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Publication date: Available online 15 February 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): Guo Qiang, L.F. Chernogor, K.P. Garmash, V.T. Rozumenko, Zheng Yu

The response of the ionosphere to the earthquake of a moderate magnitude (M ≈ 5.9) that occurred in Japan at 11:23:50 UT on 7 July 2018 has been studied using a newly developed coherent multi-frequency radio diagnostic system for remotely probing the ionosphere at oblique incidence. The seismic activity in Japan on 7 July 2018 was accompanied by aperiodic processes in the ionosphere at distances of no less than (1–2) × 103 km from the epicentre, with an enhancement in multiple-mode propagation, and a significant Doppler spectrum broadening. Three ways of transporting disturbances from the earthquake to the changes in the character of Doppler spectra variations have been identified by examination. First, the disturbances are generated by a surface Raleigh wave launched at the earthquake epicentre. They have been ascertained in the infrasonic range (a 3- to 4-min period) of oscillations. The relative amplitude of these quasi-periodic oscillations in the electron density is equal to 1.7–9%. The duration of the oscillation trains is found to be in the range of 24–55 min. The wave disturbance speed of propagation is approximately 3 km/s. Second, wave disturbances have also been ascertained in a 15- to 30-min period range. They could be generated in the vicinity of the epicentre and then propagated as atmospheric gravity waves modulating the electron density in the ionosphere. The relative amplitude of the quasi-periodic disturbances in the electron density is equal to 30–55%. The wave train attains a temporal duration of about 100 min and a speed of approximately 0.3 km/s. Third, the broadening of the Doppler spectra toward negative Doppler shifts with the time delay estimated to be 49–124 min, depending on the orientation of the propagation path, is the most pronounced Doppler signature of the disturbances caused by the earthquake. This time delay corresponds to a speed of about 0.3 km/s, and consequently, it suggests that this effect most likely is caused by the atmospheric gravity waves launched at the earthquake epicentre. Apparently, the rearrangement of the ionosphere acts to reverse the sign of the Doppler spectrum shift when the atmospheric gravity waves arrive at the reflection level.

Publication date: Available online 12 February 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): Esteban R. Reisin, Jürgen Scheer

The semidiurnal tide is studied with 159 special cases from the large airglow database acquired at El Leoncito (31.8ºS, 69.3ºW). These cases correspond to nights which exhibit similar periods in the temperature and intensity variations of the OH(6-2) and O2b(0–1) emissions. We find that all the periods (except one) are between 9 and 15.5 h. The phase distributions of these cases are narrow enough to ensure the identification as the semidiurnal tide, and their progression with altitude is consistent with downward phase propagation. The mean temperature amplitudes are large for both emissions. We obtain new values for Krassovsky's ratio including its phase. The vertical wavelength is determined independently for each emission using the relation suggested by the Hines and Tarasick theory. Mean vertical wavelengths derived for O2 are longer than those for OH. The longest monthly mean wavelengths are observed from May to August. The mean ratio of temperature amplitudes between the two emissions corresponds to moderate wave attenuation during the upward propagation of the tide.

Publication date: Available online 7 February 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): Enwei Sun, Xiaofeng Xu, Huizheng Che, Zhiwei Tang, Ke Gui, Linchang An, Chunsong Lu, Guangyu Shi

