• Title/Summary/Keyword: ionospheric variations

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Seasonal and Latitudinal Variations of the F2-Layer during Magnetic Storms

  • Park, Yoon-Kyung;Kwak, Young-Sil;Ahn, Byung-Ho
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.30 no.4
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    • pp.231-239
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    • 2013
  • To identify seasonal and latitudinal variations of F2 layer during magnetic storm, we examine the change of daily averages of foF2 observed at Kokubunji and Hobart during high (2000~2002) and low (2006~2008) solar activity intervals. It is found that geomagnetic activity has a different effect on the ionospheric F2-layer electron density variation for different seasons and different latitudes. We, thus, investigate how the change of geomagnetic activity affects the ionospheric F2-layer electron density with season and latitude. For this purpose, two magnetic storms occurred in equinox (31 March 2001) and solstice (20 November 2003) seasons are selected. Then we investigate foF2, which are observed at Kokubunji, Townsville, Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart, Dst index, Ap index, and AE index for the two magnetic storm periods. These observatories have similar geomagnetic longitude, but have different latitude. Furthermore, we investigate the relation between the foF2 and the [O]/[$N_2$] ratio and TEC variations during 19-22 November 2003 magnetic storm period. As a result, we find that the latitudinal variations of [O]/[$N_2$] ratio and TEC are closely related with the latitudinal variation of foF2. Therefore, we conclude that the seasonal and latitudinal variations of foF2 during magnetic storm are caused by the seasonal and latitudinal variations of mean meridional circulation of the thermosphere, particularly upwelling and downwelling of neutral atmosphere during magnetic storm.

IONOSPHERIC EFFECTS ON THE RADIO COMMUNICATION (전파통신에서의 전리층 역할)

  • PYO YOO SURN;CHO KYOUNGSEOK;LEE DONG-HUN;KIM EUNHWA
    • Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.15 no.spc2
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    • pp.21-25
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    • 2000
  • The ionosphere, the atmosphere of the earth ionized by solar radiations, has been strongly varied with solar activity. The ionosphere varies with the solar cycle, the seasons, the latitudes and during any given day. Radio wave propagation through or in the ionosphere is affected by ionospheric condition so that one needs to consider its effects on operating communication systems normally. For examples, sporadic E may form at any time. It occurs at altitudes between 90 to 140 km (in the E region), and may be spread over a large area or be confined to a small region. Sometimes the sporadic E layer works as a mirror so that the communication signal does not reach the receiver. And radiation from the Sun during large solar flares causes increased ionization in the D region which results in greater absorption of HF radio waves. This phenomenon is called short wave fade-outs. If the flare is large enough, the whole of the HF spectrum can be rendered unusable for a period of time. Due to events on the Sun, sometimes the Earth's magnetic field becomes disturbed. The geomagnetic field and the ionosphere are linked in complex ways and a disturbance in the geomagnetic field can often cause a disturbance in the F region of the ionosphere. An enhancement will not usually concern the HF communicator, but the depression may cause frequencies normally used for communication to be too high with the result that the wave penetrates the ionosphere. Ionospheric storms can occur throughout the solar cycle and are related to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and coronal holes on the Sun. Except the above mentioned phenomena, there are a lot of things to affect the radio communication. Nowadays, radio technique for probing the terrestrial ionosphere has a tendency to use satellite system such as GPS. To get more accurate information about the variation of the ionospheric electron density, a TEC measurement system is necessary so RRL will operate the system in the near future.

