Effect of magnetic activity on ionospheric time delay at low latitude

The purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of magnetic activity on ionospheric time delay at low latitude Station Bhopal (geom. lat. 23.2°N, geom. long. 77.6°E) using dual frequency (1575.42 and 1227.60 MHz) GPS measurements. Data from GSV4004A GPS Ionospheric Scintillation and TEC monitor (GISTM) have been chosen to study these effects. This paper presents the results of ionospheric time delay during quiet and disturbed days for the year 2005. Results show that maximum delay is observed during quiet days in equinoxial month while the delays of disturbed period are observed during the months of winter. We also study the ionospheric time delay during magnetic storm conditions for the same period. Results do not show any clear relationship either with the magnitude of the geomagnetic storm or with the main phase onset (MPO) of the storm. But most of the maximum ionospheric time delay variations are observed before the main phase onset (MPO) or sudden storm commencement (SSC) as compared to storm days.     

A model of ionospheric F-2 region storms in middle latitudes

The proposed ionospheric storm model is based on a heat source located at magnetic noon on Feldstein's auroral oval. The rotation of the Earth produces an apparent motion of the source which is greater than the speed of the disturbance. This gives rise to a wake or front which sweeps over the globe and determines the onset time of the negative phase which results from a change in chemical composition. At the front, focussing will occur which accounts for the sudden drop in electron density (or contents) sometimes observed. The calculated onset times of the negative phase are compared with observations for a number of storms. The local onset times vary from 12 at the latitude of the source to around 24 at 10° geomagnetic latitude. This model predicts that the onset of the negative phase at a given location, for storm which commence between about 2000 LT to about 1000 LT, is independent of the time of storm commencement.     

Sun-Earth connection event of super geomagnetic storm on 2001 March 31:the importance of solar wind density

An X1.7 flare at 10:15 UT and a halo CME with a projected speed of 942 km s~(-1) erupted from NOAA solar active region 9393 located at N20 W19, which were observed on 2001 March 29. When the CME reached the Earth, it triggered a super geomagnetic storm(hereafter super storm). We find that the CME always moved towards the Earth according to the intensity-time profiles of protons with different energies. The solar wind parameters responsible for the main phase of the super storm occurred on 2001 March 31 are analyzed while taking into account the delayed geomagnetic effect of solar wind at the L1 point and using the SYM-H index. According to the variation properties of SYM-H index during the main phase of the super storm, the main phase of the super storm is divided into two parts. A comparative study of solar wind parameters responsible for two parts shows the evidence that the solar wind density plays a significant role in transferring solar wind energy into the magnetosphere, besides the southward magnetic field and solar wind speed.     

On the effects of geomagnetic storms and pre storm phenomena on low and middle latitude ionospheric F2

This paper presents some features of the ionospheric response observed in equatorial and mid-latitudes region to two strong geomagnetic storms, occurring during Oct. 19–23, 2001 and May 13–17, 2005 and to understand the phenomena of pre-storm that lead to very intense geomagnetic storms. The result point to the fact that pre-storm phenomena that leads to intense ionospheric storm are; large southward turning of interplanetary magnetic field Bz, high electric field, increase in flow speed stream, increase in proton number density, high pressure ram and high plasma beta. The magnitude of Bz turning into southward direction from northward highly depends upon the severity of the storm and the variation in F2 layer parameter at the time of geomagnetic storm are strongly dependent upon the storm intensity. A detailed analysis of the responses of the ionosphere shows that during the storm periods, foF2 values depleted simultaneously both in the equatorial and mid latitude. Observation also shows that low to moderate variations in ionospheric F2 at the pre-storm period may signal the upcoming of large ionospheric disturbances at the main phase. The ionospheric F2response for low and mid latitude does not show any significant differences during the storm main phase and the pre-storm period. The ionospheric response during the pre-storm period is thought very puzzling. The period is observed to be depleted throughout with low-moderate effect across all the stations in the low and mid latitude.     