4258 instantaneous 550 nm Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) values were compared between the second Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) and the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) in four seasons at 12 AERONET sites across China. The correlation coefficients (R) in spring, summer, autumn and winter were 0.88, 0.92, 0.91 and 0.87, respectively. The MERRA-2 AOD was compared with the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS/Aqua) AOD over China from 2003 to 2017, and good agreement was obtained. 4501 daily AOD values were compared between MERRA-2 and MODIS at 16 sites over China. Spatial distribution and temporal variation of MERRA-2 AOD over China were analyzed from 1980 to 2017. Mean values of MERRA-2 AOD indicated that high AOD mainly appeared in the eastern, southeastern and central China, while low AOD mostly occurred in the western and northeastern China. Mean AOD values over China during this study period in each month was also discussed, and similar spatial distribution (high AOD in developed areas, low AOD in rural and less developed areas) was found in each month. Slight AOD increase could be observed in the 1980s and 1990s, and a rapid increase happened from 2001 to 2010, followed by an AOD decrease between 2011 and 2017. Annual variation of mean AOD of the whole China (the Yangtze River Delta) showed a slight increase of 0.0010 (0.0045) per year from 1980 to 1999, a rapid increase of 0.0096 (0.0271) per year between 2000 and 2009, and a decrease of −0.0089 (−0.0206) per year from 2010 to 2017. Annual AOD Variation in Jing-jin-ji and Pearl River Delta is similar to that in the Yangtze River Delta. In four seasons, AOD change was similar to the annual AOD variation except winter with a slight decrease of −0.0012 per year between 1980 and 1999. AOD variation over China before and after the Pinatubo volcanic eruption in the Philippines in June 1991 was analyzed to get a better understanding of the transport and the impact on the environment from volcanic pollutants. AOD variation trend over China was studied in two periods. The increasing trend appeared in most part of China from 1980 to 2009, while a decreasing trend could be found in almost the entire China between 2010 and 2017. Spatial and temporal variation of MERRA-2 Absorption Aerosol Optical Depth (AAOD), Black Carbon Absorption Aerosol Optical Depth (BCAAOD) and Dust Absorption Aerosol Optical Depth (DUAAOD) were analyzed during the period between 1980 and 2017. BCAAOD (66.30%) and DUAAOD (30.56%) offered the major contribution to total AAOD in China. 38 years of variation of AAOD over China is mainly due to the variation of BCAAOD. BCAAOD experienced an increase (1980–2007) and a decrease (2008–2017) during the 38 years in China.

Publication date: April 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 185

Author(s): A. Masoumi, E. Laleh, A. Bayat

To achieve long-time and comparable aerosol properties with the maximum geographical coverage possible in the Middle East, four AERONET sites (Kuwait university, Solar village, IASBS, and Mezaira) are selected. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 870 nm, Ångström exponent (α) for two wavelengths, 440 and 870 nm, real and imaginary parts of aerosol refractive index at 870 nm (mr, mi), and aerosol effective radius are studied for these sites during 2010–2017. Daily-mean values of aerosol properties (mr ≥ 1.51, mi ≤ 0.013, and α ≤ 0.88), show that dust particles are the dominant aerosol type in the atmosphere of the Middle East area. It has been seen that dusty days (daily-mean AOD(870) ≥ 0.50, and α ≤ 0.50), assign a notable percentage (14%–19%) of all days of data for all sites with the exception of the IASBS site. Based on the monthly-averaged MODIS-Terra Deep Blue AOD at 550 nm, it is seen four main dust sources in the Middle East: Mesopotamian area in Iraq and East Syria, northern part of the Arabian Peninsula, Elrob Elkhali desert at southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, and sources of East Arabian Peninsula located in Oman country. All sources of dust are active during dry months in spring and summer seasons. The monthly-averaged wind field data of ERA-interim ECMWF model reveals that dust events in northern part of the Arabian Peninsula are mainly originated from North Arabian Peninsula (Tigris-Euphrates basin) sources in spring (summer). In East Arabian Peninsula (Mezaira site), dusty conditions have continued until late summer and it is related to dust activities of sources, located at southern (Elrob Elkhali desert) and eastern part (Oman country) of the Arabian Peninsula. Dust recorded in Iran plateau (IASBS site), can be originated from sources of Tigris-Euphrates basin via westerly wind at higher altitudes. Also, it seems that dust particles originated from Tigris-Euphrates basin, have smaller sizes and higher values of complex refractive index and therefore it is essential to consider source functionality of dust particles optical and physical properties for each sub-region of the Middle East.

Publication date: April 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 185

Author(s): P.A. Bespalov, O.N. Savina

Some aspects of the theory of generation of magnetospheric chorus are discussed. An original approach to solving the problem of oblique chorus generation near the Gendrin angle is outlined and partially realized within the framework of a beam pulsed amplifier mechanism. Parameters of the resonance electron beam in the chorus excitation region are determined theoretically. A short electromagnetic pulse amplification is calculated by means of a linear approach. Some important properties of the oblique chorus emissions, such as the location of the excitation region, frequency band, wave vector direction, group velocity direction, temporary dynamics, and energy of particles and waves are explained.

