Geomagnetic responses in high latitudes during the storm of july 15—16, 2000

The ionospheric equivalent currents in the high latitudes and the auroral electrojet system during the geomagnetic storm on July 15–16, 2000 are analyzed by using geomagnetic data from IMAGE chain. The large-scale vortices of equivalent currents are observed in the storm. The vortices on the dusk side of ionosphere correspond to four-celled pattern of plasma convection associated with NBZ, region I and region II field-aligned currents. Only one vortex can be found on the dawn side of ionosphere after interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) turns southward. In the initial phase of the storm, the center of eastward electrojets tends to shift equatorward. It arrives at 58.62° latitude of corrected geomagnetic coordinates (CGM). The westward electrojets are strong in the main phase. The center of westward electrojets in this period moves equatorward and may be beyond the southernmost station (56.45°) of the chain.

     

Geomagnetic responses in high latitudes during the storm of July 15-16, 2000

The ionospheric equivalent currents in the high latitudes and the auroral electrojet system during the geomagnetic storm on July 15-16, 2000 are analyzed by using geomagnetic data from IMAGE chain. The large-scale vortices of equivalent currents are observed in the storm. The vortices on the dusk side of ionosphere correspond to four-celled pattern of plasma convection associated with NBZ, region I and region II field-aligned currents. Only one vortex can be found on the dawn side of ionosphere after interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) turns southward. In the initial phase of the storm, the center of eastward electrojets tends to shift equatorward. It arrives at 58.62o latitude of corrected geomagnetic coordinates (CGM). The westward electrojets are strong in the main phase. The center of westward electrojets in this period moves equatorward and may be beyond the southernmost station (56.45°) of the chain.     

The disappearance of equatorial E s and the reversal of electrojet current

Based on simultaneous observations of the horizontal geomagnetic field component H, sporadic E (E _s ) and E-W electron drifts at stations close to the dip equator within the equatorial electrojet region, it has been found that on quiet days and sometimes on disturbed days, when there is an abnormal large decrease in H during daytime, there is a simultaneous disappearance of E _s and a reversal of the direction of drift of electrons from westward to eastward. This suggests that the disappearance of equatorial E _s during day-time is due to a temporary reversal of the electrojet current, which is caused by the imposition of an additional electrostatic field opposite in direction to that of normal S _a field.     

Equatorial sporadic E and cross-field instability

The occurrence of sporadic E at an equatorial station during magnetically quiet daytime conditions corresponds almost exactly to the time during which the horizontal component of the earth’s magnetic field is above the mean night time level. Any large decrease of H below the night time level is accompanied by the disappearance of equatorial E_s?q reflections precisely for the period when the value of H remains below its night time level. Such disappearance of E_s?q can be attributed to the reversal of the current equal to, or greater than, the normal eastward equatorial electrojet current. During magnetically disturbed conditions, however, the depressions in H are not always accompanied by the disappearance of E_s?q. Whenever the normal E and sporadic E reflections can be resolved on the equatorial ionograms, the minimum virtual height of the normal E is seen to be clearly greater than that of the sporadic E layer. The creation of E region irregularities at equatorial latitudes giving the appearance of an E_s?q layer in daytime ionograms is suggested to be due to cross-field (plasma gradient) instability. The horizontal magnetic field and the upward Hall polarisation (electric) field produce irregularities in the lower E-region where the rate of increase of ambient electron density is large and directed upward. A temporary reversal of the electrojet current indicated by a decrease in H below the night time level and the disappearance of E_s?q are due to the temporary reversal of the vertical Hall polarisation field making it downward instead of upward which being opposite to the direction of the gradient of plasma density inhibits the cross-field instabilities.     

Conjugacy of magnetic field fluctuations in the period range 2–24 hours

Conjugacy of variations in the period range 2 to 24 hours has been examined from coherence spectra of horizontal intensity at stations which are conjugate or nearly conjugate and stations which are in similar dipole latitudes but are not conjugate. The coherence spectra computed for stations located in the auroral zone, on the equatorial side of auroral zone and at low-middle latitudes suggest that, so far as the principal lines in the spectra corresponding to 24, 12 and 8 hours are concerned,magnetic conjugacy is confined to disturbed periods and to stations in the auroral and subauroral zones. In the continuum spectrum, however, the percentages of estimates, for which coherences are statistically significant, are very high for conjugate stations in the auroral zone but decrease progressively for pairs in the equator side of the auroral zone and lower latitudes.     

