Comparison of different instantaneous models of electron concentration height profiles at single location

Three different models of electron concentration height profile have been compared to profiles obtained from ionograms at the Warsaw station. The electron density profiles are obtained from ionograms by inversion methods. These models use as an input the standard ionospheric characteristics. Some of the models are intended to compute monthly median profiles. To obtain the instantaneous profile the values of needed parameters are taken from the simultaneously constructed instantaneous maps of ionospheric parameters. For instantaneous maps construction, two techniques are used: the kriging technique with modifications concerning ionospheric behaviour, where deviations of measurements from monthly median maps are used, and a fitting method where median maps are updated with measurements. The comparison is done for the COST 238 PRIME height profile model, a local model based on a modified Rush model, and a model where an artificial neural network technique is aaplied to time series of profiles. The usefulness of the average representative height profile constructed from a set of instantaneous profiles is discussed.     

火星电离层无线电掩星探测仿真研究

对中俄联合火星星-星电离层掩星技术体制进行了分析和介绍,采用三维射线追踪方法对电离层掩星事件的电波观测值进行了模拟计算,并利用模拟的掩星观测数据进行了电子密度廓线反演,结果说明仿真算法可靠.利用仿真的方法,分别对掩星电波相位观测误差和卫星轨道误差等带来的反演误差进行了个例计算和分析,结果得到:5%周的相位测量误差对白天电离层掩星探测结果的影响可以忽略,而夜间电子密度测量的绝对误差小于4×108 m-3;卫星轨道误差对掩星的主要影响是导致电离层高度抬升或下降.结果表明,中俄联合火星电离层掩星探测技术体制先进,可望获得高精度的电子密度廓线;其技术体制也可以用于月球电离层环境的探测.     

HF transionospheric long range propagation from satellite observed at Florence

Results are presented of a statistical analysis of experimental data on the long range HF transionospheric propagation obtained by using the radio signals emitted by the 1970-34 A satellite, and received at the Florence station, Italy.The satellite emission was generated above the F2 h_max region. The signal, which penetrates the ionosphere and propagates to remote distances, has frequently been received on Earth's surface with low attenuation. Ray-tracing techniques were employed to verify the consistency of the partially-guided low-loss paths.An analysis of the signal amplitude received is presented. An improvement over free-space propagation losses up to 6 dB over ranges of 12,000 km, and up to 8 dB for nearly antipodal satellite passes have been observed, confirming the existence and the importance of guided propagation for long-range communications between satellites and ground terminals, and also for transionospheric links.The role played by horizontal gradients in the ionospheric electron distribution, which are notably present in the sunrise and sunset regions, was investigated. These allow satellite-to-ground long range propagation, as also confirmed by ray-tracing analysis.Experimental observations are presented of the reception occurrence, path-losses and signal amplitude statistics as a function of the geometry of the link and the ionospheric situation; the propagation mechanisms involved are investigated.     

Inversions of satellite to satellite electron content: Simulation studies with NeUoG-plas

The signals of Global Navigation Satellites have found a large number of uses in atmospheric and ionospheric research. Reception of the signals from a satellite in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) leads regularly to occultation of the signals by the surface of the Earth. Before an occultation the signals traverse the ionosphere with rays with decreasing height of their perigees. Satellite electron content observed prior to ‘setting’ occultations or after `rising' occultations can be used as input data for inversion. The inversion procedure gives horizontally averaged height profiles of electron density.Assessment studies are needed to find out under which conditions the profiles from inversions are representative for ‘true’ electron density profiles above the Earth occultation point.A great number of such studies have been carried out using the ionosphere/plasmasphere model NeUOG-plas for forward and backward modelling. Different transmitter-receiver scenarios have been investigated.We describe the assessment procedure and report on results showing the most interesting cases and statistics.     

An empirical relationship between ionospheric equivalent slab thickness and mean gradient of the electron temperature in the f-region

It is shown that it is possible to define an empirical law between ionospheric slab thickness and mean gradient of the electron temperature in the F-region. This law is obtained by using data of the incoherent scatter of Saint-Santin (France) and can be used under certain conditions in connexion with ionograms to find the electronic temperature and density profiles above the ionization maximum level.     

