Space weather impacts on the ionosphere over the southern African mid-latitude region

Earth, Planets and Space

Full Paper

Mpho Tshisaphungo¹  Rendani R. Nndanganeni¹  Tshimangadzo Merline Matamba¹  Donald W. Danskin¹ 

[1] South African National Space Agency (SANSA), 7200, Hermanus, South Africa;

关键词: Ionospheric storms;    Geomagnetic storms;    Ionosphere;    Total electron content;    TEC gradient;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40623-023-01894-5

 received in 2023-05-22, accepted in 2023-09-01,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

The ionosphere suffers major perturbations during severe space weather events such as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), solar flares, high-speed streams, and Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs). The ionosphere can experience depletions or enhancements in Total Electron Content (TEC) during severe space weather conditions. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) near-real-time (NRT) TEC maps were used to show the ionospheric variability during the geomagnetic storm of 3–8 Nov 2021 over the southern Africa mid-latitude region. The ionosonde TEC, NRT TEC, and the quiet-time AfriTEC model were compared during the 6-day period. A negative ionospheric response was observed during the main and recovery phases of the geomagnetic storm (4–5 Nov 2021). The changes to neutral composition O/N2 was one of the physical processes attributed to the decrease in TEC over the mid-latitude region. The GPS TEC maps showed a very good agreement with ionosonde measurements and the AfriTEC model. A strong east–west TEC gradient was observed occurring between two ionosonde stations.Graphical Abstract

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Society of Geomagnetism and Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences / The Seismological Society of Japan / The Volcanological Society of Japan / The Geodetic Society of Japan / The Japanese Society for Planetary Sciences 2023

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