronts and the background neutral wind is in the opposite direction, the intrinsic periods will decrease and if they both travel in the same direction, the intrinsic periods will increase. Furthermore, our results show that the characteristics of the TIDs observed on April 28, 2014 in the TEC over CONUS are consistent with those of underlying AGWs being excited by a point source, such as a deep convection system.


2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 3025-3036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Wu ◽  
Stefan G. Llewellyn Smith ◽  
James W. Rottman ◽  
Dave Broutman ◽  
Jean-Bernard H. Minster

Abstract Tsunami-generated acoustic–gravity waves have been observed to propagate in the atmosphere up to the ionosphere, where they have an impact on the total electron content. The authors simulate numerically the propagation of two-dimensional linear acoustic–gravity waves in an atmosphere with vertically varying stratification and horizontal background winds. The authors’ goal is to compare the difference in how much energy reaches the lower ionosphere up to an altitude of 180 km, where the atmosphere is assumed to be anelastic or fully compressible. The authors consider three specific atmospheric cases: a uniformly stratified atmosphere without winds, an idealized case with a wind jet, and a realistic case with an atmospheric profile corresponding to the 2004 Sumatra tsunami. Results show that for the last two cases, the number and height of turning points are different for the anelastic and compressible assumptions, and the net result is that compressibility enhances the total transmission of energy through the whole atmosphere.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Rolland ◽  
Edhah Munaibari ◽  
Florian Zedek ◽  
Pierre Sakic ◽  
Anthony Sladen ◽  
...  

<p>The third-largest earthquake of this 21st century ruptured the Andes subduction zone offshore of the Maule region in central Chile on 27 February 2010, in the middle of the night (3:35 am local time). This huge event triggered strong and destructive seismic motions accompanied by a devastating local tsunami and a significant transpacific tsunami. We investigate the impact of this earthquake on the ionosphere using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data. Investigations related to ionospheric disturbances induced by mega-earthquakes accelerated with the Mw9.0 Tohoku earthquake of March 2011. The worldwide GNSS network, including the exceptionally dense Japanese GNSS network, observed a complex ionospheric response. With a better understanding of the physical mechanisms behind it and a more exhaustive data collection, we revisit the ionospheric wavefield triggered by the Mw8.8 Chile earthquake and tsunami.</p><p>When a large underwater earthquake occurs, the sudden shaking of an extended region of the sea-floor immediately transfers energy to the water column and the air above through an efficient solid-ocean-atmosphere coupling mechanism. The earthquake at depth thus excites seismic and tsunami waves in the ocean and acoustic-gravity waves in the atmosphere. In the lower frequency range (< 20 mHz), these atmospheric waves can propagate to the upper atmosphere, which shakes the ionosphere. During propagation in the rarefying atmosphere, the wave amplitude drastically increases by about four orders of magnitude. Typically, a tsunami with a height of the order of a meter in an open ocean puts the ionosphere into motion with peak displacement exceeding a kilometer at about 200 km of altitude. The shaken charged particles of the ionosphere plasma eventually induce fluctuations of propagation delays in radio signals, such as those emitted by GPS and GNSS satellites. We convert GNSS measurements into Total Electron Content (TEC) variations to study the ionospheric imprint.</p><p>We revisit the Maule earthquake with an in-depth analysis of the TEC data derived from a worldwide collection of GNSS records. We also compare the observed ionospheric responses to ground or ocean motions derived from high-frequency GNSS receiver data recorded onshore and offshore. Doing so, we further characterize the filtering effect of the atmosphere on acoustic-gravity waves driven from the Earth’s surface. Finally, we use numerical tools specifically developed to investigate the complex seismo-ionospheric wavefield triggered by large seismic ruptures. We focus on the resonant part of the seismo-acoustic response and the tsunami-induced ionospheric response and link them to waveguides in the solid-ocean-atmosphere system. This revisit intends ultimately to shed new and independent light on the 2010 Maule mega-earthquake rupture itself.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 2732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tang ◽  
Chen ◽  
Chen ◽  
Louis