Publication date: April 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 185

Author(s): Shahnilla Haider Rizvi, Khan Alam, Muhammad Jawed Iqbal

Most of the urban localities are facing the effects of Urban Heat Island (UHI) and extreme heat wave (HW) events. It is expected that these HW events are likely to be intensified by the effect of UHI in the future. As these events project to increase in both severity and frequency therefore, it is crucial to assess the intensity of UHI and examine the relationship between HW and UHI. In this study, observations for different coastal areas are used to quantify the impacts of UHI during the HW events. The spatial and temporal variability patterns of UHI in the metropolitan city of Karachi were also investigated using hourly temperature observations for a period of 10 years in two phases (a) from 1998 to 2002 (b) from 2012 to 2016. During the first phase (1998–2001), the maximum Urban Heat Island Intensity (UHII) for night time in summer was 1.9 °C, while during the second phase (2012–2016), it increased by 0.6 °C. Despite the fact that both phases have shown similar pattern for seasonal UHII, urban-rural temperature difference was found to be significant in summer especially in the night time. Temporal distribution of UHII for winter shows that average intensity of UHI during daytime varies between 0.1 °C and 3.2 °C, considering the overall time duration. The results indicate that UHII increased significantly during the HW period which caused more than 800 deaths in Karachi between 17th June and 24th June 2015.

Publication date: April 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 185

Author(s): G.S. Suryanarayana

While the Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) without associated flares are known to accelerate and decelerate being moderated by the Lorentz force, gravity and the drag force due to solar wind, the flare association is known to prolong the acceleration. However, with or without the flare association, a significant proportion of slow CMEs decelerate and a similar proportion of fast CMEs accelerate. In the case of accelerating CMEs, various parameters of CMEs such as the mass, angular width etc. show good correlation and this improves with flare association. When the flares and CMEs are associated, there is apparently a division of energy between the flares and the CMEs. It is also known that the magnetic flux spanned by the flare arcade and ribbons after flare maximum, roughly equals the magnetic flux content of the CME and their ratio could be between one and two. The magnetic flux content of the CME can be estimated from the final angular width of the CME. Hence, we suggest that the CMEs experience net acceleration when the different parameters of CMEs such as angular width, mass etc. are correlated and when the CME parameters are correlated with flare duration and peak flux. The absence of the same may lead to CMEs experience net deceleration.

Publication date: April 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 185

Author(s): Zahra Sadeghi, Masoud Mashhadi-Hossainali

In view of the frequent occurrence of large earthquakes, researchers have been always looking for ways to study and analyze these risky phenomena. Today, abnormal changes in ionosphere are taken as a means for this purpose. This article concentrates on the application of the T2-Hotelling test for detecting significant changes in the Total Electron Content (TEC) as an ionospheric parameter. The Global Ionosphere Maps (GIMs) are used for this purpose. The basic assumption is that TECs are normally distributed. This has been analyzed by using ten normality tests. Proposed method statistically analyzes the mean TEC changes using two samples of TECs. The first or the reference sample is 30 days long. The second or the target sample which is a moving one in time is 4 days long. The method is applied to the entire globe and therefore is a global method in nature. TECs associated with high solar and/or geomagnetic activity are not used when the reference sample is made. A sample of 12 earthquakes, occurred in 2010, with the moment magnitudes greater than 6 is used to analyze the efficiency of the proposed method. For 75% of the earthquakes in this study, proposed method confirms the seismo-ionospheric anomalies some of which have been already reported in the other researches. The rest of the studied quakes conform to the assertion that seismo-ionospheric anomalies might not be clearly visible even for some large earthquakes.

Publication date: April 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 185

