Abstract
Abstract Using TEC measurements from the global network of GPS receivers, we have obtained the first evidence for the wave structure excited by the solar terminator (ST), moving over the USA, Europe, and Japan. Two main types of the observed TEC disturbance were found: large-scale (LS) 60-min variations with an amplitude of about 0.5–1 TECU and medium-scale (MS) 15-min variations with an amplitude of about 0.05–0.1 TECU. The first type of disturbances was predicted in theoretical investigations and registered earlier using different methods of ionosphere radio sounding. The second type of the observed TEC disturbance is wave packets (WPs) generated when the time derivative of TEC is at its maximum. These WPs have duration of about 1–2 h and a time shift of about 1.5–2.5 h after the ST appearance at an altitude of 100 km. That ST-generated wave packets have been found for the first time. LS TEC disturbances and MS WPs are space-fixed along the ST line over a distance exceeding 1600 km.
Highlights
Recent investigations have shown that movement of the solar terminator (ST) causes the generation of acousticgravity waves (STAGW), turbulence, and instabilities in the ionosphere plasma (Beer, 1978; Cot and Teitelbaum, 1980; Somsikov, 1983, 1987; Somsikov and Ganguly, 1995; Dungenbaeva and Ganguly, 2004; Antonova et al, 2006)
The great variety of ST-linked phenomena in the atmosphere has resulted in a number of studies being carried out on the analysis of ionosphere parameter variations obtained by different methods of ionosphere sounding (Bezrodny and Yampolski, 1976; Popov and Yampolski, 1981; Galushko and Yampolski, 1983; Mishin et al, 1991; Drobzhev et al, 1992; Bezotosnyi et al, 1994; Beley et al, 1995; Sobral et al, 1997; Galushko et al, 1998; Hocke and Igarashi, 2002; Galushko et al, 2003)
The goal of this paper is to present the first evidence for the total electron content (TEC) wave structure excited by the solar terminator
Summary
Recent investigations have shown that movement of the solar terminator (ST) causes the generation of acousticgravity waves (STAGW), turbulence, and instabilities in the ionosphere plasma (Beer, 1978; Cot and Teitelbaum, 1980; Somsikov, 1983, 1987; Somsikov and Ganguly, 1995; Dungenbaeva and Ganguly, 2004; Antonova et al, 2006). Virtually all experimental data were obtained using indirect methods for analyzing the spectrum of ionosphere parameter variations, which can result from a number of factors. This has caused difficulties in the reliable identification of STAGWs because, in general, AGWs can be generated by different sources of either natural or of anthropogenic origin (Hocke and Schlegel, 1996)
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