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The First Measurement of Seasonal Trends in the Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly Trough at the CHUK GNSS Site During the Solar Maximum in 2014

  • Chung, Jong-Kyun;Yoo, Sung-Moon;Lee, Wookyoung
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.33 no.4
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    • pp.287-293
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    • 2016
  • The equatorial region of the Earth's ionosphere exhibits large temporal variations in electron density that have significant implications on satellite signal transmissions. In this paper, the first observation results of the variations in the trough of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly at the permanent Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) site in Chuuk (Geographic: $7.5^{\circ}N$, $151.9^{\circ}E$; Geomagnetic: $0.4^{\circ}N$) are presented. It was found that the daytime Global Positioning System (GPS) total electron content (TEC) values vary according to the 27 day period of solar rotation, and that these trends show sharp contrast with those of summer. The amplitudes of the semi-annual anomaly were 12.4 TECU (33 %) on $19^{th}$ of March and 8.8 TECU (23 %) on $25^{th}$ of October respectively, with a yearly averaged value of 38.0 TECU. The equinoctial asymmetry at the March equinox was higher than that at the October equinox rather than the November equinox. Daily mean TEC values were higher in December than in June, which could be interpreted as annual or winter anomalies. The nighttime GPS TEC enhancements during 20:00-24:00 LT also exhibited the semi-annual variation. The pre-midnight TEC enhancement could be explained with the slow loss process of electron density that is largely produced during the daytime of equinox. However, the significant peaks around 22:00-23:00 LT at the spring equinox require other mechanisms other than the slow loss process of the electron density.

Characteristics of mid-latitude field-aligned irregularities observed with VHF coherent scatter ionospheric radar over Korea

  • Yang, Tae-Yong;Kwak, Young-Sil;Kil, Hyosub;Park, Young-Deuk
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.37 no.2
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    • pp.127.1-127.1
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    • 2012
  • The 40.8-MHz VHF coherent scatter ionospheric radar, located in South Korea (Gyeryong, $36.18^{\circ}N$, $127.14^{\circ}E$), has been operating since December 2009 to investigate ionosphere E- and F-region field-aligned irregularities (FAIs) of mid-latitude. During the observation, we found E- and F-region FAIs appeared frequently: continuous echoes during the post-sunrise period and Quasi-Periodic (QP) echoes at nighttime for E region ; strong post-sunset and pre-sunrise FAIs for F region. The characteristics of E- and F-region FAIs are presented in terms of seasonal and local time variations of occurrence during December 2009 to August 2012. In addition, to investigate the correlation with geomagnetic activity to FAIs occurrence, we compared K-index variations to local time occurrence. It is worth to note our occurrence result since long term observation over several years in the mid-latitude has not yet been carried out.

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Ionospheric TEC Monitoring over Jeju Island using the Chinese BeiDou Satellite Navigation System

  • Choi, Byung-Kyu;Lee, Woo Kyoung;Sohn, Dong-Hyo;Yoo, Sung-Moon;Roh, Kyoung-Min;Joo, Jung-Min;Heo, Moon Beom
    • Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.1-6
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    • 2020
  • The Chinese BeiDou Satellite Navigation System consists of three kinds of constellations: the geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), the inclined geosynchronous satellite orbit (IGSO), and the medium Earth orbit (MEO). The BeiDou has expanded its service coverage from regional to global. Recently, the BeiDou has been widely used in ionospheric total electron content (TEC) research. In this study, we analyzed the BeiDou signals for ionospheric TEC monitoring over Jeju Island in South Korea. The BeiDou GEO TEC showed a clear pattern of diurnal variations. In addition, we compared the TEC values from the BeiDou GEO, the BeiDou IGSO, GPS, and International GNSS Service (IGS) Global Ionosphere Maps (GIM). There was a difference of about 5 TEC units between the BeiDou GEO and the IGS GIM. This may be due to the altitude difference between the different navigation satellites.

GPS Ionospheric Perturbations Following ML ≥ 5.0 Earthquakes in Korean Peninsula (한반도내 규모 5.0 이상의 지진에 의한 GPS 전리층 변동)