Type I noise storms and the structure of the extreme ultraviolet corona

The spatial fine structure of the solar corona as observed in the EUV line Fexv is compared with the occurrence of major type I metric noise storms. In all cases, strong changes in the loop structure of the corona are observed. On the disk, these coronal changes are correlated to the emergence of new magnetic flux in the vicinity of existing large active regions. The reverse is demonstrated: during noise storm free periods no coronal changes can be observed. Noise storms at the limb seem to originate in open field configurations over active regions. In all cases, reconnection of coronal magnetic fields over large distances are the cause of noise storms rather than changes of magnetic fields within an active region. Noise storms disappear or are weak at the limb because of foreground absorption in chains of active regions. The observed intensities of active region loops at the limb show that a density of 1.3 × 10⁹ cm^?3 which corresponds to a plasma frequency of 100 MHz can occur over a wide variety of altitudes because active region loops are not in hydrostatic equilibrium.     

Detemination of the ring current radii from cosmic ray neutron monitor data for the 17 December 1971 magnetic storm

Variations of the cosmic ray cut-off rigidities have been observed at mid latitudes during the magnetic storm period 16–18 December 1971. In the present paper the cut-off changes over Europe are determined on an hourly basis from the registrations of 10 European neutron monitor stations. As a first order approximation it is assumed that the observed cut-off variations originate from a spherical current sheet concentric with the Earth and with a current density proportional to the cosine of the geomagnetic latitude. Applying results obtained by Treiman (1953), the radii of the current sphere can then be deduced from the dependences of the relative cut-off rigidity variations on geomagnetic latitude. The sphere is found to be located between 4 and 6 Earth radii during the main phase of the magnetic storm on 17 December 1971. A comparison of these results with in situ measurements carried out in the equatorial plane by Explorer 45 shows good agreement.     

Magnetic Properties of Metric Noise Storms Associated with Coronal Mass Ejections

Using Nancay Radioheliograph (NRH) imaging observations, combined with SOHO/Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) magnetogram observations and coronal magnetic field extrapolation, we studied the magnetic nature of metric noise storms that are associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Four events are selected: the events of 2000 July 14, 2001 April 26, 2002 August 16 and 2001 March 28. The identified noise storm sources cover or partially cover the active regions (ARs), but the centers of storm sources are offset from the ARs. Using extrapolated magnetic field lines, we find that the noise storm sources trace the boundary between the open and closed field lines. We demonstrate that the disappearance of noise storm source is followed by the appearance of the burst source. The burst sources spread on the solar disk and their distributions correspond to the extent of the CME in LASCO C2 field of view. All the SOHO/Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) dimmings associ- ated with noise storm sources are located at the periphery of noise storms where the magnetic lines of force were previously closed and low-lying. When the closed field becomes partially or fully open, the basic configurations of noise storm sources are changed, then the noise storm sources are no longer observed. These observations provide the information that the variations of noise storms manifest the restructuring or reconfiguring of the coronal magnetic field.     

Dynamics of the earth radiation belts during strong magnetic storms based on <Emphasis Type="Italic">CORONAS-F</Emphasis> data

The results of an experimental study of the variations in the intensity of the fluxes of the Earth radiation belt (ERB) particles in 0.3–6 and 1–50 MeV energy intervals for electrons and protons, respectively, are reported. ERBs were studied during strong magnetic storms from August 2001 through November 2003. The results of the CORONAS-F mission obtained during the magnetic storms of November 6 (D _st = ?257 nT) and November 24, 2001 (D _st = ?221 nT), October 29–30 (D _st = ?400 nT) and November 20, 2003 (D _st = ?465 nT) are analyzed. The electron flux is found to decrease abruptly in the outer radiation belt during the main phase of the magnetic storms under consideration. During the recovery phase, the outer radiation belt is found to recover much closer to Earth, near the boundary of the penetration of solar electrons during the main phase of the magnetic storm. We associate the decrease in the electron flux with the abrupt decrease of the size of the magnetosphere during the main phase of the storm. Note that, in all cases studied, the Earth radiation belts exhibited rather long (several days) variations. In those cases where solar cosmic-ray fluxes were observed during the storm, protons with energies 1–5 MeV could be trapped to form an additional maximum of protons with such energies at L >2.     