LOFAR as an ionospheric probe

At the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR)(Planet. Space Sci. (2004) these proceedings) frequencies (HF/VHF), extraterrestrial radiation experiences substantial propagation delay as it passes through the ionosphere. The adaptive calibration technique to be employed by LOFAR will use signals from many known bright radio sources in the sky to estimate and remove the effects of this delay. This technique will operate along many simultaneous lines of sight for each of the stations. Measurements will be made on time scales of seconds or shorter, and with accuracies corresponding to path length variations of 1 cm or less. Tomographic techniques can be used to invert the thousands of changing and independent total electron content (TEC) measurements produced by LOFAR into three-dimensional electron density specifications above the array. These specifications will measure spatial and time scales significantly smaller and faster than anything currently available. These specifications will be used to investigate small-scale ionospheric irregularities, equatorial plasma structures, and ionospheric waves. In addition, LOFAR will improve the understanding of the solar drivers of the ionosphere by simultaneously measuring the solar radio bursts and the TEC. Finally, LOFAR, which will be situated to observed the galactic plane, will make continuous, high-resolution observations of the low-latitude ionosphere, an important but under-observed region. This paper will look at LOFAR as an ionospheric probe including comparisons to other ionospheric probes as well as possible methods of operation to optimize ionospheric measurements.     

Possible use of the LOCAPI ionospheric prediction software to digital communications

The LOCAPI ionospheric propagation software, developed by the University of Rennes 1, uses the multiquasi-parabolic expression for the electron density profile. Its inputs are : date, frequency, transmitting and receiving locations. An original fast and accurate algorithm determines the output parameters : MUF, occultation LUF, elevation angles, group delays, pathlosses for an important range of possible O and X propagation modes. The accuracy of the simulated results permits the use of LOCAPI software to determine the slope of the group time delay as a function of frequency of HF radio links, for each propagation mode, and to evaluate the coherent bandwidth for a digital communication channel. In addition, improved results can be obtained if the polarization and antennas effects are taken into account.     

Electron density measurements in the ionosphere using a radio propagation method

A rocket C.W. radio propagation experiment has been used to measure electron density profiles and the results compared with values calculated from ionograms. In general the agreement is satisfactory but significant discrepancies in the rocket measurements, during the up-leg portions of several rocket flights above 110 km were observed and possible causes are discussed. In one flight the effect of a travelling ionospheric disturbance on the N(h) profile was recorded. Sporadic E strata with thicknesses of 0.6–0.8 km were recorded in these flights.     

Asymmetry of the Venus nightside ionosphere: Magnus force effects

A study of the dawn-dusk asymmetry of the Venus nightside ionosphere is conducted by examining the configuration of the ionospheric trans-terminator flow around Venus and also the dawn-ward displacement of the region where most of the ionospheric holes and the electron density plateau profiles are observed (dawn meaning the west in the retrograde rotation of Venus and that corresponds to the trailing side in its orbital motion). The study describes the position of the holes and the density plateau profiles which occur at neighboring locations in a region that is scanned as the trajectory of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) sweeps through the nightside hemisphere with increasing orbit number. The holes are interpreted as crossings through plasma channels that extend downstream from the magnetic polar regions of the Venus ionosphere and the plateau profiles represent cases in which the electron density maintains nearly constant values in the upper ionosphere along the PVO trajectory. From a collection of PVO passes in which these profiles were observed it is found that they appear at neighboring positions of the ionospheric holes in a local solar time (LST) map including cases where only a density plateau profile or an ionospheric hole was detected. It is argued that the ionospheric holes and the density plateau profiles have a common origin at the magnetic polar regions where plasma channels are formed and that the density plateau profiles represent crossings through a friction layer that is adjacent to the plasma channels. It is further suggested that the dawn-dusk asymmetry in the position of both features in the nightside ionosphere results from a fluid dynamic force (Magnus force) that is produced by the combined effects of the trans-terminator flow and the rotational motion of the ionosphere that have been inferred from the PVO measurements.     

