Structure of planetary disturbances of the mid-latitude ionosphere according to observations of GPS satellites

Abstract

Using GPS satellites, the existence of ionospheric disturbances in the range of planetary wave periods is established based on global variations of the total electron content in the mid-latitude ionosphere in the summer months of 1990. For quasi-two-day variations, a substantial difference is found of the structure of these variations from variations with the same quasi-period in the atmosphere. In addition, it is demonstrated that the ionospheric response to quasi-seven-day atmospheric variations is a more general phenomenon than was commonly believed before. The observed variations of the total electron content are interpreted as a consequence of the modulation of tidal oscillations by planetary waves.