Disturbances of the Thermosphere and the Ionosphere during a Meteorological Storm

Abstract

Determination of the physical mechanisms of energy transfer of tropospheric disturbances to the ionosphere is one of the fundamental problems of atmospheric physics. This article presents the results of observations carried out using two-wavelength lidar sensing at tropospheric altitudes and satellite GPS measurements during a meteorological storm in Kaliningrad (Russia, 54.7° N, 20.5° E) on 1 April 2016. During lidar sensing, it was found that the amplitudes of variations in atmospheric parameters with periods of acoustic (AWs) and internal gravity (IGWs) waves significantly increased. As a result of numerical modeling using the AtmoSym software package, it was shown that there is a noticeable increase in the period of temperature disturbances from 6–12 min to 10–17 min at altitudes from 150 km up to 230 km during the vertical propagation of acoustic waves and internal gravity waves from the troposphere. Nonlinear and dissipative processes in this layer lead to the formation of sources of secondary waves in the thermosphere with periods longer than those of primary ones. In this case, the unsteady nature of the wave source and the short duration of its operation does not lead to significant heating of the thermosphere. Simultaneous satellite observations demonstrate the response of the ionosphere (total electron content (TEC) disturbance) to tropospheric disturbances. Analysis of the time series of the amplitudes of the reflected lidar signal and TEC made it possible to determine that the response time of the ionosphere to tropospheric disturbances is 30–40 min.