基于数据融合的电离层VTEC反演精度分析

随着空间目标活动和卫星导航系统的增多,观测电离层数据的途径越来越多,探测精度也越来越高.在Kalman滤波的基础上,利用2016年的国际参考电离层(IRI-2016)模型中电离层垂直电子含量(Vertical Total Electron Content, VTEC),结合地基反演得到的VTEC值,利用数据融合算法提高电离层VTEC的近实时反演精度.针对加拿大附近高纬度区域(130°W–150°W, 60°N–70°N)、朝鲜、韩国和日本周边中纬度区域(115°E–135°E, 32.5°N–42.5°N)、洪都拉斯和危地马拉附近低纬度区域(80°W–100°W, 10°N–20°N)进行了观测,比较发现地基反演和数据融合技术得到的电离层VTEC精度都比较高,但是数据融合得到的电离层VTEC在3个区域的精度都明显更好.该算法能够很好地应用在地面基准站数量较多的区域,同时也能应用在地面基准站数量较少或者海洋、沙漠等布设地面基准站不方便的区域,提高电离层VTEC的精度.     

Ionospheric temperature and density measurements by means of spherical double probes

Rocket-borne double probes for electric field measurements can be intermittently operated in special, diagnostic modes involving current bias and low-impedance shunts to obtain information on the properties of the ambient ionospheric plasma along the flight path. Several such modes, and the information that they can provide, are analyzed. For example, in a low-impedance mode with asymmetric bias, the attenuation ratio (i.e. signal amplitude in this mode over the signal amplitude in the electric-field measuring mode) is in a simple way related to the electron temperature of the ambient plasma. The special surface coatings (Aquadag or vitreous carbon) normally used for electric field probes provide very homogeneous surface properties, a feature which also contributes to the reliability of the electron temperature measurements. In addition to electron temperature, the modes analyzed can be used to measure electron density and to give some information on ion temperature. The data from four rocket flights from ESRANGE are discussed in the light of these results. Electron temperature was measured in three of these flights. In all cases the temperature profile is in good agreement with theoretically predicted profiles based on the CIRA 1965 reference atmosphere and the solar illumination prevailing during the respective flights (twilight). Electron density profiles obtained by means of the double probe are in good agreement with the density measured by the Langmuir probe in the two flights for which both kinds of data are available. They are also in agreement with the electron density data available from ionosondes. Finally, pulses occurring when one of the probes passed through the rocket's shadow, are used to determine the photoelectron yield of the probe coatings (Aquadag or vitreous carbon). The values obtained, (7 ± 3) × 10^?6 A/m² for Aquadag and (4 ± 2) × 10^?6 A/m² for vitreous carbon are in good agreement with expectations based on laboratory data and solar Lyman α radiation.     

Influence of neutral transport on ion chemistry uncertainties in Titan ionosphere

Models of Titan ionospheric chemistry have shown that ion densities depend strongly on the neutral composition. The turbulent diffusion transport conditions, as modeled by eddy coefficients, can spectacularly affect the uncertainty on predicted neutral densities. In order to evaluate the error budget on ion densities predicted by photochemical models, we perform uncertainty propagation of neutral densities by Monte Carlo sampling and assess their sensitivity to two turbulent diffusion profiles, corresponding to the extreme profiles at high altitudes described in the literature. A strong sensitivity of the ion density uncertainties to transport is observed, generally more important than to ion–molecule reaction parameters themselves. This highlights the necessity to constrain eddy diffusion profiles for Titan ionosphere, which should progressively be done thanks to the present and future measurements of the orbiter Cassini.     

Modulation of ionospheric conductivities during high-power wave propagation

Enhancement of conductivity tensor modification within the ionospheric plasma by electron density modulation through the temperature dependence of the recombination rates of different ionspecies caused due to electron temperature modulation during high-power wave propagation is studied. Variation of Hall and Pedersen conductivities of the ionosphere has been investigated in the height range between 85 km to 250 km. The generation of waves at the modulation frequency and its harmonics in the ELF, VLF bands in the process is discussed.     

The intensity variation of the atomic oxygen red line during morning and evening twilight on 9–10 April 1969

