Ionospheric Irregularities at High Latitudes During Geomagnetic Storms and Substorms: Simultaneous Observations of Magnetic Field Perturbations and GPS Scintillations

Plasma instability in the ionosphere is often observed as disturbance and distortion of the amplitude and phase of radio signals, which are known as ionospheric scintillations. High-latitude ionospheric plasma, closely connected to solar wind and magnetospheric dynamics, produce very dynamic and short-lived GPS scintillations, making it challenging to characterize them. This study reports simultaneous observations of geomagnetic pulsations and GPS signal scintillations during geomagnetic storms and substorms using a newly designed Autonomous Adaptive Low-Power Instrument Platform (AAL-PIP) installed at the South Pole. A statistical investigation of the AAL-PIP data recorded from January through May 2012 is presented to study local time distribution of scintillation events and a correlation between GPS scintillation and magnetic field perturbations. This report discusses a possible connection between magnetic field perturbations associated with the ionospheric currents and the creation of plasma instability by examining relative contribution of storm/substorm activity to ionospheric irregularities.