Earth's Ionosphere Research Articles

Intensity of 27-day variations in solar emission and ionospheric electron content

The rotation of the Sun modulates solar emission with 27-day variations. Large-scale structures in the solar atmosphere, like sunspots and plages, rotate with the Sun and emit at extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and microwaves that produce the varying part of the emission. As EUV emission is the main driver of ionization in the Earth ionosphere, its variations are reflected in the electron content. In this paper, we analyze wide range of data from radio emission in 245-17000 MHz range and the entire EUV spectrum to total and global electron contents (TEC and GEC, respectively) in the ionosphere to find out where the 27-day variations are most prominent. We show that the relative contribution of 27-day variations to radio emission is maximal at 1000 MHz and decreases at 245 and 17000 MHz. The variations are pronounced throughout the EUV spectrum, their intensity vary at different spectral lines and, on average, is higher than in radio emission. The distribution of the variations in global ionospheric maps (GIM) shows an intensification of 27-day variations in TEC in the North America region, which can be related to the winter anomaly as it is also more significant in this region. Temporal variations of the 27-day component of emission are similar in shape for radio and EUV emission, as well as for GEC, and have a high correlation, up to 0.8. Cycle-averaged temporal variations imply that the 27-day component weakens significantly during solar minimum but can intensify during the remaining phases of the solar cycle. We also find that the flux at 1000 MHz, which originate from free-free emission in contrast to F10.7, can be used as a proxy index of solar activity because it has the highest intensity of 27-day variations and has been observed since 1956.

On the analytical soliton approximations to damping forced Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation arising in dissipative nonthermal magnetized plasma

Abstract This paper aims to analyse the nonlinear characteristics of ion-acoustic solitary waves (IASWs) in a plasma system that is collisional and homogeneous in nature. The system under consideration comprises positive ions, negative ions, and nonthermal electrons and is influenced by an ambient magnetic field. To analyse the system, we utilize the reductive perturbation technique (RPT) and obtain the damped forced Zakharov-Kuznetsov (DFZK) equation. The DFZK equation provides a solitary wave solution when an external periodic force is present. Through numerical analysis of DFZK, we have observed that different parameters, e.g., the nonthermal parameters (r,q), the direction cosine, the temperature ratio of a positive ion to an electron, the temperature ratio of a negative ion to an electron, the density ratio of a negative ion to a positive ion source strength, and the source frequency, affect the phase velocity and the structures of IASWs significantly. This finding could help clarify the plasmas observed in the D- and F-regions of Earth's ionosphere, as well as in laboratory experiments where pair ions and nonthermal electrons are key characteristics.

Effect of (r, q) Distribution on Ion Acoustic Waves in a Negative‐Ion Plasma With Application to Earth's Ionosphere

Effect of (<i>r, q</i>) Distribution on Ion Acoustic Waves in a Negative‐Ion Plasma With Application to Earth's Ionosphere

The Initial Assessment of Ionospheric Radio Occultation Data of MSS‐1 Satellite and Its Applications in Scintillation Exploration

AbstractThe Macau Science Satellites (MSS‐1) mission, consisting of twin low earth orbit satellites (Satellite A and B), is the first low‐inclination and high‐precision geomagnetic surveying satellite project in China. Among the multiple scientific payloads equipped with the scientific satellites, MSS‐1 carries a GNSS radio occultation (RO) receiver on Satellite A, and aims to observe the Earth's ionosphere and monitor the space weather especially in the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) area. This paper focuses on the ionospheric data of MSS‐1 obtained during the first 3 months after its launch, and assesses the RO products as well as initial scintillation measurements. Results show that MSS‐1 RO data have very good agreement with contemporary COSMIC‐2 and ionosonde observations. The scintillation amplitude indices S4 are comparable with that of COSMIC‐2 and well reflect the occurrence rates and distributions of equatorial plasma bubble and sporadic E (Es) in June solstice season. Special attentions are paid to the SAA longitude sector and inspire explorations on the seasonal variations and local‐time dependences of ionospheric irregularities.