During the evening of 9 April and the morning of 10 April 1969, the twilight zenith intensity of the atomic oxygen red line OI(³P-¹D) at 6300 Å was measured at the Blue Hill Observatory (42°N, 17°W). At the same time incoherent scatter radar data were being obtained at the Millstone Hill radar site 50 km distant. We have used a diurnal model of the mid-latitude F-region to calculate the ionospheric structure over Millstone Hill conditions similar to 9–10 April 1969. The measured electron temperature, ion temperature, and electron density at 800 km are used as boundary conditions for the model calculations. The diurnal variation of neutral composition and temperature were obtained from the OGO-6 empirical model and the neutral winds were derived from a semiempirical three-dimensional dynamic model of the neutral thermosphere. The solar EUV flux was adjusted to yield reasonable agreement between the calculated and observed ionospheric properties.This paper presents the results of these model computations and calculations of the red line intensity. The 6300 Å emission includes contributions from photoelectron excitation, dissociative recombination, Schumann-Runge photodissociation and thermal electron impact. The variations of these four components for morning and evening twilight between 90–120° solar zenith angles, and their relative contributions to the total 6300 Å emission line intensity, are presented and the total is compared to the observations. For this particular day the Schumann-Runge photodissociation component, calculated using the solar fluxes tabulated by Ackermann (1970), is the dominant component of the morning twilight 6300 Å emission. During evening twilight it is necessary to utilize a lower O₂ density than for the morning twilight in order to bring the calculated and observed 6300 Å emission rates into agreement. The implication that there may be a diurnal variation in the O₂ density at the base of the thermosphere is discussed in the light of available experimental data and current theoretical ideas.     

Theory of electric currents in ionospheric E-layers

The magnetic disturbance associated with East-West current in the ionosphere is calculated in terms of the production and loss of ionisation. This is physically equivalent to a conventional equation of the type j = [σ]E, but may be preferred in many experimental circumstances. The relationship between the deformation of an ionospheric layer and the electric current, or magnetic disturbance in it, is explored in detail. Applications to mid-latitude sporadic-E, the equatorial electrojet, night-E, deformation of mid-latitude E-layer by quiet and disturbed currents and deformation of the E-layer by auroral electrojets are considered. Under a wide range of conditions, vertical backscatter devices can be used to find the altitude profile of the East-West component of ionospheric electric current by measuring the deformations of the vertical profiles of electron density.     

Evaluation of the STORM-Time Ionospheric Empirical Model for the Bastille Day event

Recent theoretical model simulations of the ionospheric response to geomagnetic storms have provided the understanding for the development of an empirical storm-time ionospheric model (STORM). The empirical model is driven by the previous time-history of a _p, and is designed to scale the quiet-time F-layer critical frequency (f _o F ₂) to account for storm-time changes in the ionosphere. The model provides a useful, yet simple tool for modeling of the perturbed ionosphere. The quality of the model prediction has been evaluated by comparing with the observed ionospheric response during the Bastille Day (July 2000) storm. With a maximum negative D _st of −290 nT and an a _p of 400, this magnetic perturbation was the strongest of year 2000. For these conditions, the model output was compared with the actual ionospheric response from all available stations, providing a reasonable latitudinal and longitudinal coverage. The comparisons show that the model captures the decreases in electron density particularly well in the northern summer hemisphere. In winter, the observed ionospheric response was more variable, showing a less consistent response, imposing a more severe challenge to the empirical model. The value of the model has been quantified by comparing the root mean square error (RMSE) of the STORM predictions with the monthly mean. The results of this study illustrate that the STORM model reduces the RMSE at the peak of the disturbance from 0.36 to 0.22, a significant improvement over climatology.     

A PIM-aided kalman filter for gps tomography of the ionospheric electron content

We develop the formalism to perform PIM-based stochastic tomography of the ionospheric electron content with a Kalman filter, in which the inversion problem associated with four-dimensional ionospheric stochastic tomography is regularized. For consistency, GPS data is used to select dynamically the best PIM parameters, in a 3DVAR fashion. We demonstrate the ingestion of (10S and GPS/MEI) GPS data into a parameterized ionospheric model, in order to select the set of parameters that minimize a suitable cost functional. The resulting PIM-fitted model is compared to direct 3D voxel tomography. We demonstrate the value of this method analyzing IGS and GPS/M ET GPS data, and present our results in terms of a 4D model of the ionospheric electronic density.     

