Ionospheric response to geomagnetic storm on July 14-17, 2012 in East Asia
Abstract
We study manifestation of intense geomagnetic storm on July 14-17, 2012 in the ionosphere high, middle and low latitudes. The peculiarity of the storm is that for nearly 30 hours the IMF Bz had southward direction (-20 ÷ -10 nT). We use data from the chains of stations located near the meridians 90E, 110E and 150E. The critical frequency (foF2) variation analysis showed that during the storm main phase the ionosphere response depends strongly on the local time of the sudden storm commencement so the negative perturbations were observed near the meridian 90E and positive perturbations were observed near the meridian 150E. At the end of the storm main phase the traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) were observed at all stations. The critical frequencies were extremely low during the storm recovery phase on July 16, 2012 at all stations and this phase lasted nearly three days. At the low-latitude station Hainan (19.5N, 109E) on July 16, 2012 the day foF2 values were the same as the night values. This intense and prolonged negative perturbation is a very rare event at low latitudes. Since prolonged negative disturbance is usually associated with a decrease in the ratio of concentration of atomic oxygen to that of molecular nitrogen [O]/[N2] which is transported by the disturbed thermospheric wind from auroral latitudes to middle and low, then we analyzed measuring [O]/[N2] (Global Ultraviolet Imager, http://guvi.jhuapl.edu/site/gallery/guvi-galleryl3on2.shtml). It found out that feature of the studied storm is very low values of [O]/[N2] which were observed on July 16 in the longitudinal sector 60 - 150E from high latitude almost to the equator. Modeling results of the ionospheric response to this storm are also presented. At low-latitudes the extreme low values of [O]/[N2] also can be one of the reasons of the prolonged negative disturbance. The work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant 13-05-91159) and RF President Grant of Public Support for RF Leading Scientific Schools (NSh-2942.2014.5).
- Publication:
-
40th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014cosp...40E2773R