Ionospheric Gradients Research Articles

Network‐based ionospheric gradient monitoring to support GBAS

<h3>Abstract</h3> Large ionospheric gradients acting between a Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) reference station and an aircraft on approach could lead to hazardous position errors if undetected. Current GBAS stations provide solutions against this threat that rely on the use of “worst-case” conservative threat models, which could limit the availability of the system. This paper presents a methodology capable of detecting ionospheric gradients in real time and estimating the actual threat model parameters based on a network of dual-frequency and multi-constellation GNSS monitoring stations. First, we evaluate the performance of our algorithm with synthetic gradients that are simulated over the nominal measurements recorded by a reference network in Alaska. Afterwards, we also assess it with one real ionospheric gradient measured by the same network. Results with both simulated gradients and a real gradient show the potential to support GBAS by detecting and estimating these gradients instead of always using “worst-case” models.

ESTIMATION AND ANALYSIS OF PROTECTION LEVELS FOR PRECISE APPROACH AT RIO DE JANEIRO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT USING REAL TIME σVIG FOR EACH GPS AND GLONASS SATELLITE

Abstract: Determinations of the vertical ionospheric gradient standard deviation (σvig ) in real time to each Global Positioning System (GPS) and Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS) satellite available in Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) of the Rio de Janeiro International Airport (SBGL) were used in the estimates of Horizontal and Vertical Protection Level (HPL/VPL). For this purpose two software were developed: MoR_Ion_RT (real time ionospheric threat assessment for GBAS in Brazil) and SBGL_PL (calculation of SBGL HPL/VPL), whose methods and equations are presented in this paper. Since such determinations transmit the real ionospheric condition at the time of an approaching aircraft, they also allow performing the screening of the data, based on the Conterminous United States (CONUS) Threat Model threshold. Experiments carried out indicate that it is possible to attend CAT-I during the autumn (most affected season) at SBGL using GPS or GLONASS satellites, provided that the restrictions established by a temporal ionospheric threat model developed for the region are applied (avoid satellites with elevations between 10° and 37°). It was also found that the use of GLONASS in conjunction with GPS satellites makes it possible to meet CAT-III Horizontal and Vertical Alert Limit (HAL/VAL), since it has a better geometric configuration.

Modeling the ionospheric gradient by using VSS base functions and GPS data over Iran

The spatial and temporal variations of ionosphere play an important role in positioning and navigation by the space geodetic techniques. Therefore, the ionospheric gradient should be calculated, analyzed, and applied in both space and time. Spatial gradients of the ionosphere have remarkable delay on the propagation of electromagnetic waves. This study intends to propose a new method for simultaneous modeling of the spatial gradients of ionosphere and VTECs in the local scale for Iran. Vector Spherical Slepian (VSS) base functions are used for the development of this method.Five VSS models with the maximal degrees of L = 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 are taken into account. For implementing the VSS method, 24 permanent GPS stations from the Iranian Permanent GPS Network (IPGN) have been used. The unknown coefficients are estimated with the observations of these stations with least squares technique. Four other stations are used for evaluating the accuracy of the models. Repeatability of baselines is the measure that is used for this purpose. Based on the results obtained, L = 40 is the optimum degree for the VSS model with this input data over Iran.The baselines’ repeatability showed that ionospheric gradients have more influence on the north–south component. Moreover, the spatial gradient is negligible in the east–west and up-down component when a short baseline is processed. In other words, this kind of ionospheric modeling has significant application for baseline, which is longer than 1000 km. In the study, proposed method has improved the long baselines' solution by more than 12%, 18% and 10% in east–west, north–south and up-down components, respectively.

Carrier Phase-Based Ionospheric Gradient Monitor Under the Mixed Gaussian Distribution

Anomalous ionospheric gradient is a critical risk to be monitored by ground-based augmentation systems (GBASs) utilized for safety-of-life navigation applications. A dual-frequency carrier phase-based ionospheric gradient monitoring method is proposed under the mixed Gaussian distribution. The minimum detection error of the proposed method can be greatly reduced by allowing acceptable ambiguity resolution failure modes, given the required averaging length. The real BeiDou navigation satellite system data were utilized to test the proposed method. The experimental results showed that the minimum detection error (MDE) of the proposed dual-frequency ionospheric gradient monitoring method can be reduced by at least 30% in comparison with the maximum acceptable anomalous ionospheric gradient of category III GBAS. This study demonstrated that the proposed method can be used to protect against the ionospheric gradient for a ground-based augmentation system.