Thermal response properties of the Earth's ionospheric plasma

The thermal response of the Earth's ionospheric plasma is calculated for various suddenly applied electron and ion heat sources. The time-dependent coupled electron and ion energy equations are solved by a semi-automatic computational scheme that employs Newton's method for coupled vector systems of non-linear parabolic (second order) partial differential equations in one spatial dimension. First, the electron and composite ion energy equations along a geomagnetic field line are solved with respect to a variety of ionospheric heat sources that include: thermal conduction in the daytime ionosphere; heating by electric fields acting perpendicular to the geomagnetic field line; and heating within a stable auroral red are (SAR-arc). The energy equations are then extended to resolve differential temperature profiles, first for two separate ion species (H⁺, O⁺) and then for four separate ion species (H⁺, He⁺, N⁺, O⁺) in addition to the electron temperature. The electron and individual ion temperatures are calculated for conditions within a night-time SAR-arc excited by heat flowing from the magnetosphere into the ionosphere, and also for typical midlatitude daytime ionospheric conditions. It is shown that in the lower ionosphere all ion species have the same temperature; however, in the topside ionosphere above about 400 km, ion species can display differential temperatures depending upon the balance between thermal conduction, heating by collision with electrons, cooling by collisions with the neutrals, and energy transfer by inter-ion collisions. Both the time evolution and steady-state distribution of such ion temperature differentials are discussed.The results show that below 300km both the electrons and ions respond rapidly (<30s) to variations in direct thermal forcing. Above 600 km the electrons and ions display quite different times to reach steady state, depending on the electron density: when the electron density is low the electrons reach steady state temperatures in 30 s, but typically require 700 s when the density is high; the ions, on the other hand, reach steady state in 700 s when the density is high, and 1500–2500 s when the density is low. Between 300 and 600 km, a variety of thermal structures can exist, depending upon the electron density and the type of thermal forcing; however steady state is generally reached in 200–1000 s.     

Effective recombination coefficient and solar zenith angle effects on low-latitude D-region ionosphere evaluated from VLF signal amplitude and its time delay during X-ray solar flares

Excess solar X-ray radiation during solar flares causes an enhancement of ionization in the ionospheric D-region and hence affects sub-ionospherically propagating VLF signal amplitude and phase. VLF signal amplitude perturbation (ΔA) and amplitude time delay (Δt) (vis-á-vis corresponding X-ray light curve as measured by GOES-15) of NWC/19.8 kHz signal have been computed for solar flares which is detected by us during Jan–Sep 2011. The signal is recorded by SoftPAL facility of IERC/ICSP, Sitapur (22^° 27′N, 87^° 45′E), West Bengal, India. In first part of the work, using the well known LWPC technique, we simulated the flare induced excess lower ionospheric electron density by amplitude perturbation method. Unperturbed D-region electron density is also obtained from simulation and compared with IRI-model results. Using these simulation results and time delay as key parameters, we calculate the effective electron recombination coefficient (α _eff ) at solar flare peak region. Our results match with the same obtained by other established models. In the second part, we dealt with the solar zenith angle effect on D-region during flares. We relate this VLF data with the solar X-ray data. We find that the peak of the VLF amplitude occurs later than the time of the X-ray peak for each flare. We investigate this so-called time delay (Δt). For the C-class flares we find that there is a direct correspondence between Δt of a solar flare and the average solar zenith angle Z over the signal propagation path at flare occurrence time. Now for deeper analysis, we compute the Δt for different local diurnal time slots DT. We find that while the time delay is anti-correlated with the flare peak energy flux ? _max independent of these time slots, the goodness of fit, as measured by reduced-χ ², actually worsens as the day progresses. The variation of the Z dependence of reduced-χ ² seems to follow the variation of standard deviation of Z along the T _x -R _x propagation path. In other words, for the flares having almost constant Z over the path a tighter anti-correlation between Δt and ? _max was observed.     

Flare-produced coronal MHD-fast-mode wavefronts and Moreton's wave phenomenon

The propagation characteristics of MHD fast-mode disturbances, which can emanate from flare regions, are computed for realistic conditions of the solar corona at the times of particular flares. The path of a fast-mode disturbance is determined by the large-scale (global) coronal distributions of magnetic field and density, and can be computed by a general raytracing procedure (eikonal equation) adapted to MHD. We use the coronal (electron) density distribution calculated from daily K-coronameter data, and the coronal magnetic field calculated under the current-free approximation from magnetograph measurements of the photospheric magnetic field. We compare the path and time-development of an MHD fast-mode wavefront emitted from the flare region (as calculated from a realistic model corona for the day of the observed Moreton wave event) with actual observations of the Moreton wave event, and find that the Moreton wave can be identified with the rapidly moving intersection of the coronal fast-mode wavefront and the chromosphere (as hypothesized in our previous paper); the directivity (anisotropic propagation), as well as other characteristics of the propagation of the Moreton wave can be successfully explained.sponsored by the National Science Foundation.