The effect of space weather on the ionosphere at the 110° meridian during CAWSES-II period

Abstract

Space weather determines the state of the ionosphere, which is especially important to know during disturbances. To study this state, the period of March 7–17, 2012, which was recommended by SCOSTEP for detailed studies and called CAWSES-II, was selected. In this period, the behavior of parameters of the solar wind (SW) and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) show a number of features. In this paper, we study their relationship with the total electron content (TEC) and the critical frequency (foF2) of the ionosphere at the 110° meridian, near which several ionosondes are located, in the range of 20°N-62.5°N. The correlation coefficients of TEC and foF2 with the SW and IMF parameters for the month and the selected period are calculated. The ionosphere showed the considered disturbances in different ways in different latitudinal zones: negative anomalies are observed at high latitudes, and positive ones at low latitudes. A distinctive feature is the presence of signs of a super-fountain effect. Deviations of TEC and foF2 from their medians can be significant. The IRI model reacted in the latitude range 40°N-62.5°N in the form of negative anomalies, although positive anomalies were observed in the TEC. At lower latitudes, no reaction was observed. For all factors (F10.7, Dst, Kp, IMF, Np), three zones (high-latitude, mid-latitude, and low-latitude) are distinguished for different coefficients. The strongest influence of disturbances on the correlation coefficients is observed in the zone of 37.5°N–62.5°N.