Simultaneous observations of convective ionospheric storms: ROCSAT‐1 and ground‐based imagers

Abstract

The irregularities that occur in the postsunset equatorial ionosphere are one of the most spectacular effects of space weather. They occur over many decades of scale sizes and can cause scintillation of signals transmitted on a wide range of frequencies used by satellite communication and navigation systems, rendering such systems inoperable for a period of time. In the near future, a new era will begin with the launch of the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS). The centerpiece of this program will be a new low‐inclination satellite that will make in situ measurements of electric fields, neutral winds, and electron densities. This program will also encompass state‐of‐the‐art modeling and corollary ground‐based instruments. In order to show the utility of such corollary measurements, we present two examples using data collected by a ground‐based imaging system on Haleakala Volcano on Maui, Hawaii, and the first Republic of China Satellite (ROCSAT‐1). We find that the images are useful for putting the one‐dimensional satellite data into a broader two‐dimensional context. We also investigate how the velocities in both directions perpendicular to the magnetic field estimated from the images compare to those measured in situ by the satellite. Finally, we suggest that these images will be crucial in providing the link between one‐dimensional ground‐based measurements, such as GPS scintillation measurements, and the in situ measurements provided by the satellite. With the launch of the C/NOFS satellite, comparisons of this type will become routine, allowing for new insight into the development and decay of the irregularities.