Ionospheric disturbances in the east-Asian region during the geomagnetic period in November 2004

Results of the studies of ionospheric parameter variations during the intense geomagnetic storm on November 7–11, 2004, in the 20°–80° N, 60°–180° E sector are presented. The data of ionospheric stations and the results of total electron content (TEC) measurements at the network of the GPS ground-based receivers and of the GPS receiver onboard the CHAMP satellite were used. Periods of total absorption and blanketing sporadic E layers were observed at high latitudes, whereas durable negative disturbances typical of geomagnetic storms of high intensity were detected at midlatitudes. In the afternoon hours of local time on November 8, 2004, a large-scale ionospheric disturbance of a frontal type was detected on the basis of foF2 and TEC measurements. The disturbance propagated southwestward at a mean velocity of about 200 m/s. The comparison of the relative amplitude of this large-scale disturbance according to the total electron content (～70%) and foF2 (～80%) measurements made it possible to assume a large vertical scale of the disturbance.     

利用DEMETER卫星数据分析强震前后的电离层异常

基于法国DEMETER卫星观测的离子温度(T_i)、 VLF电磁场单频点频谱数据探索了2008年5月12日汶川M_S8.0、 2010年1月12日海地M_S7.3和2010年2月27日智利M_S8.8等3次强震前后与地震有关的电离层异常现象. 结果发现, 汶川地震前3天(5月9日)震中北偏西方向离子温度明显升高, 震前4天(5月8日)VLF磁场低于200 Hz的频段范围频谱在震中2°以内有明显突升; 智利地震前9天(2月18日)震中北东方向离子温度有剧烈扰动, 震前4天(2月23日)VLF磁场100—160 Hz频段范围内出现突升; 海地地震震前没有观测到明显的异常现象, 但地震发生当天(震后约4—5小时)的T_i, 40—160 Hz频段电场频谱, 以及120—480 Hz磁场频谱均有明显突升, 应为地震发生后能量释放所引起. 分析认为, 不同地震由于发震机制等各种情况的不同, 其地震前后的表现也各不相同. 虽然目前没有直接的证据表明本文研究的异常变化是由地震的孕育和发生引起的, 但在数据处理中已尽可能排除了太阳、 地磁等因素的影响, 并且研究结果与前人的研究经验吻合, 因此本文发现的异常可能与地震发生的关系较大.      

磁暴期间几种主要磁扰成分的演化特征

本文利用中国地磁子午链台站的资料,对1997～1999年期间发生的25次磁暴,用自然正交分量法（NOC）、相关分析和傅里叶分析三种方法,分3个步骤依次分离出依赖于世界时（UT）的暴时变化（Dst）、依赖于地方时（LT）的太阳静日变化（Sq）和太阳扰日变化（SD）.对各种变化时空特征的分析表明：①Dst变化清楚地反映出赤道对称环电流磁扰的空间分布和时间演化特征;②满洲里、北京十三陵和琼中台Sq幅度在多数磁暴主相期间出现极大和极小值,反映了Sq焦点在纬度方向上的移动所产生的地磁效应;③SD变化在主相期间最强,在恢复相期间逐渐减弱;④相关分析和傅里叶分析提供了一种能有效提取Sq和SD变化的方法.     

苏门答腊地震的构造控制因素探讨

最近,在苏门答腊俯冲带展开了一系列相互关联的海上及陆地研究,重点针对印度尼西亚2004年和2005年的板块边界地震破裂。这项由英国(英国苏门答腊联盟)、印度尼西亚、美国、法国和德国的科学家联手开展的研究计划旨在对这一边缘的地壳结构进行成像,以分析沿走向和上倾方向地震破裂     

Ionospheric response to geomagnetic disturbances in the north-eastern region of Asia during the minimum of 23rd cycle of solar activity

We present the results of studies of the subauroral and mid-latitude ionosphere variations in the north-eastern region of Asia. We used the data from network of vertical and oblique-incidence sounding ionosondes and optical measurements. Long-term experiments on the radio paths Magadan–Irkutsk and Norilsk–Irkutsk were carried out within the period 2005–2007. Vertical sounding stations operated in standard regime. Observation of airglow near Irkutsk was provided by the zenith photometer that measured intensities of 557.7 and 630.0 nm atomic oxygen emissions. The results may be summarized as follows. (1) Large daytime negative disturbances are observed during the main and recovery phases mainly at high latitudes, whereas the positive disturbances observed during the main phase at mid latitudes. The disturbances changed their sign between Yakutsk and Irkutsk. (2) During the main and recovery storm phases the fall of foF2 associated with the equatorward wall of the main ionospheric trough is observed in the afternoon and evening. (3) Fluctuations of the electron density more intensive at mid latitudes during the storm main phase are observed during all considered periods. They are classed as traveling ionospheric disturbances (TID). Such sharp gradients of electron density are responsible for the strong changes in the characteristics of the radio wave propagation, particularity MOF. (4) A large-scale ionospheric disturbance is noted at the meridional chain of ionosonds in December 2006 as the sharp increase of foF2. It appears in the evening in the minimum of D_st at high latitude and propagate to equator. (5) A maximum of 630 nm emission above Irkutsk corresponds to the foF2 increase. (6) The obtained experimental data on the net of vertical and oblique-incidence sounding with high time resolution show that such net is the effective facility to study the conditions of the radio wave propagation and can be used for the diagnostic of the ionosphere.     

