Su. Basu

Response of the equatorial ionosphere in the South Atlantic Region to the Great Magnetic Storm of July 15, 2000

The effects of the great magnetic storm of July 15, 2000 on the equatorial ionosphere have been studied by ground-based and satellite in-situ measurements. A large westward plasma drift in the evening equatorial ionosphere was observed as a result of the ionospheric disturbance dynamo. In that environment, the IMF Bz turned southward and presumably caused penetration of E-fields to low latitudes. This E-field initiated the onset of 250 MHz and L-band scintillations at Ascension Island (15°W) and precipitous TEC decrease at Fortaleza, Brazil (38°W), bounding the narrow longitude region in the South Atlantic. These impulsive ionospheric effects were extremely well correlated with abrupt decreases of SYM-H (1-min resolution Dst). The DMSP in-situ measurements showed the presence of severe ion density bite-outs extending over 30° latitude in the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly region. The ROCSAT-1 satellite measured upward and large southward ion drifts in the same sector.

Scintillations, plasma drifts, and neutral winds in the equatorial ionosphere after sunset

An equatorial campaign was conducted during September 25 to October 7, 1994, to investigate the neutral and plasma dynamics in the equatorial ionosphere after sunset in relation to the day-to-day variability of the occurrence of equatorial spread F (ESF). The campaign was organized under the auspices of National Science Foundations Multi-Instrumented Studies of the Equatorial Thermosphere Aeronomy program (MISETA), which included the Jicamarca radar, spaced-antenna satellite scintillation, digisonde, all-sky imager, and Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) measurements near the magnetic equator in Peru. During a part of the period September 27 to October 3, the Geophysics Directorate of Phillips Laboratory performed measurements away from the magnetic equator at Aguaverde, Chile (magnetic latitude: 11°S) located 800 km to the east of the Jicamarca meridian using geostationary and GPS satellite scintillation, digisonde and all-sky imager systems. The incoherent scatter radar results indicate that the postsunset enhancement of upward plasma drift, even though of the order of only 20 m s−1 during the solar minimum period, is a necessary condition for the generation of ESF. In view of the extreme difficulty of determining the neutral wind speed during the early evening hours by the FPI due to low airglow intensity, it was not possible to unequivocally associate the observed postsunset enhancements with strong eastward neutral winds. However, considering a few observations contiguous to the campaign period, it appears that such a causal relationship may exist. The scintillation drift measurements in Peru and Chile indicated that the zonal irregularity drift was smaller away from the magnetic equator, implying a variation of neutral wind with latitude. This is reproduced in the altitude variation of zonal drift observed by the Jicamarca radar. During a magnetic storm, scintillation measurements indicated that eastward drifts near the magnetic equator are accompanied by westward drifts near the anomaly peak, which is consistent with the effects of a disturbance dynamo. The campaign results indicate that in order to resolve the variability of ESF, a careful probing of neutral dynamics as a function of latitude needs to be undertaken during the postsunset period.

Nighttime equatorial ionosphere: GPS scintillations and differential carrier phase fluctuations

The presence of scintillation-producing irregularities in the nighttime equatorial ionosphere, in the path of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals received at an equatorial station, causes dual-frequency measurements of the differential carrier phase of GPS L1 and L2 signals to have a contribution from phase scintillations on the two signals. Dual-frequency data for fluctuations in the total electron content (TEC) along the path of GPS signals to the equatorial station Ancon (1.5° dip), sampled at a rate of 1 Hz, are used to separate this contribution from the slower TEC variations. Rapid fluctuations in the differential carrier phase, usually on timescales < 100 s, which result from diffraction, are seen to follow the pattern of intensity scintillations on the L1 signal. Intensity scintillations are also related to the variations in TEC which arise from density fluctuations associated with ionospheric irregularities. An approximate version of the transport-of-intensity equation, based on a phase screen description of the irregularities, suggests that a quantitative measure of intensity scintillations may be provided by the derivative of rate of change of TEC index (DROTI), obtained from the second derivative of TEC. This equation also yields the dependence of the scaling factor between DROTI and S4 on the Fresnel frequency. Comparison of DROTI computed from relative TEC data to corresponding S4 indices indicates that there may be lesser uncertainity in a quantitative relation between the two than between the index ROTI, introduced in recent years, and S4. Power spectral analysis of TEC fluctuations and simultaneous intensity scintillations on L1 signal, recorded at Ancon, does not indicate any simple dependence of the scaling factor between DROTI and S4 on the spectral characteristics.