The geomagnetic and cosmic-ray storm of May 25/26, 1967

A series of geomagnetic disturbances and cosmic ray variations caused by the McMath plage region 8818 in the latter half of May 1967 were examined. The systematic changes of the geomagnetic disturbances were observed as the relative location between the responsible flares and the earth changed during the half solar rotation period.The storm of May 25/26, 1967 was then studied in great detail on the basis of records from a number of magnetic and cosmic ray observatories. A large asymmetric main phase field in mid-and low-latitude regions (and thus an asymmetric ring current belt) grew rapidly during the first three successive polar magnetic substorms. The cosmic ray intensity variations during the storm consisted of the Forbush decrease and the ring current effect. The Forbush decrease had a marked north-south asymmetry during its developing phase.     

Fluctuations in mid-latitude 6300 Å airglow and their relationship to F-region irregularities

Observations of fluctuations in the 6300 Å airglow emission at night have been studied using a tilting filter photometer. Spectral analysis of the fluctuations shows that at times the fluctuations are primarily due to wavelike disturbances with relatively well defined periods. At other times the spectrum of the fluctuations contains significant power only at long periods and there is a relatively sharp cut-off at the short period end. Most spectra are of these two types and are probably indicative of gravity waves. A third category is observed in which the spectra are of the form $\text{P∽?}{}^{\mathrm{?1.3}}$ Fewer spectra of this type are observed when the magnetic activity increases and the periods of spectral peaks observed changes with magnetic activity. The total power in the airglow fluctuations increases with K_p and the occurrence of spread F.     

The role of fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field in determining the magnitude of substorm activity

When hourly averages of interplanetary magnetic-field parameters are compared to the AE index, it is found that, although the time-integral of the southward component is important in determining whether there will be a substorm, the magnitude of storm activity as measured by AE is related to the level of the variance of the field. For a given value of the time-integral of the southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field, the AE index increases as the variance increases. For periods immediately following storm sudden commencements, this simple relationship apparently breaks down indicating that a different triggering process or storm-generation mechanism may be at work. These observations imply that although it is impossible to differentiate between substorms at the Earth's surface, it may be possible to differentiate between the conditions in the solar wind that lead to a certain magnitude of magnetic activity.     

SAR arcs and 6300 Å emission by dissociative recombination of O2+ observed from Africa during severe magnetic storms

SAR arcs were observed from Southern Africa on 17/18 December 1971, 4/5 August 1972 and 1/2 April 1973 with the equatorwards edge at L = 1.8. Simultaneous with the latter event the intertropical arc was observed at an equatorial station. There was no apparent relationship. Calculations show that while the entire observed inter-tropical emission results from dissociative recombination of O₂⁺ this process may, in some cases, account for only a fraction of a percent of the observed SAR arc emission. More than five years of geomagnetic storm data shows that Southern African SAR arcs are unlikely unless disturbances exceed 150 γ. For very severe 300 γ disturbances main phase SAR arcs may be observed. Estimates of the fraction of storm energy used in production of the present arcs indicate they are inefficient sinks for magnetic storms.     

Energetic electrons in the inner belt in 1968

Pitch-angle data were obtained by the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory's scanning, magnetic electron spectrometer on OGO 5 during its traversals of the inner belt in 1968. Data from the five lowest-energy channels 79–822 keV, were analyzed in terms of j_⊥ vs λ_I, time-decay rates, and spectral shapes at constant L. The inner-belt electron injection following two storm periods was observed; the first was the mild storm of 11 June and the second the more intense storms of 31 October and 1 November. Comparisons with other data indicate that only a small Starfish residual (at > 1 MeV) still remained in the heart of the inner belt; hence, the results are indicative of the normal inner belt. The data are discussed in terms of current ideas regarding the source and loss of particles in the inner belt.     