Author(s): Ludger Laurenz, Horst-Joachim Lüdecke, Sebastian Lüning

European hydroclimate shows a high degree of variability on every time scale. The variability is controlled by natural processes such as Atlantic ocean cycles, changes in solar activity, volcanic eruptions and anthropogenic factors. This contribution concentrates on the solar influence on European precipitation, a relationship which has been documented by a large body of published case studies. Here we are concentrating on the period 1901–2015 for which we compare sunspot data with monthly precipitation series of 39 European countries by calculating Pearson correlation coefficients for a multi-year cross-correlation window. The coefficients have been mapped out across Europe with the aim to identify areas in which solar activity may have influenced precipitation. Results show that February precipitation in Central and Western Europe yields the strongest solar response with coefficients reaching up to +0.61. Rainfall in June–July is equally co-driven by solar activity changes, whereby the solar-influenced zone of rainfall shifts from the British Isles towards Eastern Europe during the course of summer. Other months with noteworthy solar responses are April, May and December. On a decadal scale, the correlation between precipitation and solar activity in central Europe appears to be mostly positive, both statistically and by visual curve comparison. Yet, best positive correlations coefficients of February, June, July and December are typically reached when the solar signal lags rainfall by 1.5–2 years. Taking into account cause and effect, it is suspected that increases in Central European rainfall are actually triggered by the solar minimum some 3–4 years before the rainfall month, rather than the lagging solar maximum. Similar lags of a few years occur between solar activity and the solar-synchronized North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) due to memory effects in the Atlantic. The literature review demonstrates that most multidecadal studies from Central Europe encountered a negative correlation between solar activity and rainfall, probably because short time lags of a few years are negligible on timescales beyond the 11 year solar Schwabe cycle. Flood frequency typically increases during times of low solar activity associated with NAO- conditions and more frequent blocking.

Publication date: April 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 185

Author(s): Václav Bucha

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is known to be influenced by internal variability of the atmosphere and the ocean and respond to natural or anthropogenic external forcing. However, there is no consensus on the exact mechanisms. The NAO correlates with geomagnetic activity (considered as the parameter for the solar wind intensity) positively during one period (i.e. 1951–1996) but negatively in another period (i.e.1870–1950), making the Sun-climate connection a controversial subject. We try to explain this non-stationary relationship and to find the causes why the correlation had changed the sign during the past 148 years. At the times of low geomagnetic activity before 1950 and after 1997 the correlation between geomagnetic activity and the NAO was relatively weak. The variability of the NAO during those periods was mainly due to other processes. In order to answer the question why a more positive NAO phase has prevailed over the last 30 years of the past century, we study the geomagnetic signal near the surface conditioning upon the strength, shape and location of the stratospheric polar vortex and examine the immediate effect of geomagnetic storms in the troposphere. At times of prevailing high geomagnetic activity (1951–1996) the polar vortex strengthened. The effect of the solar wind was mainly over northern Europe in association with the positive phase of the NAO; a strengthened mid-latitude westerly jet kept the cold air in the Arctic and northern mid-latitudes became milder than average. When geomagnetic activity decreased, the stratospheric polar vortex also weakened. The solar wind signal prevailed over Canada in association with the negative NAO index and more of Arctic air was able to penetrate North America and Eurasia. We finally show that the geomagnetic storms may play a role in the acceleration of the downward penetration of pressure anomalies from the upper stratosphere into the troposphere.

Publication date: May 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 186

Author(s): N.V.P. KiranKumar, K. Jagadeesh, K. Niranjan, K. Rajeev

Seasonal variation of sea breeze (SB) characteristics and its effect on turbulence spectra at Visakhapatnam (17.7°N, 83.3°E) located at east coast of Peninsular India are investigated by considering 244 sea breeze events during December 2012 to March 2014. The delayed onset of backdoor SB during winter occurs due to the southward component of shore-parallel background winds while the prevailing northward component of background wind enable the early onset of corkscrew SB during pre-monsoon and summer monsoon. The turbulence spectral peak of horizontal winds shifts to higher frequency side after SB onset.

Publication date: April 2019

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 185

Author(s): A.H. Maghrabi

In this study, radiosonde observations from seven sites in Saudi Arabia for the period 1985 to 2016 were utilized to investigate the interannual, monthly, and seasonal variations and trends of precipitable water vapour (PWV). The magnitudes of these trends have been characterized and tested using the Mann-Kendall (MK) rank statistics at different significance levels. A significant decrease in the annual mean PWV by about 7% is found for the entire period. A seasonal cycle of PWV with a maximum during summer time and a minimum during winter has been found and can be mostly attributed to the variations of air temperature. On a monthly basis, the PWV values revealed a decreasing trend with the rate of decrease ranging between 0.47 and 2.6 mm per 32 years. There was a decrease in PWV in all the seasons, but it was only significant for the spring season, when it was the highest (1.79 mm per 32 years).