Impact of anomalous ionospheric gradients on GBAS in the low-latitude region of China

The ionospheric gradient caused by spatial decorrelation is a crucial factor affecting the integrity of a ground-based augmentation system (GBAS). We processed GPS data from the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China from 2008 to 2018 with the long-term ionospheric anomaly monitoring method and then analyzed and verified a typical anomalous event. Compared with the wedge, plasma bubbles in the low-latitude region can be better described by the trapezoid. The largest detected anomalous gradient in China was 196 mm/km, and the conservative upper bound of anomalous gradients was determined to be 300 mm/km. Wedge and trapezoid were applied to establish GBAS threat models for China. Based on these threat models, we analyzed the impact of anomalous ionospheric gradients on GBAS in the low-latitude region of China. The results show that the performances of ionospheric anomaly monitors satisfy the requirements of GBAS approach service type D when the wedge is applied. However, the performances do not satisfy the requirements under the trapezoid for the following scenarios: When the speed and direction of the aircraft are similar to the threat model with a narrower slope width, the aircraft is affected by anomalies before the time that the GBAS facilities are affected; moreover, the monitor performance decreases sharply, and large differential range errors may occur. Finally, the high-risk approach conditions were analyzed in detail, and we provided recommendations for conducting aircraft approaches at low latitudes.

Dual smoothing ionospheric gradient monitoring algorithm for dual-frequency BDS GBAS

In this study, a Dual Smoothing Ionospheric Gradient Monitor Algorithm (DSIGMA) was developed for Code-Carrier Divergence (CCD) faults of dual-frequency Ground-Based Augmentation Systems (GBAS) based on the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). Divergence-Free (DF) combinations of the signals were used to form test statistics for a dual-frequency DSIGMA. First, the single-frequency DSIGMA was reviewed, which supports the GBAS approach service type D (GAST-D) for protection against the effect of large ionospheric gradients. The single-frequency DSIGMA was used to create a novel input scheme for the dual-frequency DSIGMA by introducing DF combinations. The steady states of the test statistics were also analysed. The monitors were characterized using BDS measurement data, whereby standard deviations of 0.0432 and 0.0639 m for the proposed two test statistics were used to calculate the monitor threshold. An extensive simulation was designed to assess the monitor performance by comparing the Probability of Missed Detection (PMD) according to the differential error with the range domain PMD limits under different fault modes. The results showed that the proposed algorithm has a higher integrity performance than the single-frequency monitor. The minimum detectable divergence with the same missed probability is less than 50% that of GAST-D.

A Study on the Characteristics of the Ionospheric Gradient under Geomagnetic Perturbations.

The Earth’s ionosphere is greatly influenced by geomagnetic activities, especially geomagnetic storms. During a geomagnetic storm, the ionosphere suffers many perturbations, leading to a spatial gradient that are neglected during geomagnetically quiet periods. An ionospheric gradient generates potential hazards for a ground-based argumentation system (GBAS) by enlarging the errors in the delay corrections between ground monitor stations and users. To address this problem, this work investigates the characteristics of the ionospheric gradient under geomagnetic storms. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations from the continuously operating reference station (CORS) network were used to analyze the ionospheric gradients during the geomagnetic storm on 8 September 2017. The statistical behavior of the ionospheric gradient was further discussed. Experiments show that strong geomagnetic perturbations lead to large ionospheric gradients, and the gradients also vary with the geomagnetic location.

Extreme ionospheric spatial decorrelation observed during the March 1, 2014, equatorial plasma bubble event

