Global Ionospheric Responses to Space Weather Disturbances
Abstract
Solar coronal mass ejections and high-speed solar wind streams can cause geomagnetic storms, which have significant impact on Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere (M-I-T). Coupling effects within the M-I-T system can dramatically and globally disturb the ionospheric state. We will present our research investigating ionospheric responses to space weather disturbances on global scales. Using ionospheric total electron content (TEC) measurements derived from GPS data, and Global Ionospheric Maps constructed using GPS data, we inspect the responses from high to low latitudes and at various local times and longitude sectors, according to different phases of space weather perturbations. Several approaches to characterizing the resulting disturbance patterns will be presented. These patterns could become essential to distinguishing major dynamical and chemical effects in the ionosphere in different regions, and to supporting the effort of forecasting space weather effects. Analyses of the responses to several storms, including the 2013 and 2015 St. Patrick's Day storms, using these approaches will be presented.
- Publication:
-
42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- July 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018cosp...42E2661P