Reaction of the high-latitude lower ionosphere to solar proton events from observations in the ELF range

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The reaction of the lower ionosphere to the solar proton events that occurred in 2011–2012 is studied in this paper based on the results of measurements of the propagation velocity and the E z /H τ ratio of the low-frequency electromagnetic pulses (atmospherics) in the ELF range at the high-latitude observatories Lovozero and Barentsburg. With numerical modeling methods, it is shown that horizontal local irregularities of the lower ionosphere conductivity profile could be a cause of the splashes in the E z /H τ ratio observed in the experiment during the solar proton event of March 7, 2012, which was a unique event in both the proton flux value and energy.