The response of high latitude ionosphere to the 2015 June 22 storm

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Giulia D'Angelo
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9214-2051
Mirko Piersanti
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5207-2944
Lucilla Alfonsi
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1806-9327
Luca Spogli
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2310-0306
Igino Coco
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4070-6828
Guozhu Li
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7669-3590
Ning Baiqi

Abstract

This work investigates physical mechanisms triggering phase scintillations on L-band signals under strong stormy conditions. Thanks to selected ground-based Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers, located both in Antarctica and in the Arctic, an interhemispheric comparison between high latitude ionospheric observations in response to the peculiar solar wind conditions occurred on June 22, 2015 is here shown. To trace back the observed phase scintillations to the physical mechanisms driving it, we combine measurements from GNSS receivers with in-situ and ground-based observations. Our study highlights the ionospheric scenario in which irregularities causing scintillation form and move, leveraging on a multi-observation approach. Such approach allows deducing that scintillations are caused by the presence of fast-moving electron density gradients originated by particle precipitation induced by solar wind variations. In addition, we show how the numerous and fast oscillations of the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field (Bz,IMF) result to be less effective in producing moderate/intense scintillation events than during period of long lasting negative values. Finally, we also demonstrate how the in-situ electron density data can be used to reconstruct the evolution of the ionospheric dynamics, both locally and globally.

Article Details

How to Cite
D’Angelo, G., Piersanti, M., Alfonsi, L., Spogli, L., Coco, I., Li, G. and Baiqi, N. (2019) “The response of high latitude ionosphere to the 2015 June 22 storm”, Annals of Geophysics, 62(4), p. GM454. doi: 10.4401/ag-7780.
Section
From the Sun to the Earth’s interior