The effect of polar magnetic sub-storms on the equatorial sporadic E

It is known that equatorial sporadic E disappears at night when dynamo field is east to west. During some DP₂ type magnetic sub-storms, which cause a depression of the geomagnetic horizontal field at the equator, theq type of sporadic E is found to disappear at the equatorial stations Huancayo and Kodaikanal. This suggests that one of the mechanisms causing the temporary disappearance of E _s —q during daytime in equatorial ionograms is the replacement of the east to west dynamo electric field by a west to east electric field due to the imposition of an electric field opposing the normal daytime S _q field.     

On the simultaneous existence of eastward and westward flowing equatorial electrojet currents

The counter-electrojet currents are evidenced by the disappearance of theq type ofEs layer (Es-q) or the appearance of the blanketing type ofEs (Es-b) at Kodaikanal, associated with the depression of the geomagneticH field and the reveisal of ionospheric drift at Thumba. The necessary condition for such an event is not the decrease of theH field below the night level but that the difference of theH field between an equatorial and a non-equatorial station should decrease below its night level. The different kinds of association between the disappearance ofEs-q and the depression in theH field are suggested due to superimposition over theSq current system (at about 107 km) of a separate westward current system at a lower level (about 100 km). The source of the reversed current over the dip equator during the daytime hours is sought in the current system generated by the lunar tides or in various magnetospheric processes generating the polar substorms. Large day-to-day variations of the solar daily range ofH at the equator independent ofSq variation at tropical latitudes are suggested to be due to superimposition at the equator of the two rather independent current systems.     

The polar ionosphere at Zhongshan station on May 11, 1999, the day the solar wind almost disappeared

The solar wind almost disappeared on May 11, 1999: the solar wind plasma density and dynamic pressure were less than 1cm⁻³ and 0.1 nPa respectively, while the interplanetary magnetic field was northward. The polar ionospheric data observed by the multi-instruments at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica on such special event day was compared with those of the control day (May 14). It was shown that geomagnetic activity was very quiet on May 11 at Zhongshan. The magnetic pulsation, which usually occurred at about magnetic noon, did not appear. The ionosphere was steady and stratified, and the F₂ layer spread very little. The critical frequency of day-side F₂ layer, f₀F₂, was larger than that of control day, and the peak of f₀F₂ appeared 2 hours earlier. The ionospheric drift velocity was less than usual. There were intensive auroral E_s appearing at magnetic noon. All this indicates that the polar ionosphere was extremely quiet and geomagnetic field was much more dipolar on May 11. There were some signatures of auroral substorm before midnight, such as the negative deviation of the geomagnetic H component, accompanied with auroral E_s and weak Pc3 pulsation.

     

Upward moving ionospheric irregularities over kodaikanal

The occurrence of upward moving kinks first found on ionograms at Thumba (Rastogi, 1970) has been confirmed to occur at another equatorial station, Kodaikanal. These kinks have been found in many records and they occur mostly during local summer months. The occurrence of the kink is shown to be closely associated with horizontal F-region drifts, occurrence of intermediate cusp between F₁ and F₂ layers, bite-out effects of ?₀F₂ and rise of h_PF₂, all being most pronounced around 10 hr. The upward movement of the kink is due to \(\vec E \times \vec B\) drift, while its initiation is probably due to a sudden change in the electrostatic field of the equatorial electrojet. The study of the upward moving kink gives a direct measure of the height variation of the vertical upward drift of ionization over the magnetic equator.     

Some remarks on the equatorial sporadicE layer at kodaikanal

It is shown that the sporadicE layer at an equatorial station is not always of the commonly known equatorial (q) type Es. Broadly there occur two types of Es at a station near the magnetic equator,viz., (i) diffuseq type and (ii) multiple or blanketing (b) type. The latter may be of diffuse type or of thin layer type. The Es-b is due to highly dense cloud of ions which are localised, whereas Es-q occurs over an extended area at any time. The effect of counter-electrojet is seen on both the types of Es layers. The disappearance of sporadicE during counter-electrojet is valid for only theq type of Es, but sometimes Es-b may occur during periods of very weak or reversed electrojet. It is suggested that published equatorial Es data should be used with caution unless the type of Es is also indicated. The plausible causes of the sudden disappearance of Es-q on some occasions and the appearance of Es-b during others are suggested.     