Response of the electron density profiles to geomagnetic disturbances in January 2005

Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica - The ionospheric response to geomagnetic storms is usually investigated by considering the variability of the critical frequency of the F2-layer (foF2) or the total...     

地震期间电离层扰动现象研究

介绍了大量的关于地震电离层扰动现象研究的最新进展,研究表明地震发生前的几天或者几个小时电离层扰动被观测到,电离层前兆是确实存在.但要将震前的电离层扰动作为地震短临预报的工具,还有许多值得我们去深入研究和解决的问题.应用空间技术开展大区域范围内电离层参数的实时观测,如用地震电磁卫星、GPS台网、并和地面电离层垂测仪观测相结合,建立“电离层地震前兆监测系统”,无疑会加速这项研究的进程.     

Anomalous phenomena on HF radio paths during geomagnetic disturbances

We analyze ionospheric oblique sounding data on three high-latitude and one high-latitude–midlatitude HF radio paths for February 15 and 16, 2014, when two substorms and one magnetic storm occurred. We investigate cases of anomalous propagation of signals: their reflection from sporadic layer Es, lateral reflections, type “M” or “N” modes, the presence of traveling ionospheric disturbances, and the diffusivity of signals and triplets. The most significant results are the following. In geomagnetically undisturbed times, sporadic Es-layers with reduced maximum observed frequencies (MOFEs) on three high-latitude paths were observed in both days. The values of MOFEs during disturbances are large, which leads to the screening of other oblique sounding signals reflected from the ionosphere. On all four paths, the most frequently traveling ionospheric disturbances due to the terminator were observed in quiet hours from 03:00 to 15:00 UT on the first day and from 06:00 to 13:00 UT on the second day of the experiment. In addition, both the sunset terminator and the magnetic storm on the high-latitude–mid-latitude path were found to generate traveling ionospheric disturbances jointly. No such phenomenon was found on high-latitude paths.     

Solar activity and geomagnetic disturbances

An analysis of IZNIRAN magnetic observatory data indicated that geomagnetic storms with sudden and gradual commencements form two independent populations with respect to the disturbance occurrence time and character because the solar sources of these disturbances are different. Storms with sudden and gradual commencements are caused by coronal mass ejections and high-speed solar wind streams from coronal holes, respectively.     

Ionospheric pre-cursors observed over low latitudes during some of the recent major earthquakes

Earthquakes still occupy first place in the list of natural disasters causing fatal incidences and in loss of human lives and to minimize these losses researchers are trying to find a reliable precursor. The present study reports the ionospheric perturbations, if any, observed over a low-latitude station, Delhi (28.6N; 77.2E), prior to occurrences of 11 major earthquakes (magnitude greater than 6 on Rector Scale) during last couple of years. Initially, foF2 data are analyzed with upper and lower bound of inter-quartile range (IQR) and the observed anomalous changes related to geomagnetic disturbances are filtered out. Then the remaining perturbations are analyzed in relation to the occurrence of seismic activities. The results of the study show some unusual perturbations observed in foF2 values, 1–25 days before and 2–3 days after the main shock of every earthquake indicating a clear seismo-ionospheric link and may be used as earthquake precursors. The present results are in line with previous observations reported by various researchers.     

Variations of the upper atmosphere air density and electron density during geomagnetic disturbances

The variations of the upper atmosphere air density during geomagnetic disturbances have been investigated by many authors. According to the analysis of satellite orbits, in most cases an increase in the air density may be observed when the indexA _phas a maximum. Having ionospheric data from stations in Europe, Asia and Australia we might be able to study the global behaviour of the electron density in theF ₂ region during such geomagnetic disturbances when an increase of the air density had been observed. In these cases we found, that at the peak of the ionospheric layer, the electron density decreased 0–3 days later than theA _pmaximum.     