Contributions of Ionospheric Migrating Tides to Ionospheric Intra‐Annual Variations

AbstractThe Earth's ionosphere undergoes regular intra‐annual variations (IAVs) characterized by two peaks and troughs around the equinoxes and solstices. This phenomenon is crucial for analyzing the ionospheric response to geomagnetic storms. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the IAVs contributed by diurnal and semidiurnal migrating tides (DW1 and SW2) using Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs) data from 2017 to 2021. Through data stacking techniques, the seasonal variability and splitting phenomenon of DW1 and SW2 across different latitudes are examined. The findings indicate that the splitting of these tides can be attributed to their quasi‐periodic variations, predominantly composed of annual oscillation (AO) and semiannual oscillation (SAO). The combination of DW1, SW2, and their side‐band harmonics results in beats with annual and semiannual periodicities, enabling the restoration of the seasonal variations in DW1 and SW2. The ionospheric day‐to‐day variations were reconstructed by superimposing DW1 and SW2, and their IAVs were evaluated using the envelope method. Comparison with IAVs driven by Earth's orbital geometry reveals that tide‐driven IAVs are more significant, and both exhibit solar activity dependence. The results advance the understanding of ionospheric variability, emphasizing the critical role of tidal contributions.

Nonlinear propagation of ion-acoustic waves along with their bifurcation analysis in a negative ion plasma in the presence of quartic nonlinearity

In this article, the propagation of ion-acoustic shock and periodic waves along with their dynamical analysis around the supercritical values is studied in a (1 + 1)-dimensional collisionless negative ions plasma system comprising of inertia SF 6− with mass m−i and temperature T−i, inertia K+ with mass m+i and temperature T+i and inertialess non-extensive distributed electrons. By considering the appropriate starching coordinates and expansion of perturbation quantities, the Burgers-type equation with quartic nonlinearity is derived. Using the traveling wave transformation, a planar dynamical system is formed. The phase portrait is drawn and the associated nonlinear waves are analyzed. The research presented could be beneficial for understanding and forecasting localized electrostatic disturbances in the F- and D-layers of Earth's ionosphere as well as for guiding future experimental investigations in plasma laboratories.

Statistical Analysis of Atmospheric Electrical Potential

Atmospheric electricity, a complex interplay between Earth's surface, atmosphere, and ionosphere, is driven by both the dramatic charge separation in thunderstorms and the continuous ionization by cosmic rays and radioactivity. This study investigates the variations in atmospheric electrical potential using statistical analysis of data collected in Ilorin, Nigeria. A copper arrester and an earth rod connected to a data logger continuously measured the air-ground potential difference for four months. Meteorological parameters (humidity and temperature) were also monitored. We analyzed the factors influencing atmospheric electrical potential variations and developed a predictive model based on the collected data. The model was validated with independent datasets. Results indicate a diurnal and seasonal pattern in atmospheric electrical potential, with peaks observed during evenings and winter months, and lows in afternoons and summer. atmospheric electrical potential exhibited a positive correlation with humidity and a negative correlation with temperature. This study highlights the complex and dynamic nature of atmospheric electrical potential, influenced by various local and global factors. These findings contribute valuable data and insights on atmospheric electrical potential, advancing scientific understanding in this field.

Inclusion of Nonresonant Effects Into Quasi‐Linear Diffusion Rates for Electron Scattering by Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves

AbstractElectromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are a key plasma mode affecting radiation belt dynamics. These waves are important for relativistic electron losses through scattering and precipitation into Earth's ionosphere. Although theoretical models of such resonant scattering predict a low‐energy cut‐off of ∼1 MeV for precipitating electrons, observations from low‐altitude spacecraft often show simultaneous relativistic and sub‐relativistic electron precipitation associated with EMIC waves. Recently, nonresonant electron scattering by EMIC waves has been proposed as a possible solution to the above discrepancy. We employ this model and a large database of EMIC waves to develop a universal treatment of electron interactions with EMIC waves, including nonresonant effects. We use the Green's function approach to generalize EMIC diffusion rates foregoing the need to modify existing codes or recompute empirical wave databases. Comparison with observations from the electron losses and fields investigation mission demonstrates the efficacy of the proposed method for explaining sub‐relativistic electron losses by EMIC waves.