The ground-based augmentation system must make provisions to being sufficiently robustness to ionospheric anomalies through the development of an ionospheric anomaly threat model. For developing the threat model in Brazil, earlier work found that ionospheric spatial decorrelations larger than those in the midlatitude regions were frequently observed during the peak of Solar Cycle #24 (current cycle). We provide details of a study of the extreme ionospheric spatial decorrelation observed over Brazil during the March 1, 2014, equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) event. As viewed by two Brazilian GNSS reference stations in Sao Jose dos Campos, PRN 03 descended to an elevation angle of about 19° in the northern sky. A spatial decorrelation of 850.7 mm/km at the GPS L1 signal at 01:04:00 UT between the two stations SJCU (23.21° S, 45.96° W) and SSJC (23.20° S, 45.86° W) over a baseline of 9.72 km was discovered, when the line of sight of PRN 03 passed through the transition zone of the EPB. Since the EPB-induced ionospheric scintillation can corrupt the ionospheric gradient estimates, multiple gradient observations were made from multiple stations and satellites to verify the largest gradient observation. Severe gradients discovered at other station–satellite pairs support that the event of PRN 03 is a real anomaly as opposed to a receiver fault or the result of post-processing errors. Since the availability loss was estimated to be 41.7% with the Brazilian threat model, remedies to reduce over-estimated ionospheric impact when evaluating and mitigating ionospheric integrity risk are presented.

Interhemispheric Asymmetry of Large‐Scale Electron Density Gradients in the Polar Cap Ionosphere: UT and Seasonal Variations

AbstractThe high‐latitude ionosphere is highly dynamical with significant irregularities and density gradients. However, the spatial and temporal distributions of density gradients and irregularities are very different between the Arctic and Antarctic. In this report, we study the interhemispheric asymmetry of the large‐scale (100 km) density gradients in both polar caps. Our results show that density gradients in the Arctic are enhanced during local winter (December solstice) with a peak around 19 UT. The UT and spatial distributions in the Antarctic local winter (June solstice) are similar to the Arctic except that they are reversed by 12 hr, which indicates a mirror symmetry between hemispheres. The 12‐hr difference in the peak density gradients can be explained by the displacements between the geographic and geomagnetic poles. The only asymmetry (anomaly) is the persistence of strong density gradients in the southern polar cap during local summer (December solstice).

Single-Frequency Time-Step Ionospheric Delay Gradient Estimation at Low-Latitude Stations

The irregularity of the local-area ionospheric delay is a primary impediment for Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) services. Excessive ionospheric delay gradients may degrade aircraft positioning for high precision landing systems. Therefore, the spatial gradients of the nominal background ionosphere must be studied as their statistics will be sent to the approaching aircraft. For the well-known station-pair method, ionospheric delay gradient estimation requires at least 2 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reference stations. This method can be applied to both single or dual-frequency GNSS receivers. However, when the GNSS stations are far apart, it is not suitable for estimating the ionospheric delay gradients at short baselines, and the time-step method is an attractive alternative. In this work, we propose a single-frequency time-step method for ionospheric delay gradient estimation. Careful baseline length selection is needed, due to ionospheric piercing point movements. We applied our method to GNSS data in 2014, at the peak of the 24th solar cycle, and showed that the standard deviations of the vertical ionospheric delay gradients were comparable to those derived from the dual-frequency time-step method. The standard deviations of vertical ionospheric gradients, $\sigma _{\mathrm {VIG}}$ , ranged between 4 and 6 mm/km. The $\sigma _{\mathrm {VIG}}$ values around the equinoxes were ~1.5 mm/km greater than at other times.

Simulation study of mitigation of plasma bubble effects on GBAS using a VHF radar

Plasma bubbles can affect ground-based augmentation system (GBAS) performance by posing large spatial ionospheric gradients between the aircraft and the airport, which makes it important to detect plasma bubbles effectively. In this study, we investigate the use of VHF radar to detect plasma bubbles and mitigate their potential impact on GBAS through a simulation. When the line-of-sight of a certain GPS satellite is determined to be passing through an area of plasma bubbles as detected by EAR, such GPS satellite shall be removed from the positioning calculation on board the aircraft. We set up different simulation scenarios by varying the satellite geometry, and airport coordinate. Results are described in the form of vertical protection level (VPL) and vertical position error (VPE), which we then analyse as a function of zonal and meridional distance. The results show that such a radar-based monitoring system can be used to mitigate the effects of plasma bubbles on GBAS to cover surrounding airports within a certain range, especially in the meridional direction.