Low latitude ionospheric effects near longitude 120°E during the great geomagnetic storm of july 2000

A great geomagnetic storm occurred on July 15/16, 2000 with a minimum value of about ?300 nT in Dst index. Collecting digisonde data from ionospheric stations at Chungli, Wuhan, Kokubunji and Anyang, the ionospheric responses at the low latitudes near longitude 120°E during this storm are analyzed in this paper. There was a strong negative phase storm at low latitudes on July 16. The G-condition in the ionograms was clearly seen on the early first day after the commencement of geomagnetic storm. Those were considered to be caused by the storm-induced increase in the concentration ratios of neutral molecular O₂ or N₂ to atom O. On July 17 and some days thereafter, a positive phase storm appeared. In addition, anomalous equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) inhibitions and developments were observed on July 16 and 17. There were also prominent nighttime enhancements in f₀F₂ during these days, and the diurnal variation of f₀F₂ was less clear than before.     

Seasonal variation of the lunar tidal effects in the F2 layer of the ionosphere over Indian stations

The lunar semi-diurnal oscillations in the midday values of the critical frequency (f ₀F₂) and the height of maximum electron density (h _pF₂) of the F₂ layer are computed for all Indian ionospheric stations separately for each season of the year. The amplitude of oscillation inf ₀F₂ is found to be larger in winter than in summer at each of the stations. There is a reversal in the phase of the oscillation inf ₀F₂ between the equatorial and tropical latitudes and this is most evident in the winter months and is almost absent in summer. The annual average oscillation inf ₀F₂ is in agreement with that found in a previous paper (Rastogi, 1961). The phase has a large seasonal variation of about 180° at an equatorial or a tropical latitude station. The phase and amplitude of the lunar tide inh _pF₂ do not vary significantly with latitude or with season.     

Spread-F in the ionosphere over ahmedabad during the years 1954–57

From a study of spread-F or F-scatter at Ahmedabad during the four years 1954–57 of increasing sunspot activity, it was found that the time of its maximum occurrence receded from 03 hr. in low sunspot years to an hour or two before midnight in high sunspot years. This was particularly well seen in the winter and equinoctial months. Also, maximum spread-F activity which was found in summer in sunspot minimum mum years, occurred in equinoxes in maximum sunspot years. The frequency of occurrence of spread-F was found to be a maximum whenhpF₂ was in the range 300–350 km. F-scatter and F₂-stratification were found to be anti-correlated both in their diurnal and seasonal variations. The general trend was towards decreased spread-F with increased sunspot activity. It is concluded that (1) spread-F at Ahmedabad geomagnetic latitude (Φ=13·6° N) undergoes variations similar to those at equatorial stations, more so in high sunspot years, (2) the change-over from low-latitude type to middle-latitude type of variation of spread-F takes place at about geomagnetic latitude 22°, and (3) spread-F at Ahmedabad decreases with increase in magnetic activity, which is the reverse of that observed at high latitudes.     

The equatorial anomaly in ionospheric total electron content and the equatorial electrojet current strength

Faraday Rotation of 40 and 41 MHz signals from the satellite BE-B (Explorer 22) recorded simultaneously at Ahmedabad (dip 34° N) and Kodaikanal (dip 3·4° N) during the years 1964–69 are used to derive the latitudinal profiles of Total Electron Content (TEC) over the Indian equatorial anomaly region. From these profiles the diurnal development of the equatorial anomaly and its correlation with equatorial electrojet strength are studied. The anomaly is found to maximise around 1400 LT,i.e., two-three hours after the electrojet attains its peak. The anomaly parameters such as the dip latitude of the anomaly peak,φ, the normalised depth,d, of the anomaly and the strength of the anomaly defined asS=? _xd are found to be well correlated with the electrojet strength.     

Equatorial sporadic E ionization and electrojet effect of geomagnetic disturbances

In this paper, the ionospheric data of Kodaikanal (magnetic dip 3·5° N) have been examined to study the relation between the critical frequency of the equatorial sporadic E layer and the horizontal component of the earth’s magnotic field, with special reference to the behaviour of the electrojet both under normal and under disturbed conditions. Some specific SC type magnetic storms have been analysed to study the effect of the storms on the electrojet. It is shown that the blanketing frequency of Es can be taken to be equal to the critical frequency of the normal E-layer and it is suggested that the high value of foEs might be due to the subsidence and conversion of E layer ionization into eddy-clouds forming as a result of strong wind shear in the electrojet. It is also shown that foEs and H are fairly well connected undernormal conditions, but the connection is not simple under disturbed conditions. Further, the effect of a magnetic storm in reducing the electrojet current during the main phase is greater in the morning and evening hours; it appears that a depression of about 100 gammas in H-field is necessary before any significant reduction in the electrojet occurs at midday. Finally, some abnormalities in the variations of foEs and H are pointed out.     

