Ionospheric scintillation characteristics from GPS observations over Malaysian region after the 2011 Valentine’s day solar flare
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Aramesh Seif
Abstract
Ionospheric scintillations due to plasma irregularities can severely affect the modern dynamic and technological systems whose operations rely on satellite-based navigation systems. We investigate the occurrence of ionospheric scintillation in the equatorial and low latitude region over Malaysia after the 2011 Valentine’s Day solar flare. A network of three Global Ionospheric Scintillation and Total Electron Content Monitor (GISTM) GSV4004B receivers with increasing latitudes from the magnetic equator were used to monitor ionospheric TEC, rate of change of TEC index (ROTI), and amplitude (S4) as well as phase (σ φ) scintillation indices. The results show a simultaneous sudden rise in S4 and σ φ along with a significant depletion of TEC at all three locations. However, the largest enhancement of scintillation indices accompanying a substantial TEC depletion is observed at the farthest low latitude station (UNIMAS) from the equator with values around 0.5, 0.3 rad, and 1 TECU, respectively. The corresponding values at the near-equatorial station (Langkawi; 0.4, 0.2 rad, and 3 TECU) and intermediate station (UKM; 0.45, 0.3 rad, and 5 TECU) are examined along with ROTI variations, confirming the simultaneous occurrence of kilometer-scale and sub kilometer scale irregularities during 17 and 18 February 2011. The radiation effects of the solar flare on the ionosphere were prominently recognized at the local nighttime hours (around 14:00 to 17:00 UT) coinciding with the equatorial prereversal enhancement (PRE) time to seed the equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) enhancement that resulted in ionospheric irregularities over the low latitudes. The significant TEC depletion seen in the signals from selected GPS satellites (PRNs 11, 19, 23, and 32) suggests plausible degradation in the performance of GPS-based services over the Malaysian region. The study provides an effective understanding of the post-flare ionospheric irregularities during an episode of minor geomagnetic storm period and aligns with the efforts for mitigating the scintillation effects in space-based radio services over low latitudes.
Funding source: Iran’s National Elites Foundation (INEF) Award
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to appreciate the university Kebangsaan Malaysia for providing the ionospheric TEC and scintillation indices from the GPS stations across Malaysia and the opportunity to undertake this research work. Aramesh Seif gratefully acknowledges the Iran’s National Elites Foundation (INEF) fund that awarded to her to conduct this study. The solar and geomagnetic indices are obtained from OMNIWeb at NASA website (https://omniweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/form/dx1.html).
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Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
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Research funding: None declared.
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Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.
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© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- 3D concept creation of permanent geodetic monitoring installations and the a priori assessment of systematic effects using Virtual Reality
- Modeling the gravitational effects of ocean tide loading at coastal stations in the China earthquake gravity network based on GOTL software
- Comparison of different global DTMs and GGMs over Sri Lanka
- Performance tests of geodetic receivers with tilt sensors in obstructed environments using the NRTK GNSS technique
- Fitting a triaxial ellipsoid to a set of quasi-selenoidal points
- A real-time algorithm for continuous navigation in intelligent transportation systems using LiDAR-Gyroscope-Odometer integration
- Ionospheric scintillation characteristics from GPS observations over Malaysian region after the 2011 Valentine’s day solar flare
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- 3D concept creation of permanent geodetic monitoring installations and the a priori assessment of systematic effects using Virtual Reality
- Modeling the gravitational effects of ocean tide loading at coastal stations in the China earthquake gravity network based on GOTL software
- Comparison of different global DTMs and GGMs over Sri Lanka
- Performance tests of geodetic receivers with tilt sensors in obstructed environments using the NRTK GNSS technique
- Fitting a triaxial ellipsoid to a set of quasi-selenoidal points
- A real-time algorithm for continuous navigation in intelligent transportation systems using LiDAR-Gyroscope-Odometer integration
- Ionospheric scintillation characteristics from GPS observations over Malaysian region after the 2011 Valentine’s day solar flare