Cluster observations of Pc 1–2 waves and associated ion distributions during the October and November 2003 magnetic storms

Unusual wave activity in the Pc 1–2 frequency band (0.1–5 Hz) was observed by the Cluster spacecraft in association with the two large geomagnetic storms of late 2003. During the onset of the Hallowe’en storm on October 29, 2003, intense broadband activity between ∼0.1 and 0.6 Hz appeared at all 4 spacecraft on both sides of the magnetic equator at perigee (near 1400 UT and 08:45 MLT). Power was especially strong and more structured in frequency in the compressional component: a minimum in wave power was observed at 0.38 Hz, corresponding to the oxygen ion cyclotron frequency. Poynting vector calculations indicated that wave power was primarily directed radially inward rather than along the magnetic field. Narrowband purely compressional waves near 0.15 Hz appeared at higher dayside latitudes in the southern hemisphere. CIS ion spectrometer data during this pass revealed that O⁺ was the dominant energetic ion. During the recovery phase of the November storm, on November 22, 2003, predominantly transverse 1.8 Hz waves with peak-to-peak amplitude of 10 nT were observed by all four spacecraft near perigee at L=4.4. During this more typical Pc 1 event, wave power was directed along B, toward the northern ionosphere. An unusually polarized 2.3 Hz emission (with power in the radial and compressional, but not azimuthal directions) was observed at L=5.4–5.9, 10–15° south of the magnetic equator. We infer that this wave event may have been generated on lower L shells and propagated obliquely to Cluster's location. Consistent with other recent observations, anisotropic plasma sheet/ring current proton distributions appeared to be a necessary condition for occurrence of waves during both passes, but was not always a sufficient condition. The transverse waves of November 22 occurred in regions which also contained greatly increased fluxes of cool ions (E<1 keV). On both days, Cluster observed features not previously reported, and we note that the purely compressional nature of the October 29 events was not anticipated in previous theoretical studies. The fact that these unusually polarized waves occurred in association with very intense geomagnetic storms suggests that they are likely to be extremely rare.     

Activity cycle of solar filaments

Long-term variation in the distribution of the solar filaments observed at the Observatorie de Paris, Section de Meudon from March 1919 to December 1989 is presented to compare with sunspot cycle and to study the periodicity in the filament activity, namely the periods of the coronal activity with the Morlet wavelet used. It is inferred that the activity cycle of solar filaments should have the same cycle length as sunspot cycle, but the cycle behavior of solar filaments is globally similar in profile with, but different in detail from, that of sunspot cycles. The amplitude of solar magnetic activity should not keep in phase with the complexity of solar magnetic activity. The possible periods in the filament activity are about 10.44 and 19.20 years. The wavelet local power spectrum of the period 10.44 years is statistically significant during the whole consideration time. The wavelet local power spectrum of the period 19.20 years is under the 95% confidence spectrum during the whole consideration time, but over the mean red-noise spectrum of α = 0.72 before approximate Carrington rotation number 1500, and after that the filament activity does not statistically show the period. Wavelet reconstruction indicates that the early data of the filament archive (in and before cycle 16) are more noiseful than the later (in and after cycle 17).     

XUV Photometer System (XPS): Solar Variations during the SORCE Mission

The solar soft X-ray (XUV) radiation is important for upper atmosphere studies as it is one of the primary energy inputs and is highly variable. The XUV Photometer System (XPS) aboard the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) has been measuring the solar XUV irradiance since March 2003 with a time cadence of 10 s and with about 70% duty cycle. The XPS measurements are between 0.1 and 34 nm and additionally the bright hydrogen emission at 121.6 nm. The XUV radiation varies by a factor of ∼2 with a period of ∼27 days that is due to the modulation of the active regions on the rotating Sun. The SORCE mission has observed over 20 solar rotations during the declining phase of solar cycle 23. The solar XUV irradiance also varies by more than a factor of 10 during the large X-class flares observed during the May–June 2003, October–November 2003, and July 2004 solar storm periods. There were 7 large X-class flares during the May–June 2003 storm period, 11 X-class flares during the October–November 2003 storm period, and 6 X-class flares during the July 2004 storm period. The X28 flare on 4 November 2003 is the largest flare since GOES began its solar X-ray measurements in 1976. The XUV variations during the X-class flares are as large as the expected solar cycle variations.     