Irregularity structures in the cusp/cleft and polar cap regions

A case study of the temporal behavior of ionospheric scintillations and their frequency spectra in the cusp/cleft and polar cap regions is presented. These measurements were made at Sondrestrom and Thule, Greenland, using the 243-MHz transmissions from quasi-stationary satellites during a coupling energetic and dynamics of atmospheric regions (CEDAR) high-latitude plasma structure (HLPS)/solar terrestrial energy program (STEP) global aspects of plasma structures (GAPS) campaign. During this campaign, the incoherent scatter radar (ISR) observations were also performed at Sondrestrom, which defined the dynamic ionospheric environment in the cusp/cleft region. The availability of the radar results has enhanced this case study. It is found that scintillations at Sondrestrom are abruptly enhanced about an hour before magnetic noon when the propagation path to the satellite entered the cusp/cleft region. Subsequently, a series of enhanced and reduced scintillation activity was detected. The enhanced scintillation structures were found to be asymmetric, with sharp leading edges and diffuse trailing edges. Spaced-antenna scintillation measurements at Sondrestrom detected considerable velocity shear, and the frequency spectra showed flat low-frequency portions, implying the presence of turbulent plasma flows. A comparison with the ISR observations indicates that the temporal variation of scintillation was caused by the poleward convection of alternate regions with high- and low-ionization density, the density depletions being caused by channels of high zonal flows associated with velocity shear. The level of scintillation observed in the low-density regions imply the presence of small-scale irregularities with considerable irregularity amplitude. In contrast to the above behavior, the polar cap scintillations exhibit deep minima between the transit of successive “patches” of ionization, and their frequency spectra imply the absence of turbulent plasma flows. It is postulated that in the cusp/cleft and polar cap regions, the gradient-drift instability mechanism generates the observed small-scale irregularities associated with discrete density enhancements, whereas a shear-driven instability, such as the nonlinear collisional Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instability mechanism, may generate the irregularities in the intervening low-density regions.

Modeling daytime F layer patches over Sondrestrom

A comprehensive, time-dependent, high-latitude, one-species F region model has been developed to study the various physical processes which are believed to affect the polar cap plasma density distributions as a function of altitude, latitude, longitude, and local time. These processes include production of ionization by solar extreme ultraviolet radiation and particle precipitation; loss through charge exchange with N 2 and O 2 ; and transport by diffusion, neutral winds, and convection E×B drifts. In our initial calculations we have modeled highly structured plasma densities characterized by digisonde observations at Sondrestrom using both a time-dependent global convection pattern and spatially localized regions of transient high-speed flow

Application of three cross-correlation techniques to spaced-receiver data

Abstract Three algorithms for the estimation of the parameters of the cross-correlation analysis of spacedreceiver data are described. These algorithms use different representations of the turbulence effects on the model for the space-time correlation function of the diffraction pattern defined on the ground by the propagation of transionospheric satellite signals. These algorithms are then applied to spaced-receiver data recorded at Thule, Greenland. The comparison of the corresponding results shows that some of the parameters estimated by the spaced-receiver analysis are very sensitive to the change in the basic model. It also indicates that it may be necessary to extend this systematic comparison to the several other spaced-receiver algorithms proposed in the literature.

