Abstract
This work uses the Disturbance Ionosphere indeX (DIX) to evaluate the ionospheric responses to Equatorial Plasma Bubbles (EPBs) events from 2013 to 2020 over the Brazilian equatorial and low latitudes. We have compared the DIX variations during EPBs to ionosonde and All-Sky Imager data, aiming to evaluate the physical characteristics of these events. Our results show that the DIX was able to detect EPB-related TEC disturbances in terms of their intensity and occurrence times. Thus, the EPB-related DIX responses agreed with the ionosphere behavior before, during, and after the studied cases. Finally, we found that the magnitude of those disturbances followed most of the trend of solar activity, meaning that the EPB-related TEC variations tend to be higher (lower) in high (low) solar activity.
Highlights
The analysis of the Total Electron Content (TEC) is a useful technique for studying the 25 ionosphere responses to several space weather phenomena
175 the same time interval, in which both indices presented the highest values (DIX ~ 5 and Rate Of TEC Index (ROTI) ~ 0.6). This behavior is observed but not identically over the four equatorial Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations, which reinforces that the Disturbance Ionosphere indeX (DIX) provides a localized response to the TEC variations associated with the occurrence of ionospheric disturbances
Since the ROTI is one of the most reliable indices for detecting TEC changes due to ionospheric irregularities, the 180 simultaneous response of both indices is a good indication that the DIX is capable of perceiving the presence of TEC fluctuations generated by plasma bubble events (Carmo et al, 2021)
Summary
The analysis of the Total Electron Content (TEC) is a useful technique for studying the 25 ionosphere responses to several space weather phenomena. Many studies have been conducted aiming to investigate the TEC variations during ionospheric disturbances originated from both external (e.g. magnetic storms) and internal drivers (e.g. gravity waves) (Chu et al, 2005; Nogueira et al, 2011; Astafyeva et al, 2015; Figueiredo et al, 2018). In this regard, the TEC is a referential measure of the ionosphere plasma density as a function of free electrons. The TEC is a referential measure of the ionosphere plasma density as a function of free electrons
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