  • Sohn, Dong-Hyo;Park, Sun-Cheon;Lee, Won-Jin;Lee, Duk Kee
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.34 no.6_4
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    • pp.1531-1544
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    • 2018
  • We detected the coseismic ionospheric disturbance generated by the earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 and greater in Korean Peninsula. We considered the seismic events such as Gyeongju earthquake in September 2016 with magnitude 5.8, the Pohang earthquake in November 2017 with magnitude 5.4, and the underground nuclear explosion from North Korea in September 2017 with magnitude 5.7. Although all GPS stations were not detected, the ionospheric disturbance induced by these earthquakes occurred approximately 10-30 minutes and 40-60 minutes after the events. We inferred that the time difference within each variation is due to the different focal depth and the geometry of epicenter, satellite, and GPS station. In the case of the Gyeongju earthquake, the earthquake had relatively deeper depth than the other earthquakes. However, the seismic magnitude was bigger and it occurred at nighttime when the ionospheric activity was stable. So we could observe such anomalous variations. It is considered that the ionospheric disturbance caused by the difference in velocity of the upward propagating waves generated by earthquake appears more than once. Our results indicate that the detection of ionospheric disturbances varies depending on the geometry of the GPS station, satellite, and epicenter or the detection method and that the apparent growth of amplitude in the time series varies depending on the focal depth or the site-satellite-epicenter geometry.

Analysis of CHAMP Magnetic Anomalies for Polar Geodynamic Variations

  • Kim Hyung Rae;von Frese Ralph R.B.;Park Chan-Hong;Kim Jeong Woo
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.91-98
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    • 2005
  • On board satellite magnetometer measures all possible magnetic components, such as the core and crustal components from the inner Earth, and magnetospheric, ionospheric and' its coupled components from the outer Earth. Due to its dipole and non-dipole features, separation of the respective component from the measurements is most difficult unless the comprehensive knowledge of each field characteristics and the consequent modeling methods are solidly constructed. Especially, regional long wavelength magnetic signals of the crust are strongly masked by the main field and dynamic external field and hence difficult to isolate in the satellite measurements. In particular, the un-modeled effects of the strong auroral external fields and the complicated behavior of the core field near the geomagnetic poles conspire to greatly reduce the crustal magnetic signal-to-noise ratio in the polar region relative to the rest of the Earth. We can, however, use spectral correlation theory to filter the static lithospheric and core field components from the dynamic external field effects that are closely related to the geomagnetic storms affecting ionospheric current disturbances. To help isolate regional lithospheric anomalies from core field components, the correlations between CHAMP magnetic anomalies and the pseudo-magnetic effects inferred from satellite gravity-derived crustal thickness variations can also be exploited, Isolation of long wavelengths resulted from the respective source is the key to understand and improve the models of the external magnetic components as well as of the lower crustal structures. We expect to model the external field variations that might also be affected by a sudden upheaval like tsunami by using our algorithm after isolating any internal field components.

LONGITUDINAL AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS OF THE ELECTRON TEMPERATURE AND DENSITY IN THE LOW_LATITUDE TOPSIDE IONOSPHERE OBSERVED BY KOMPSAT-1 (다목적 실용위성 1호로 측정한 저위도 상부 이온층의 전자 온도와 전자 밀도의 경도 및 계절별 변화)

  • Kim, Hee-jun;Park, Sun-Mie;Lee, Jae-Jin;Lee, En-sang;Min, Kyoung-Wook;Han, Won-yong;Nam, Uk-Won;Jin, Ho
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.123-132
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    • 2002
  • The electron density and temperature in the topside ionosphere are observed by the ionosphere Measurement Sensor (IMS) onboard the KOMPSAT-1, which has the sun-synchronous orbit of the altitude of 685 km and the orbital inclination of $98^{\circ}$ with a descending node at 22:50LT. Observations have been analyzed to determine the seasonal variations of the electron density and temperature in the low-latitude region. Only the night-time (22:50LT) behavior on magnetically quiet days (Kp < 4) has been examined. Observations show a strong longitudinal and seasonal variation. Generally, in the dip equator the density increases and the temperature decreases. In equinox the latitudinal distributions of the electron density and temperature are quite symmetric about the dip equator. However, the local maximum of the density and the local minimum of the temperature shift toward the Northern hemisphere in summer solstice but the Southern hemisphere in winter solstice. Such variations are due to the influences of field-aligned plasma transport induced by F region neutral wind. Compared with the IRI95 model, the observed electron density and temperature show significant differences from those predicted by the IRI95 model.