Decameter storm radiation,II

The physical properties of six decametric storms, observed at Clark Lake Radio Observatory are studied. The height of the storm continuum sources was determined from the rotation rate. Assuming that the radiation originates at the plasma frequency we computed the gradient of electron density for the regions where the storms originate. The mean angular size of the decametric continuum sources is large; it increases with decreasing frequency. The storm continuum is found to be strongly directive toward the disk center. The east-west asymmetry, well observed at meter wavelengths is also observed at decameter wavelengths. The occurrence of two distinct classes of type III bursts in storms is discussed: ‘off-fringe’ and ‘onfringe’ type Ill's. The ‘off-fringe’ Ill's are found to be displaced in position from the continuum source ; on the other hand, the ‘on-fringe’ ones coincide in position with the continuum. These two kinds of bursts differ in other properties as well. A model of the storm region is proposed. The continuum radiation and the ‘on-fringe’ type III's are believed to originate above closed magnetic loops, in regions of diverging field lines; the ‘offfringe’ type Ill's are thought to be excited by energetic electron streams, having access to open magnetic field lines at the base of the loops.     

Latitudinal characteristics of the geomagnetic field during the storm of 15–16 July 2000

In this paper geomagnetic disturbances at middle and low latitudes are discussed by using geomagnetic data of the magnetic storm of 15–16 July 2000. This storm is a response to the solar Bastille Day flare on 14 July. Generally, the geomagnetic disturbances at middle and low latitudes during a storm are mainly caused by three magnetospheric–ionospheric current systems, such as the ring current system (RC), the partial ring current and its associated region II field-aligned currents (PR), and the region I field-aligned currents (FA). Our results show that: (1) The northward turning of IMF-Bz started the sudden commencement of the storm, and its southward turning caused the main phase of the storm. (2) The PR- and FA-currents varied violently in the main phase. In general, the field of the FA-current was stronger than that of the PR-current. (3) In the first stage of the recovery phase, the RC-field gradually turned anti-parallel to the geomagnetic axis from a 15° deviation, and the local time (Λ) pointed by the RC-field stayed at 16:00. After that, Λ rotated with the stations, and the RC-field was not anti-parallel to the geomagnetic axis, but 5°–10° deviated. These facts suggest that the warped tailward part of the ring current decays faster than the symmetric ring current.     

Auroral heating and the composition of the neutral atmosphere

Heating of the neutral atmosphere by auroral particle fluxes and by orthogonal electric fields is responsible for large changes in the thermospheric composition that have been observed by satellite mass spectrometers. Vertical winds of a few meters per second are produced in the region subject to auroral heating; this vertical upwelling drives circulation cells that extend the effects of heating in the auroral region on a global scale. Our analysis focuses on the initial phase of a magnetic storm within the auroral region.     

Particle precipitation in Brazilian geomagnetic anomaly during magnetic storms

Particle precipitation in Brazilian geomagnetic anomaly during magnetic storms is investigated using riometer and VLF propagation data. It is found that during large storms the changes in the ionosphere caused by particle precipitation are detectable. There is a good correlation between the behavior of the absorption and the variations of the magnetic field intensity during different phases of a storm. In particular, there seems to be a close relationship between the precipitation of high energy particles and short-period fluctuations of the magnetic field intensity of the order of 5–6 min. During the main phase of the storm, when the field intensity reaches its minimum, the flux of soft electrons also plays a significant role in producing absorption. The nature of precipitation associated with a sudden commencement appears to be more complex; the predominance of low or high energy particle flux may depend on the magnitude of the field increase. The amplitude and phase records of VLF signals also show the effect of the disturbance, but it is difficult to correlate the changes in these records with the features observed on the magnetogram, because only a small part of the propagation path lies in the region of the anomaly. A more detailed analysis of riometer data from different stations and VLF phase and amplitude records for different paths will be helpful in understanding the mechanism of particle precipitation associated with magnetic disturbances. In future experiments it may also be fruitful to look for detectable radiation emitted by the precipitating electrons, for example, Cherenkov and synchrotron radiation.