Disturbances in the topside ionosphere during solar flares

The results of studying the ionospheric response to solar flares, obtained from the data of the GPS signal observations and incoherent scatter radars and as a result of the model calculations, are presented. It is shown that, according to the GPS data, a flare can cause a decrease in the electron co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geomagnetism and Aeronomy 2008-12, Vol.48 (6), p.759-767
Main Authors: Leonovich, L. A., Tashchilin, A. V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aeronomy
Astrophysics
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Geophysics/Geodesy
Global positioning systems
GPS
Ionosphere
Plasma
Solar flares
Thermal expansion
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Summary:The results of studying the ionospheric response to solar flares, obtained from the data of the GPS signal observations and incoherent scatter radars and as a result of the model calculations, are presented. It is shown that, according to the GPS data, a flare can cause a decrease in the electron content at altitudes of the topside ionosphere ( h > 300 km). Similar effects of formation of a negative disturbance in the ionospheric F region were also observed during the solar flares of May 21 and 23, 1967, with the Arecibo incoherent scatter radar. The mechanism by which negative disturbances appear in the topside ionosphere during solar flares has been studied in this work based on the theoretical model of the ionosphere-plasmasphere coupling. It has been indicated that the formation of the electron density negative disturbance in the topside ionosphere is caused by an intense removal of O + ions into the overlying plasmasphere under the action of an abrupt increase in the ion production rate and thermal expansion of the ionospheric plasma.
ISSN:0016-7932
1555-645X
0016-7940
DOI:10.1134/S001679320806008X