Charging of space debris in the LEO and GEO regions

We present theoretical estimates of the electrical charge and electrostatic surface potentials on debris objects orbiting in the LEO and GEO regions of the Earth's ionosphere. The estimates are obtained using analytic calculations based on an improved Orbital Motion Limited model as well as through numerical Particle-In-Cell simulations using the open-source SPIS code. A variety of shapes, sizes, and material compositions of the debris objects are considered, including HAMR objects with a high area-to-mass ratio and objects composed of insulating and conducting material patches. In the GEO region, we consider the charging arising from photo-emission effects and the impact of energetic charged particle beams associated with solar flares. We discuss the nature of the debris-induced collective excitations in the plasma and their potential use for debris detection.

Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances detection: a statistical study of detrending techniques, induced period error and near real-time observables

Due to advances in remote sensing of the Earth's Ionosphere through Total Electron Content (TEC) estimates by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, it is possible to detect and characterize Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) in both post-processing and, to some extent, in near real-time (NRT). A reliable and precise TEC filtering technique must be adopted to characterize waves accurately. Specifically, TEC detrending is widely adopted to extract the amplitude and period of the detected ionospheric waves from the background ionospheric conditions. Therefore, this study aims to understand and compare how different TEC detrending techniques and their settings impact the ability to extract such parameters. We highlight that the novel Fast Iterative Filtering (FIF) and the Savitzky-Golay filter (SGOLAY) techniques are the most reliable overall compared with moving average (MA), multi-order numerical difference (DD), polynomial detrending (POLY) and Finite Impulse response (FIR) band-pass filter (BUTF). Moreover, the impact of general algorithm settings on the extracted TID period is investigated, such as the Ionospheric Piercing Point (IPP) height and elevation cut-off angle, showing that such parameters drastically impact the retrieved period, especially for slower TIDs. Finally, due to the growing interest in real-time (RT) detection and classification of TIDs, the study proposes techniques for accurately estimating the TID amplitude in an NRT scenario. Such NRT techniques are then compared with the widely used post-processing products, such as the calibrated vertical TEC (vTEC), showing a difference that is mostly lower than the typical noise level of GNSS receivers (0.05 TECu).

Radiation of twisted waves from a phased array of loop antennas in a resonant magnetoplasma

A study is made of the radiation from a phased array of circular loop antennas in a resonant magnetoplasma. The loops are assumed to have a finite radius and be located on a circumference in such a manner that their axes are aligned with a static magnetic field superimposed on the plasma. The emphasis is placed on determining the total radiated power of such an array and the partial powers going to different azimuthal field harmonics. For these quantities, rigorous integral representations are obtained using an expansion of the excited field in terms of cylindrical vector eigenfunctions of a magnetized plasma medium. Numerical results are reported for the radiation characteristics of the phased array in the whistler frequency range under conditions of the Earth's ionosphere. It is shown that an appropriately phased array is capable of selectively exciting waves with the desired helicity of the phase front and can be useful as a source of twisted whistler-mode waves in a magnetoplasma.

Observations of Relativistic Electron Precipitation Due To Combined Scattering of Whistler‐Mode and EMIC Waves

AbstractThe two most important wave modes responsible for energetic electron scattering to the Earth's ionosphere are electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves and whistler‐mode waves. These wave modes operate in different energy ranges: whistler‐mode waves are mostly effective in scattering sub‐relativistic electrons, whereas EMIC waves predominately scatter relativistic electrons. In this study, we report the direct observations of energetic electron (from 50 keV to 2.5 MeV) scattering driven by the combined effect of whistler‐mode and EMIC waves using ELFIN measurements. We analyze five events showing EMIC‐driven relativistic electron precipitation accompanied by bursts of whistler‐driven precipitation over a wide energy range. These events reveal an enhancement of relativistic electron precipitation by EMIC waves during intervals of whistler‐mode precipitation compared to intervals of EMIC‐only precipitation. We discuss a possible mechanism responsible for such precipitation. We suggest that below the minimum resonance energy (Emin) of EMIC waves, the whistler‐mode wave may both scatter electrons into the loss‐cone and accelerate them to higher energy (1–3 MeV). Electrons accelerated above Emin resonate with EMIC waves that, in turn, quickly scatter those electrons into the loss‐cone. This enhances relativistic electron precipitation beyond what EMIC waves alone could achieve. We present theoretical support for this mechanism, along with observational evidence from the ELFIN mission. We discuss methodologies for further observational investigations of this combined whistler‐mode and EMIC precipitation.

