Solar eclipse induced perturbations at mid-latitude during the 21 August 2017 event
Abstract. A study of the response of some ionospheric parameters and their relationship in predicting one another during the solar eclipse of 21 August 2017 is presented. Mid-latitude stations located along the eclipse path and with data availability on the GIRO database were selected. The percentage obscuration at these stations ranges between 63–100 %. The decrease in electron density during the eclipse is attributed to reduction in solar radiation and natural gas heating. The maximum magnitude of the eclipse coincided with hmF2 increase and with a lagged maximum decrease in NmF2 consistently at the stations investigated. The results revealed that the horizontal neutral wind flow is as a consequence of the changes in the thermospheric and diffusion processes. The unusual increase/decrease in the shape/thickness parameters during the eclipse period relative to the control days points to the perturbation caused by the solar eclipse. Need for IRI model to capture eclipse caused perturbation