Assessment and mitigation of equatorial plasma bubble impacts on category I GBAS operations in the Brazilian region

Prior to initiating GBAS service in equatorial regions, it is vital to evaluate potential integrity threats posed by equatorial plasma bubble (EPB)-induced ionospheric gradients and assess availability when implementing ionospheric threat mitigation methods. Earlier work developed a preliminary EPB model with a gradient bound larger than twice that for mid-latitude ionospheric storms. Position-domain geometry screening (PDGS) with this higher gradient bound decreases availability to 58.3% at the Galeao International Airport, Brazil, during nighttime. A new mitigation method using Monte Carlo simulation randomizes ionospheric scenarios using randomly generated parameter combinations within the threat model and assesses the ensemble impacts. By taking credit for a prior probability of an extreme EPB, this algorithm determines the inflated integrity parameters to meet the safety requirement in the probabilistic definition. This paper shows that with this method, the system availability for category I precision approaches dramatically improved to 89.6% when a data-driven prior probability of 10-5 was applied.

A description of the Elevation sensitive Oblique Incidence Sounder Experiment (ELOISE)

The Elevation sensitive Oblique Incidence Sounder Experiment (ELOISE) was an extensive experiment undertaken by the Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group that focused on collecting ionospheric sensor data from multiple overlapping ionospheric paths in the Australian region in order to improve understanding of the characteristics of ionospheric variability and its effect on HF radio propagation. The experiment ran from July to October 2015 and included a period of three weeks of increased sample density and three days of dedicated over-the-horizon (OTH) radar operations. It was anticipated that ELOISE would sample a wide range of environmental conditions and present an opportunity to characterise periods of “normal variability” and periods of “exceptional variability” in the ionosphere.This report is a general description of the aims of this experiment and the types of data collected. Particular interest focused on observing and measuring variability in ionospheric electron density gradients and their effect on oblique HF propagation. To this end, ELOISE established a pair of two dimensional HF receiver arrays to directly measure the oblique angle of arrival (AoA) on many overlapping oblique paths. ELOISE also established a dense sub-network of spatially separated quasi-vertical incidence soundings in the vicinity of Alice Springs in central Australia. This enabled a comparison of gradients observed in a dense network of vertical sounders with gradient effects observed in oblique propagation passing overhead. Several additional ionospheric observing systems were also used to give complementary pictures of the fine scale characteristics of ionospheric variability in the region. Plain Language SummaryThis paper is an overview of the 2015 Elevation sensitive Oblique Incidence Sounder Experiment (ELOISE), an experiment designed to observe and characterise mid-latitude ionospheric disturbances in the Australian region and understand their impact on high frequency (HF) signal propagation.ELOISE involved the simultaneous operation of a large collection of ionospheric sounders enabling ionospheric variability to be characterised on a finely sampled large scale.Particular efforts were made to provide direct high fidelity measurements of the angle of arrival (AoA) on many oblique HF propagation paths. These direct AoA measurements imply horizontal electron density gradients that can be compared to ionospheric gradients estimated from conventional models of the ionosphere derived from the spatial network of sounder sites.The size and scope of the experiment are detailed in this paper and some preliminary results are presented.

Estimation of ionospheric gradients and vertical total electron content using dual-frequency NAVIC measurements

Indian Space Research Organization is being developing a regional satellite radio navigation system known as Navigation with Indian Constellation (NAVIC) satellite system to cater positioning, navigation and timing application. NAVIC has the capability to transmit dual frequency measurements on L5 and S band signals. Ionospheric gradients are one of the pre-dominant error sources with huge impact at the time of geomagnetic disturbed ionospheric conditions in low-latitude region. The large ionospheric gradients can degrade the positional accuracy of NAVIC system. In this paper, ionospheric temporal gradient analysis is carried out in east, west, north and south directions using a Weighted Least Squares (WLS) algorithm for NAVIC L5 signals. The ionospheric gradient algorithm is tested with NAVIC receiver data located at Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF) University campus, Guntur, India (16.42∘ N, 80.62∘ E) during geomagnetic storm time conditions (27th–29th May 2017). The results confirmed the increments in VTEC along with longitudinal (E-W) and latitudinal (N-S) gradient magnitudes accordingly with geomagnetic storm effects. The WLS based VTEC model is able to detect E and W ionospheric gradients during the transition period from main phase to recovery phase of the geo-magnetic storm.