Uncertainty analysis of the plasma impedance probe

A plasma impedance probe (PIP) is a type of in situ, radio frequency (RF) probe that is traditionally used to measure plasma properties (e.g., density) in low-density environments such as the Earth's ionosphere. We believe that PIPs are underrepresented in laboratory settings, in part because PIP operation and analysis have not been optimized for signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), reducing the probe's accuracy, upper density limit, and acquisition rate. This work presents our efforts in streamlining and simplifying the PIP design, circuit-based-model, calibration, and analysis for unmagnetized laboratory plasmas, in both continuous and pulsed PIP operation. The focus of this work is a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis, which identifies operational and analysis procedures that improve SNR by multiple orders of magnitude. Additionally, this analysis provides evidence that the sheath resonance (and not the plasma frequency as previously believed) sets the PIP's upper density limit, which likely provides an additional method for extending the PIP's density limit.

Enhanced Oxygen Ion Outflow at Earth and Mars due to the Concurrent Impact of a Stream Interaction Region

One of the major processes that solar wind drives is the outflow and escape of ions from the planetary atmospheres. The major ion species in the upper ionospheres of both Earth and Mars is O+, and hence it is more likely to dominate the escape process. On Earth, due to a strong intrinsic magnetic field, the major ion outflow pathways are through the cusp, polar cap, and the auroral oval. In contrast, Mars has an induced magnetosphere, where the ionosphere is in direct contact with the shocked solar wind plasma. Therefore, physical processes underlying the ion energization and escape rates are expected to be different on Mars as compared to Earth. In the current work, we study the near-simultaneous ion outflow event from both Earth and Mars during the passage of a stream interaction region/high-speed stream (SIR/HSS) during 2016 May, when both the planets were approximately aligned on the same side of the Sun. The SIR/HSS propagation was recorded by spacecraft at the Sun–Earth L1 point and Mars Express at 1.5 au. During the passage of the SIR, the dayside and nightside ion outflows at Earth were observed by Van Allen Probes and Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission orbiters, respectively. At Mars, the ion energization at different altitudes was observed by the STATIC instrument on board the MAVEN orbiter. We observe evidence for the enhanced ion outflow from both Earth and Mars during the passage of the SIR, and identify the dominant drivers of the ion outflow.

High-energy particle observations from the Moon.

The Moon is a unique natural laboratory for the study of the deep space plasma and energetic particles environment. During more than 3/4 of its orbit around the Earth it is exposed to the solar wind. Being an unmagnetized body and lacking a substantial atmosphere, solar wind and solar energetic particles bombardthe Moon's surface, interacting with the lunar regolith and the tenuous lunar exosphere. Energetic particles arriving at the Moon's surface can be absorbed, or scattered, or can remove another particle from the lunar regolith by sputtering or desorption. A similar phenomenon occurs also with the galactic cosmic rays, which have fluxes and energy spectra representative of interplanetary space. During the remaining part of its orbit the Moon crosses the tail of the terrestrial magnetosphere. It then provides the opportunity to study in-situ the terrestrial magnetotail plasma environment as well as atmospheric escape from the Earth's ionosphere, in the form of heavy ions accelerated and streaming downtail. The lunar environment is thus a unique natural laboratory for analysing the interaction of the solar wind, the cosmic rays and the Earth's magnetosphere with the surface, the immediate subsurface, and the surface-bounded exosphere of an unmagnetized planetary body. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Astronomy from the Moon: the next decades (part 2)'.

The Spectrum of Global Electron Content: A New Potential Indicator of Space Weather Activity.

The time evolution of the total number of free electrons in the Earth's ionosphere, i.e., the Global Electron Content (GEC), during more than two solar cycles is analyzed in this work. The GEC time series has been extracted from the Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs) of Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) estimated by UPC-IonSAT with TOMION-v1 software from global GPS measurements since the end of 1996. A dual-layer voxel-based tomographic model solved with a forward Kalman scalar filter, from dual-frequency carrier GPS data only, provides the so-called UQRG GIM after VTEC kriging interpolation, with a resolution of 15 min in time, 5° in longitude and 2.5° in latitude. UQRG is one of the best behaving GIMs in the International GNSS Service (IGS).In this context, the potential application of the GEC spectrum evolution as a potential space weather index is discussed and demonstrated.

