Modeling of the seasonal effects of geomagnetic storms in the eastern Asian ionosphere

Abstract

in the ionospheric response to a geomagnetic storm are obtained depending on latitude and season. At middle latitudes the most interesting is that the positive and negative phases of ionospheric disturbance prevail in winter and summer, respectively. To interpret the observed variations in the ionospheric structure, modeling is performed, using a theoretical ionospheric model. The analysis of the processes governing the response of the midlatitude ionosphere to a geomagnetic storm showed a good agreement between the results of modeling and measurements and made it possible to detect the determining role of the neutral composition in the observed variations in ionospheric parameters. At auroral and subauroral stations the variability of the electron concentration during a storm is much better pronounced. According to the results of the analysis of the trajectories of the ionospheric plasma convection, this variability is caused by the joint action of the convection and energetic electron precipitations. The disturbances in the neutral composition in this latitudinal region influence the background electron concentration level. INDEX TERMS: 2441 Ionosphere: Ionospheric storms; 2447 Ionosphere: Modeling and forecasting; 2407 Ionosphere: Auroral ionosphere; KEYWORDS: Ionospheric storms; Ionosphere-magnetosphere interactions; Numerical simulations.