Vertical ionospheric delay estimation for single-receiver operation

Abstract An apparent delay is occurred in GPS signal due to both refraction and diffraction caused by the atmosphere. The second region of the atmosphere is the ionosphere. The ionosphere is significantly related to GPS and the refraction it causes in GPS signal is considered one of the main source of errors which must be eliminated to determine accurate positions. GPS receiver networks have been used for monitoring the ionosphere for a long time. The ionospheric delay is the most predominant of all the error sources. This delay is a function of the total electron content (TEC). Because of the dispersive nature of the ionosphere, one can estimate the ionospheric delay using the dual frequency GPS. In the current research our primary goal is applying Precise Point Positioning (PPP) observation for accurate ionosphere error modeling, by estimating Ionosphere delay using carrier phase observations from dual frequency GPS receiver. The proposed algorithm was written using MATLAB and was named VIDE program. The proposed Algorithm depends on the geometry-free carrier-phase observations after detecting cycle slip to estimates the ionospheric delay using a spherical ionospheric shell model, in which the vertical delays are described by means of a zenith delay at the station position and latitudinal and longitudinal gradients. Geometry-free carrier-phase observations were applied to avoid unwanted effects of pseudorange measurements, such as code multipath. The ionospheric estimation in this algorithm is performed by means of sequential least-squares adjustment. Finally, an adaptable user interface MATLAB software are capable of estimating ionosphere delay, ambiguity term and ionosphere gradient accurately.

Large‐Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Origin and Propagation: Case Study of the December 2015 Geomagnetic Storm

AbstractWe investigate the origin, occurrence, and propagation of large‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (LSTIDs) over the European region during the 19–21 December 2015 geomagnetic storm. Analysis of the total electron content (TEC) perturbation component is supported by the ground‐based Global Positioning System (GPS) and GLONASS (In Russian: GLObalnaya NAvigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema) observations. The high spatial‐temporal resolution mapping approach provides a very detailed specification of the ionospheric small‐ to large‐scale disturbances associated with two major sources of the LSTIDs generation: the solar terminator passage during the quiet time and auroral activity caused by auroral particle precipitation and field‐aligned currents (FACs) intensification during geomagnetic disturbances. For the first time, the joint analysis of the ionospheric plasma irregularities, FACs, and LSTIDs reveals that a zone with the intense FACs and ionospheric irregularities occurred at the same region that represent the most probable source of LSTIDs excitation. During the main phase of the storm, the LSTIDs propagated equatorward from European high latitudes to middle latitudes (35–40°N) with the horizontal velocities of ~700–800 m/s. The LSTIDs as deduced from the TEC‐disturbed component had a much larger magnitude and propagate much longer distances during the daytime (sunlit part) than in the night. We found that an equatorward expansion of the strong ionospheric irregularities zone and an increase of the FACs magnitude led to a simultaneous intensification of the LSTIDs occurrence at high latitudes. The GPS ROTI (rate of TEC index) technique, a sensitive one for detection of the rapid ionospheric gradients and irregularities, could not recognize any signatures of the TIDs structures.

Studying Ionosphere Responses to a Geomagnetic Storm in June 2015 with Multi-Constellation Observations

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations with global coverage and high temporal and spatial resolution, provide abundant and high-quality Earth-ionosphere observations. By calculating the total electron content (TEC), estimations from GNSS observables global and regional ionosphere TEC morphology can be further investigated. For the multiple constellation case, the numbers of ionosphere pierce points (IPP) has increased tremendously, and it is worth studying the features of the GNSS derived TEC under geomagnetic storms to show the benefits of multiple constellation measurements. With the Multi-GNSS Experiment (MGEX) observation data, ionosphere TEC responses to the geomagnetic storm on the 22 June 2015 were well studied. TEC perturbations were discovered, accompanied by ionosphere irregularities concentrating in high and middle latitudes. Through analysis of multi-GNSS observations, the Rate of TEC Index (ROTI) perturbations were proved to be generated by the geomagnetic storm, with simultaneous behaviors at different local times around the world, also indicating ionosphere scintillation. The ionosphere spatial gradient was also discussed with two short baseline MGEX sites; the maximum ionosphere gradient of 247.2 mm/km was found, due to ionosphere irregularity produced by the storm. This research has discussed ionosphere responses to geomagnetic storms with multi-GNSS data provided and has analyzed the availability of multi-GNSS observations to investigate ionosphere irregularity climatology. The proposed work is valuable for further investigation of GNSS performances under geomagnetic storms.