Equatorial range spreadF and high multiple echoes from theF region

It has been shown that the post-sunset rise of the minimum virtual height (h′F) of theF region of the ionosphere near the magnetic equator during the high sunspot years is an effect of the overall rising of the completeF region. This feature of theF region produces very high order multiple reflections from theF regions. On some occasions strong spreadF is observed simultaneously with the high multiples suggesting theF region to be smooth and devoid of irregularities inside it. The irregularities causing the spreadF during the early stages of its development are suggested to be at heights below theF region.     

Geomagnetic plasma probe for solar wind

Magnetograms from Alibag reveal that the range Δ H of the daily variation of the horizontal component is negatively correlated with the minimum value ΔH_min. during a day. This relationship is largely unaffected by the degree of geomagnetic disturbance and holds good during all phases of the 11-year cycle of solar activity. From the nature of the relationship between ΔH and ΔH_min. it is concluded that the daily variation of the geomagnetic field at a low latitude station outside the influence of the equatorial electroject must be regarded as largely due to a weakening of the ambient field on the night side rather than an enhancement of the field on the day side due to ionospheric currents. There exists a good correlation between (ΔH)² and the kinetic energy density of the solar wind in interplanetary space measured by IMP-1 satellite. It is suggested that ΔH is largely the result of the partial ring currents related to the convective drift of the plasma from the tail of the magnetosphere. Moreover, using the relationships established during the IMP-1 period, the annual mean kinetic energy density of solar wind for geomagnetically quiet days for the past 11-year cycle is estimated, treating the earth as a plasma probe.     

Ionospheric total electron content and slab-thickness at low latitudes in Indian zone

Observations of Faraday rotation of beacon signals from low orbiting satellite BE-B recorded at one station near the dip equator (Kodaikanal, dip 3·4° N) and at another station near the peak of the equatorial anomaly (Ahmedabad, dip 34° N) give a complete coverage of the equatorial anomaly belt in Indian zone. Contours of total elctron content (TEC) are obtained on a grid of latitudeversus local time for the different seasons of low (1964–66) and high (1967–69) solar activity epochs in the latitude belt 10° S to 26° N dip latitude. The development of the equatorial anomaly and its dependence on season and solar activity are discussed. Using similar contours of F₂ layer critical frequency, f₀F₂ contours of equivalent slab-thickness, τ are also constructed. The dependence of τ on season and solar activity and its implications on temperature are discussed.     

Effect of hot ion temperature on obliquely propagating ion-acoustic solitons and double layers in an auroral plasma

Properties of obliquely propagating ion-acoustic solitons and double layers in a magnetized auroral plasma composed of hot adiabatic ions and two types of, cool and hot Maxwellian electrons are studied using Sagdeev pseudo-potential technique and assuming the quasi-neutrality condition. The new and surprising result which emerges from the model is that in contrast to the case of cold ions where ion-acoustic solitons and double layers are found for subsonic Mach numbers only, the hot ions case allows these nonlinear structures to exist for both subsonic and supersonic Mach number regimes. The double layers exist at lower angle of propagation as hot ion temperature is increased. The soliton electric field amplitudes are increased but their width and pulse duration are decreased with the increase in hot ion temperature. For the auroral zone parameters, the maximum electric field amplitude, width, pulse duration and speed for the solitons come out to be in the range ∼ (0.3–15) mV/m, ∼ (195–455) m, (7–20) ms and (22–26) km/s, respectively. The results seem to be in agreement with the Viking satellite observations in the auroral zone.     

Low latitude ionospheric effects near longitude 120°E during the great geomagnetic storm of July 2000

A great geomagnetic storm occurred on July 15/16, 2000 with a minimum value of about -300 nT in Dst index. Collecting digisonde data from ionospheric stations at Chungli, Wuhan, Kokubunji and Anyang, the ionospheric responses at the low latitudes near longitude 120(E during this storm are analyzed in this paper. There was a strong negative phase storm at low latitudes on July 16. The G-condition in the ionograms was clearly seen on the early first day after the commencement of geomagnetic storm. Those were considered to be caused by the storm-induced increase in the concentration ratios of neutral molecular O2 or N2 to atom O. On July 17 and some days thereafter, a positive phase storm appeared. In addition, anomalous equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) inhibitions and developments were observed on July 16 and 17. There were also prominent nighttime enhancements in foF2 during these days, and the diurnal variation of foF2 was less clear than before.