Topanga: A kinetic ion plasma code for large-scale ionospheric simulations on magnetohydrodynamic timescales

Topanga is a kinetic ion code developed for simulating large-scale plasma phenomena in the Earth's ionosphere on magnetohydrodynamic timescales. It is a domain-decomposed parallel code that runs on high-performance computing platforms. Features of Topanga include spherical geometry for simplified boundary conditions and computational efficiency; a hybrid plasma model with inertia-less fluid electrons, kinetic ions, and an electric field specified via an Ohm's law; a Maxwell-FDTD (finite difference time domain) plasma model which retains the displacement current in Maxwell's equations and models electron currents in the ionosphere with a tensor conductivity; sponge-layer boundary conditions for absorption of electromagnetic and plasma waves incident on the domain boundaries; and a novel mixed-implicit algorithm for evolving the EM fields inside the Maxwell-FDTD region that is stable over many orders of magnitude in the electron–ion collision frequency. We verify the numerical methods used in Topanga on a pair of test problems. The first test involves modeling a three-dimensional collisionless shock using the hybrid set of equations. The second test involves modeling a spherical TEM mode in vacuum using the Maxwell-FDTD set of equations. Finally, we demonstrate how using the combined set of hybrid and Maxwell-FDTD equations to model the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test recovers a “missing” EM signal on the ground that is not present when using only the hybrid set of equations. The magnitude of this signal in the simulation containing the Maxwell-FDTD region agrees well with the E3a portion of the magnetohydrodynamic electromagnetic pulse from Starfish Prime.

HF radio channel modeling by a waveguide approach

We present a modified method of HF radio channel modeling based on a waveguide approach. The waveguide approach represents the electromagnetic field of radiation inside the Earth—ionosphere waveguide as an eigenfunction series of a radial boundary problem with impedance conditions on the Earth surface and radiation conditions at infinity. The transfer function of the radio channel is represented as a series of products of angular-operator Green functions, excitation coefficients, and coefficients for receiving individual normal modes. We have obtained a solution of the boundary value problem of determining the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the radial operator. The solution can be applied to the frequency range below the ionospheric F-layer critical frequency. We examine algorithms for calculating distance-frequency, frequency-angular, and amplitude characteristics of signals by analyzing and numerically summarizing the series in terms of strongly damped normal modes.

Моделирование КВ-радиоканала на основе волноводного подхода

We present a modified method of HF radio channel modeling based on a waveguide approach. The waveguide approach represents the electromagnetic field of radiation inside the Earth—ionosphere waveguide as an eigenfunction series of a radial boundary problem with impedance conditions on the Earth surface and radiation conditions at infinity. The transfer function of the radio channel is represented as a series of products of angular-operator Green functions, excitation coefficients, and coefficients for receiving individual normal modes. We have obtained a solution of the boundary value problem of determining the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the radial operator. The solution can be applied to the frequency range below the ionospheric F-layer critical frequency. We examine algorithms for calculating distance-frequency, frequency-angular, and amplitude characteristics of signals by analyzing and numerically summarizing the series in terms of strongly damped normal modes.

Analysis of the Motion of Solar Wind (SW) and Other Solar Activities Impacts on the Earth

Solar wind (SW), the powerful outflow of charged particles from the Sun, has a significant impact on Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmospheric processes. This paper examines the motion of SW and its effects on Earth, focusing on changes such as slow and fast SWs and their impacts on geomagnetic storms, ionospheric disturbances, and precipitation patterns. Observations from spacecraft, including the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), and the Wind spacecraft, have provided valuable data on solar wind properties. However, there are limitations in spatial coverage and the measurement of internal SW properties. Accurately predicting SW behavior remains a challenge. Future research should focus on developing advanced observational techniques, utilizing multiple spacecraft, and improving modeling and data analysis approaches. The forthcoming expeditions, specifically the Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe, are predicted to provide novel understandings into solar activity. Enhancing our understanding of solar activity and improving space weather predictions are crucial for mitigating the potential adverse effects of SW on electricity, communication, and other human activities. This research contributes to advancements in space weather forecasting and the reliable and safe operation of our technological infrastructure.