Gravity waves (GWs) generated in the lower atmosphere can propagate upwards to ionospheric height. In this study, we investigated the correlation between ionospheric GWs detected by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-derived total electron content data and thunderstorm events recorded by a local lightning-detection network in the low-latitude region of Southern China during a four-year period, from 2014 to 2017. Ionospheric GWs were detected on both thunderstorm and non-thunderstorm days. Daytime ionospheric GW activity on high-thunderstorm days showed a similar convex-function-like diurnal variation to thunderstorm activity, which is different to the concave-function-like pattern on non-thunderstorm days. Daytime ionospheric GW activity on low-thunderstorm days showed an approximately linear rising trend and was of a larger magnitude than that of high-thunderstorm days, suggesting it may be mixed by non-thunderstorm origins. Night-time enhancement of ionospheric GW activity was observed on thunderstorm days but not on non-thunderstorm days. Furthermore, ionospheric GW activity on thunderstorm days showed a positive correlation to solar activity. These findings can effectively distinguish thunderstorm-related ionospheric GWs from those of non-thunderstorm origins and provide more comprehensive knowledge of thunderstorm–ionosphere coupling in low-latitude areas.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
Asnawi Husin ◽  
Buldan Muslim

Medium Scale Travelling Ionospheric Disturbance (MSTID), thought to be manifestation of atmospheric gravity wave (AGW) in the ionospheric altitude that propagates horizontally and effects on in the electron density structure of ionosphere. These atmospheric gravity waves sourced  from lower atmospheric activities such as typhoons, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Wave energy by its coupling induction process can travel to the ionosphere region. It has been understood that the TID's wave structure have an impact on the propagation of radio waves in the ionosphere so that it will affect the performance of navigation satellite-based positioning measurements. Based on Aceh tsunami in December 2004, this study aimed to investigation of the induction of atmospheric gravity waves in the ionosphere using total electron content (TEC) data from the Sumatra GPS network (Sumatra GPS Array, SUGAR). The detection technique of TEC changes due to AGW induction with a filter to separate medium scale disturbance at the ionospheric pierce point at an altitude of 350 km (IPP, Ionospheric Pierce Point). The results show the horizontal wavelength of a medium-scale TID around 180 ± 12 Km with a velocities of around 376 ± 9 ms-1. Based on two-dimensional map, the TID moves to the southeast.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (18) ◽  
pp. 4943-4951 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Zerefos ◽  
E. Gerasopoulos ◽  
I. Tsagouri ◽  
B. E. Psiloglou ◽  
A. Belehaki ◽  
...  

Abstract. This study aims at providing experimental evidence, to support the hypothesis according to which the movement of the moon's shadow sweeping the ozone layer at supersonic speed, during a solar eclipse, creates gravity waves in the atmosphere. An experiment was conducted to study eclipse induced thermal fluctuations in the ozone layer (via measurements of total ozone column, ozone photolysis rates and UV irradiance), the ionosphere (Ionosonde Total Electron Content – ITEC, peak electron density height – hmF2), and the troposphere (temperature, relative humidity), before, during and after the total solar eclipse of 29 March 2006. We found the existence of eclipse induced dominant oscillations in the parameters related to the ozone layer and the ionosphere, with periods ranging between 30–40 min. Cross-spectrum analyses resulted to statistically significant square coherences between the observed oscillations, strengthening thermal stratospheric ozone forcing as the main mechanism for GWs. Additional support for a source below the ionosphere was provided by the amplitude of the oscillations in the ionospheric electron density, which increased upwards from 160 to 220 km height. Even though similar oscillations were shown in surface temperature and relative humidity data, no clear evidence for tropospheric influence could be derived from this study, due to the modest amplitude of these waves and the manifold rationale inside the boundary layer.


2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 1647-1654 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Das ◽  
A. Taori ◽  
A. Jayaraman

Abstract. Lower atmospheric perturbations often produce measurable effects in the middle and upper atmosphere. The present study demonstrates the response of the middle atmospheric thermal structure to the significant enhancement of the lower atmospheric heating effect caused by dust storms observed over the Thar Desert, India. Our study from multi-satellite observations of two dust storm events that occurred on 3 and 8 May 2007 suggests that dust storm events produce substantial changes in the lower atmospheric temperatures as hot spots which can become sources for gravity waves observed in the middle atmosphere.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Kumar Singh ◽  
Sampad Kumar Panda