Ionospheric variations observed by the DEMETER satellite in the mid-latitude region during strong earthquakes

The French micro-satellite DEMETER (Detection of Electromagnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions) was launched on June 29, 2004. The orbit of DEMETER is polar, circular with an altitude of 710 km. The main scientific objective of this mission is to study the ionospheric perturbations, which may be linked to seismic activity. To achieve this, the payload of DEMETER allows the measurement of some important plasma parameters (ion composition, electron density, temperature and energetic particles). This paper presents examples of electron and ion density irregularities simultaneously observed for three earthquakes that occurred in the mid-latitude region. The DEMETER in situ measurements show the presence of electron and ion density irregularities near the epicenter of these earthquakes. These perturbations were recorded by the ISL (Langmuir Probe) and IAP (thermal plasma analyzer) experiments onboard DEMETER. The repetitiveness of the perturbations close to the epicenters is shown for these three events.     

On ionospheric disturbances in relation to geomagnetic disturbances

Summary Disturbances in the critical frequency of theF2-region of the ionosphere at Watheroo on international magnetically disturbed days are analyzed together with simultaneous geomagnetic data at the same station. The results show that the daily average disturbanceDm (foF2) becomes negative or positive according as the maximum of the disturbance daily variationSD (foF2) takes place in night time or in daytime respectively. This fact may show that bothDm (foF2) andSD (foF2) are due to the condition that the daytime increase in the daily variation of theF2-region is reduced or enhanced owing to vertical drift of the ionosphere caused by electric currents responsible for geomagneticSD.     

Ionospheric effetcs of an intense geomagnetic storm

An investigation of the response of the mid-high, mid and low latitude critical frequency foF2 to the geomagnetic storm of 15 July 2000 is made. Ground-based hourly foF2 values (proportional to square root of peak electron density of F2-layer) from four chains of ionospheric stations located in the geographic longitude ranges 10°W–35°E, 60°E–120°E, 130°E–170°E, 250°E–295°E are used. Relative deviations of foF2 are considered. The main ionospheric effects for the considered storm are: long-duration negative disturbances at mid-high latitudes in summer hemisphere in sectors where the storm onset occurred in the afternoon/night-time hours; short-duration positive disturbances in the summer hemisphere at mid-high latitudes in the pre-sunset hours during the end of main phase-first stage of the recovery; small and irregular negative disturbances in the low latitude winter hemisphere which predominate during the main phase and first part of the recovery, and positive disturbances in both hemispheres at mid-high and mid latitudes prior to the storm onset irrespective of the local time. In addition, the validity of some physical mechanisms proposed to explain the F2 region behaviour during disturbed conditions is considered. gus-mansilla@hotmail.com     

Ground‐motion attenuation relationship for the Sumatran megathrust earthquakes

A representative attenuation relationship is one of the key components required in seismic hazard assessment of a region of interest. Attenuation relationships for peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity and response spectral accelerations for Sumatran megathrust earthquakes, covering M_w up to 9.0, are derived based on synthetic seismograms obtained from a finite‐fault kinematic model. The relationships derived are for very hard rock site condition and for a long‐distance range between 200 and 1500 km. They are then validated with recorded data from giant earthquakes on the Sumatran megathrust occurring since year 2000. A close examination of the recorded data also shows that spectral shapes predicted by most of the existing attenuation relationships and that specified in the IBC code are not particularly suitable for sites where potential seismic hazard is dominated by large‐magnitude, distant, earthquakes. Ground motions at a remote site are typically signified by the dominance of long‐period components with periods longer than 1 s, whereas the predominant periods from most of the existing attenuation relationships and the IBC code are shorter than 0.6 s. The shifting of response spectrum towards longer period range for distant earthquakes should be carefully taken into account in the formulation of future seismic codes for Southeast Asia, where many metropolises are located far from active seismic sources. The attenuation relationship derived in the present study can properly reproduce the spectral shape from distant subduction earthquakes, and could hopefully give insights into the formulation of future seismic codes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ionospheric behavior over Europe during the solar eclipse of 3 October 2005

