Variations in thermospheric density during two consecutive geomagnetic storms of different solar wind conditions in November 2022

Abstract

Geomagnetic storms can cause severe space weather impacts on space technology, such as anomaly and loss of satellites and spacecraft. We investigate solar wind conditions in responsible for two consecutive geomagnetic storms driven by different sources: a high-speed solar wind stream (HSS) on November 3-4, 2022, and a coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with an M5.2 solar flare on November 7, 2022. Spatial and temporal variations in thermospheric density and auroral activity are studied for the two geomagnetic storms. Measurements from the Swarm satellite show that the HSS-driven geomagnetic storm enhanced the thermospheric density by ~69.4% at 462 km and by ~92.8% at 511 km, and the CME-driven geomagnetic storm enhanced it by ~99.4% at 462 km and by ~145% at 511 km. Images taken by the F17 DMSP/SSUSI indicate the auroral emission produced by CME-driven geomagnetic storm is significantly stronger than that produced by HSS-driven storm, while the HSS-driven auroras last longer than the CME-driven ones. The correlation between the hourly moving averaged SymH data and the thermospheric density is stronger for Swarm-A than for Swarm-B. The response times of the thermospheric density for the HSS-driven geomagnetic storm are zero at 462 km and ~47 minutes at 511 km, while for the CME-driven geomagnetic storm are ~28 minutes and ~35 minutes, respectively. This study sheds light on the mechanisms underlying the change in the thermospheric density in relation to different geomagnetic activities.