The GIVE Ionospheric Delay Correction Approach to Improve Positional Accuracy of NavIC/IRNSS Single-Frequency Receiver

The Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC)/Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is an independent navigation system developed for the Indian subcontinent by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The positional accuracy of this system is mainly affected by the ionosphere of the low-latitude equatorial Indian subcontinent, as large ionospheric gradients and intense irregularities are present in it. The objective of this study is to improve the positional accuracy of NavIC/IRNSS systems by applying ionospheric correction using the most suitable single-frequency model. The data to be analysed were collected from the NavIC/IRNSS receiver provided by the Space Applications Centre, ISRO. A comparative analysis between the dual-frequency model and single-frequency model (e.g. GIVE model, coefficient-based model) was performed on the data from the NavIC/IRNSS receiver. Different ionospheric models were applied to compute ionospheric delay (ionodelay) on a quiet day (3 < K P < 5). Our result shows that both the single-frequency Grid Ionosphere Vertical Error (GIVE) model and dual frequency model outperform remarkably compared to the traditional coefficient-based model. The GIVE model was also analysed on FAR categorized satellites for different stormy days of different months. It was observed that during stormy days also, the 3D position computed by applying the GIVE model was nearly the same as the dual-frequency model.

Ionospheric Gradients Estimation and Analysis of S-Band Navigation Signals for NAVIC System

Navigation with Indian constellation (NAVIC) is the operational name given to the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation, India. The most influential factor is ionospheric gradients that can degrade the positional accuracy of the global navigation satellite system users especially in low-latitude regions. The main aim of this paper is to estimate the ionospheric gradient variations obtained from the NAVIC receiver located at Guntur, India (16.23° N, 80.44° E). Code and carrier phase measurements of S-band (2492.028 MHz) signals are used to derive ionospheric time delays and total electron content (TEC) values. In this paper, S-band signals of NAVIC are used for the first time to investigate ionospheric gradients over low-latitude region. The recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm is implemented as a single frequency ionospheric model for estimating the absolute TEC, and longitudinal (E–W) and latitudinal (N–S) ionospheric gradients. Ionospheric gradient analysis has been carried for three consecutive days during September equinox, December solstice in 2016, and for a geomagnetic disturbed event observed during May 2017. The annual statistical analysis in the periodic structure of spatial ionospheric gradients from NAVIC S-band signals during June 2016–May 2017 is also discussed. It is evident that RLS model can estimate ionospheric gradients for a single NAVIC station. The outcome of this work would be useful for understanding ionospheric irregularities climatology over low-latitude region.

Total electron content responses to HILDCAAs and geomagnetic storms over South America

Abstract. Total electron content (TEC) is extensively used to monitor the ionospheric behavior under geomagnetically quiet and disturbed conditions. This subject is of greatest importance for space weather applications. Under disturbed conditions the two main sources of electric fields, which are responsible for changes in the plasma drifts and for current perturbations, are the short-lived prompt penetration electric fields (PPEFs) and the longer-lasting ionospheric disturbance dynamo (DD) electric fields. Both mechanisms modulate the TEC around the globe and the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) at low latitudes. In this work we computed vertical absolute TEC over the low latitude of South America. The analysis was performed considering HILDCAA (high-intensity, long-duration, continuous auroral electrojet (AE) activity) events and geomagnetic storms. The characteristics of storm-time TEC and HILDCAA-associated TEC will be presented and discussed. For both case studies presented in this work (March and August 2013) the HILDCAA event follows a geomagnetic storm, and then a global scenario of geomagnetic disturbances will be discussed. Solar wind parameters, geomagnetic indices, O ∕ N2 ratios retrieved by GUVI instrument onboard the TIMED satellite and TEC observations will be analyzed and discussed. Data from the RBMC/IBGE (Brazil) and IGS GNSS networks were used to calculate TEC over South America. We show that a HILDCAA event may generate larger TEC differences compared to the TEC observed during the main phase of the precedent geomagnetic storm; thus, a HILDCAA event may be more effective for ionospheric response in comparison to moderate geomagnetic storms, considering the seasonal conditions. During the August HILDCAA event, TEC enhancements from ∼ 25 to 80 % (compared to quiet time) were observed. These enhancements are much higher than the quiet-time variability observed in the ionosphere. We show that ionosphere is quite sensitive to solar wind forcing and considering the events studied here, this was the most important source of ionospheric responses. Furthermore, the most important source of TEC changes were the long-lasting PPEFs observed on August 2013, during the HILDCAA event. The importance of this study relies on the peculiarity of the region analyzed characterized by high declination angle and ionospheric gradients which are responsible for creating a complex response during disturbed periods.