An annular eclipse occurred over Europe in the morning hours of 3 October 2005. The well-defined obscuration function of the solar radiation during the eclipse provided a good opportunity to study the ionospheric/thermospheric response to solar radiation changes. Since the peak electron density behavior of the ionospheric F2 layer follows the local balance of plasma production, loss and transport, the ionospheric plasma redistribution processes significantly affect the shape of the electron density profile. These processes are discussed here based on a comparison of vertical incidence sounding (VS) and vertical total electron content (TEC) data above-selected ionosonde stations in Europe. The equivalent slab thickness, derived with a time resolution of 10 min, provides relatively good information on the variation of the electron density profile during the eclipse. The computations reveal an increased width of the ionosphere around the maximum phase. As indicated by the available measurements over Spain, the photo production is significantly reduced during the event leading to a slower increase of the total ionization in comparison with the neighboring days. The supersonic motion of the Moon's cool shadow through the atmosphere may generate atmospheric gravity waves that propagate upward and are detectable as traveling ionospheric disturbances at ionospheric heights. High-frequency (HF) Doppler shift spectrograms were recorded during the eclipse showing a distinct disturbance along the eclipse path. Whereas the ionosonde measurements at the Ebro station/Spain in the vicinity of the eclipse path reveal the origin of the wave activity in the lower thermosphere below about 180 km altitude, the similar observations at Pruhonice/Czech Republic provide arguments to localize the origin of the abnormal waves in the middle atmosphere well below the ionospheric heights. Although ionosonde and HF Doppler measurements show enhanced wave activity, the TEC data analysis does not, which is an indication that the wave amplitudes are too small for detecting them via this interpolation method. The total ionization reduces up to about 30% during the event. A comparison with similar observations from the solar eclipse of 11 August 1999 revealed a quite different ionospheric behavior at different latitudes, a fact that needs further investigation.     

不同起源地磁扰动期间极光沉降能量的统计研究

尽管对极光沉降能量(HP)的研究已经开展很久,但是关于不同行星际扰动源对HP影响的研究仍然很少.本文基于2001—2008年NOAA极轨卫星数据,对三类不同扰动源,即盔状冕流共转相互作用区(CIRs)、伪冕流CIRs和行星际日冕物质抛射(ICMEs)驱动的中等磁暴期间HP的变化进行时序叠加统计分析,讨论了相关太阳风背景参数、地磁活动强度以及耦合函数的有效性;研究了三类磁暴事件期间HP的南北半球不对称性.结果表明,在磁暴之前盔状冕流CIR磁暴的HP明显低于伪冕流CIR磁暴和ICME磁暴,盔状冕流"磁暴前的平静期"与Newell耦合函数关系密切,而与Russell-McPherron效应关系较小.盔状冕流CIR磁暴主相HP高于伪冕流CIR磁暴和ICME磁暴,可能与盔状冕流相应行星际|Bz|和太阳风数密度均较高有关.此外,在Kp≤4时,冬夏季半球HP的差别随着Kp增加而增加,相应的变化规律符合电导率反馈机制的预测;在Kp>4时,盔状冕流磁暴和ICME磁暴冬季半球的HP大于夏季半球的,伪冕流磁暴事件夏季半球的HP大于冬季半球的或与冬季半球的相近.     

Geomagnetic disturbances and earthquakes in the Vrancea zone

Based on the example of the Vrancea zone of concentrated seismicity, it is shown how the stress-strain state of the medium responds to a disturbance of the geomagnetic field. Geomagnetic conditions are examined in relation to earthquakes in the Vrancea zone in the period 1988–1996. It is established that the seismic energy release in the Vrancea zone is associated with differences (“gradients”) in the H component of the geomagnetic field. Such a gradient preceding earthquakes is shown to be the midnight polar substorm and the degree of its mid-latitude effect. The time interval from the maximum of the substorm development to a shock (τ, h) is directly related to the focal depth. The seismic characteristics K _en and h (km) are demonstrated to be related to morphological features of the substorm development, namely, its duration T (min), intensity, and background. Differences in the duration of polar substorms before crustal (shallow) and deep earthquakes are revealed. Morphological features of the spectrum of geomagnetic variations preceding the seismic energy release are established.     

地磁扰动事件的描述及处理

影响地磁观测的因素很多,只有充分了解干扰的机制,才能对其数据进一步的处理。而在GM3,GM4提供秒采样数据后,观测数据中干扰数据的形态就可以非常清晰。本文就是利用秒采样的数据对几种常见干扰情况进行了描述,并使用软件对干扰数据进行剔除。     

地磁加卸载响应比与地震对应关系研究

通过对浙、沪、苏邻近 4个地磁观测点的近十年的资料,及邻近区域10个地震进行了每日Z分量日变幅加卸载响应比随时间变化和响应比月均值的相关研究。结果表明:加卸载响应比阈值P₀(Z) 和响应比月均值P_M(Z)的大小与地震的震级、震中距及异常出现的早晚并非完全呈线性相关;当响应比值大于某一阈值时,有可能发生一定震级的地震 ;按该方法结果综合分析,截止1998年9月底,未来1年左右的时间内在该研究区域或更大范围(含台湾区域)有可能发生6级左右的地震。该方法可作为分析预报手段参与中短期和短临地震趋势判断的一种新方法。