Parameters of traveling ionospheric disturbances estimated from satellite beacon observations in low-earth orbit

Based on beacon sounding the ionosphere using coherent signals of low-orbiting navigation satellites, the following parameters of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances have been determined: the effective thickness of the atmospheric waveguide and the altitude of its longitudinal axis, the horizontal spatial period, the velocity, the maximum amplitudes of disturbances, and the inclination of the disturbance phase front. It has been found that the horizontal spatial period of studied disturbances increases with increasing distance to an initiating impact location and its delay. In this case the minimum value of the horizontal spatial period always exceeds ∼150 km, and the disturbance amplitude increases with increasing horizontal period and distance from the initiating disturbance location and with decreasing altitude of the main ionization maximum. All disturbance parameters are independent of the initiating impact nature. It has been found that disturbances with relative amplitudes of 0.1–0.7 are often observed. Disturbances that are registered more often travel southward, and their absolute velocities are 7–60 m/s.