The magnetic storms of 3–4 August 2010 and 5–6 August 2011: 1. Ground‐ and space‐based observations

We have used total electron content (TEC) values from low, middle, and high latitudes recorded over the American continent and density and ion temperature measured in situ by the DMSP-F15 and F17 satellites during the geomagnetic storms of 3–4 August 2010 and 5–6 August 2011 to study the formation and dynamics of plasma density enhancements that developed during these two storms. Common to both storms are the timing of the main phase that extends between 20 and 24 UT and their seasonality with both storms occurring near the end of the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice. During both storms, TEC data show incipient equatorial anomalies lacking a poleward expansion beyond 20° magnetic latitude. Two large-scale TEC enhancements were observed at middle latitudes showing a complicated pattern of structuring and merging. The first TEC enhancement corresponds to a storm-enhanced density (SED) seen between 21 and 01 UT on the following day. The second TEC enhancement was observed over Central America, located equatorward of the SED and apparently moving northward. However, careful analysis of the TEC values indicates that this second TEC enhancement is not transported from lower latitudes through a superfountain effect. Instead, the enhanced plasma has a local origin and is driven by a southward directed meridional wind that moves plasma up the tilted magnetic field lines. DMSP flights passing over the second TEC enhancement show a reduction of the ion temperature, confirming an adiabatic expansion of the plasma as it moves up the field lines. It is concluded that the midlatitude TEC enhancements do not arise from a low-latitude ionospheric fountain effect.

Structure of polar cap patches and fast shear flows following the CME impact on 22 January 2012 inferred from GPS scintillation spectra

Polar cap patches are localized enhancements in ionospheric density which originate from solar EUV ionization on the dayside, enter the polar cap at the dayside cusp, convect anti-sunward at km/s velocities, and exit the polar cap near midnight to merge with sunward returning flow patterns. Plasma irregularities associated with polar patches are the leading cause of scintillations in L-band satellite signals such as GPS, and fast shear flows near the dayside cusp are thought to be integral to patch formation. In this paper, we report on the on the characteristics of polar cap patches and fast flows derived via analysis of the spectra of GPS scintillations recorded at Longyearbyen, Svalbard, following the CME impact on 22 January 2012. Following the interaction of the CME with the high latitude ionosphere, elevated GPS TEC values indicate the passage of patches through the cusp between 11-15 MLT, accompanied by significant GPS phase scintillations (σφ ~ 0.5 radians) but minimal amplitude scintillations (S4 <; 0.05). Examination of the scintillation spectra reveal that amplitude fluctuations were present, but not easily detected in the S4 observations because the fluctuation power was concentrated at high frequencies. In fact, these amplitude spectra can be explained in terms of Fresnel filtering of the path integrated irregularity spectrum with a relatively high cutoff frequency (8 Hz). This filtering is consistent with weak scatter of the satellite signals by irregularities scanning past the ray path with an effective velocity ~ 3 km/s. Since the velocity of the satellite penetration point is negligible, by comparison, this scan velocity is attributed to fast plasma flow, presumably associated with shear flows near the cusp. To exploit the Fresnel filtering effect, we developed a technique to derive the flow velocity by reconciling the phase and amplitude spectra with weak scatter theory. We applied this approach to investigate the noontime entrance of patches into the dayside cusp and the midnight exit of patches from the polar cap. We find clear evidence of strong phase scintillations with reduced S4 values in the presence of fast flows near the cusp, when the increasing Fresnel break frequency effectively suppresses the low frequency content in the amplitude fluctuations. The scan velocity increased from about 500-1000 m/s following the initial CME impact at ~6:00 UT, to sustained velocities between 1500-3000 m/s measured by GPS satellites whose ray paths intersected fast plasma flows near the cusp. In this sector, the phase spectral index (p) generally ranged between 2.4-2.8, with a tendency for somewhat larger values when the flow is faster. Weaker irregularities were detected in the outflow sector between 20-24 MLT, when p generally ranged from 2.6-3.0. The scan velocities measured in the outflow sector were slower, generally between 400-600 m/s. These velocity estimates compare favorably with ion drift measurements made by the DMSP satellites. Since our analysis technique is automated, it could potentially enable continuous monitoring of flow patterns in the polar cap using a relatively inexpensive GPS scintillation monitor. These measurements could then complement measurements from space-based platforms that sample the polar cap only intermittently and incoherent scatter radars which provide excellent diagnostics but cannot operate continuously.