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the hemispheric symmetric and asymmetric characteristics of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and its dependency on the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) in the northern and southern polar ionosphere. The changes in amplitude and phase scintillation are also probed through Global Ionospheric Scintillation and TEC monitoring (GISTM) systems recordings at North pole [Himadri station; Geographic 78°55′ N, 11°56′ E] and South pole [Maitri station; Geographic 70°46′ S 11°44′ E]. Observations show the range of %TEC variability being relatively more over Antarctic region (−40 % to 60 %) than Arctic region (−25 % to 25 %), corroborating the role of the dominant solar photoionization production process. Our analysis confirms that TEC variation at polar latitudes is a function of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, depending on interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation and magnitude in the X ( B x Bx ), Y ( B y By ), and Z ( B z Bz ) plane. Visible enhancement in TEC is noticed in the northern polar latitude when B x < 0 Bx<0 , B y < − 6 nT By<-6\hspace{0.1667em}\text{nT} or B y > 6 nT By>6\hspace{0.1667em}\text{nT} and B z > 0 Bz>0 whereas the southern polar latitude perceives TEC enhancements with B x > 0 Bx>0 , − 6 nT < B y < 6 nT -6\hspace{0.1667em}\text{nT}<By<6\hspace{0.1667em}\text{nT} and B z < 0 Bz<0 . Further investigation reveals the intensity of phase scintillation being more pronounced than the amplitude scintillation during the disturbed geomagnetic conditions with excellent correlation with the temporal variation of TEC at both the stations. Corresponding variations in the parameters are studied in terms of particle precipitation, auroral oval expansion, Joule’s heating phenomena, and other ionospheric parameters. The studies are in line with efforts for improving ionospheric delay error and scintillation modeling and satellite-based positioning accuracies in polar latitudes.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (24) ◽  
pp. 5489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Longqiang Huang ◽  
Shaocheng Zhang ◽  
Yanju Chai

As global navigation satellite system (GNSS)stations are sparsely distributed in oceanic area, oceanic areas usually have lower precision than continental areas on a global ionosphere maps (GIM). On the other hand, space-borne observations like satellite altimetry (SA) and ionospheric radio occultation (IRO) have substantial dual-frequency observations in oceanic areas, which could be used for total electron content (TEC) retrieval. In this paper, the Jason-2 SA and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) IRO products were used to assess the precision of IGS GIM products. Both the systematic biases and scaling factors between the international GNSS service (IGS) GIM TEC and space-borne TEC were calculated, and the statistical results show that the biases and the scaling factors obviously vary under different temporal-spatial conditions. This analysis shows that these differences are variable with diurnal and latitude factors, that is, the differences in biases during the day time are higher than those during the night time, and larger biases are experienced at lower latitude areas than at high latitude areas. The results also show that in the southern hemisphere middle-high latitude area and some other central oceanic areas, the space-borne TEC values are even higher than GIM TEC values. As the precision of space-borne TEC should be evenly distributed around different areas on Earth, it can be explain that the TEC in these areas is undervalued by the current GIM model, and the space-borne SA and IRO techniques could be used as complementary observations to improve the accuracy and reliability of TEC values in these areas.


2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Afraimovich ◽  
E. I. Astafieva ◽  
S. V. Voyeikov

Abstract. We investigate an unusual class of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances of the nonwave type, isolated ionospheric disturbances (IIDs) that manifest themselves in total electron content (TEC) variations in the form of single aperiodic negative TEC disturbances of a duration of about 10min (the total electron content spikes, TECS). The data were obtained using the technology of global detection of ionospheric disturbances using measurements of TEC variations from a global network of receivers of the GPS. For the first time, we present the TECS morphology for 170 days in 1998–2001. The total number of TEC series, with a duration of each series of about 2.3h (2h18m), exceeded 850000. It was found that TECS are observed in no more than 1–2% of the total number of TEC series mainly in the nighttime in the spring and autumn periods. The TECS amplitude exceeds the mean value of the "background" TEC variation amplitude by a factor of 5–10 as a minimum. TECS represent a local phenomenon with a typical radius of spatial correlation not larger than 500km. The IID-induced TEC variations are similar in their amplitude, form and duration to the TEC response to shock-acoustic waves (SAW) generated during rocket launchings and earthquakes. However, the IID propagation velocity is less than the SAW velocity (800–1000m/s) and are most likely to correspond to the velocity of background medium-scale acoustic-gravity waves, on the order of 100–200m/s. Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric irregularities, instruments and techniques) - Radio science (ionospheric propagation)


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