Power spectra analyses using the Fourier Transform (FT) technique were carried out for the period 1985–2016 to investigate the periodicities in the PWV time series. Several long, mid, and short-term periodicities were recognized. Short-term periodicities such as one year, six months, three months, and four months were found. On the other hand, long and mid term periodicities such as 10.8–11 years, 1.7 years, and 1.3 years were detected. The obtained periodicities are similar to those reported by several investigators and found in solar, interplanetary, and cosmic ray parameters. The spectral results suggest that the obtained PWV periodicities in Arabian Peninsula are, possibly, related to the solar activities, as well as, the effect of terrestrial meteorological phenomena.

Publication date: Available online 15 November 2018

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): Hong-Jin Yang, Chan-Gyung Park, Rok-Soon Kim, Kyung-Suk Cho, Junhyeok Jeon

Korean chronicles have a large amount of observational records of natural phenomena, including astronomical and meteorological events over two thousand years. Here we examine the correlation of solar activity and climate change from historical sunspot and frost records in the Korean chronicles. There are 42 sunspot records in Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392 CE) and 13 records in Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910 CE). The sunspot records in Goryeo Dynasty show a periodicity in good agreement with the well-known solar activity of 11 years. Korean sunspot records suggest that the solar activity in Joseon Dynasty decreased compared with that in the previous ∼500 years. In order to examine the long-period variation of solar activity, we include Chinese historical sunspot records in our analysis to supplement the lack of Korean records, and find a new ∼240-yr long-period solar activity from the power spectral analysis. Korean chronicles also have about 700 frost records during the last millennium. We investigate these frost records and find a sign of cooling down that can be interpreted as climate change during the last millennium. We also find ∼240-yr cooling period from the historical frost records, which is well in accord with that of solar activity. Therefore, we conclude that the solar activity has decreased during the last one thousand years and also has a long-term variation of ∼240 years.

Publication date: Available online 14 November 2018

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): K. Chenna Reddy, B. Premkumar

Meteor observations with Gadanki MST radar usually detect variety of meteor echoes that includes head echoes, specular and non-specular trail echoes. Sometimes, but not always head echoes are followed by a sudden increase in signal strength amounting to many decibels at terminal end point of the trail, known as terminal flare echoes - a feature mostly observed with optical and high power large aperture (HPLA) radar systems. In this study, we report some examples of terminal flare echoes observed with Gadanki MST radar. Because these echoes provide valuable insight into the role of diffusion and plasma instabilities in the formation and evolution of meteor trail. From the observations, it has been noticed that the head echoes at higher altitudes are generating non-specular trail echoes, whereas they disintegrate as terminal flares associated with meteoroid fragmentation in lower altitudes. Although meteoroid fragmentation is a common phenomenon, but terminal flaring is a rare feature observed with Gadanki radar. A small, but non-negligible fraction of meteor events (∼2.5% of all head echo events) showed flaring apparently produced by terminal destruction of a meteoroid fragmentation along with the insights into the fragmentation and terminal flaring process.

Publication date: Available online 28 September 2018

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): Peng Chen, Qinzheng Li, Yibin Yao, WanQiang Yao

This study investigated the morphology of the Plasmaspheric Weddell Sea Anomaly (PWSA). Measurements by GPS receivers onboard COSMIC satellites were used to determine the slant total electron content (STEC) along signal propagation paths during 2007–2017, which were converted to the zenith direction using a specific plasmaspheric projection function to obtain vertical total electron content (VTEC). The characteristics of seasonal variation of the PWSA between the four seasons were examined under conditions of high and low solar activity that corresponded to values of the F10.7 index of >120 and ≤ 120, respectively. To investigate seasonal variation of plasmaspheric VTEC, maps of geographic latitude versus geographic longitude were constructed by binning the data into 5° latitudinal grids and 15° longitudinal grids. The median value of VTEC in each grid was calculated for each season under low and high solar activity conditions. The results showed that the WSA phenomenon could also be observed in the plasmasphere (altitude ≥ 800 km) as well as in the ionosphere. The anomaly is most prominent in winter under conditions of high solar activity, and it also can be found in spring and autumn, although its amplitude is relatively small. The equatorward neutral wind is the critical driver for PWSA formation. In addition, during the polar summer, high geographic latitudes are sunlit during the entire day, leading to prolonged photoionization. This is the most essential process for the existence of the nighttime maximum in the VTEC diurnal variation at the geographic latitudes of the PWSA.

Publication date: Available online 11 August 2018

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): A.R. Zahari, F.I. Romli

Suborbital flight has progressively emerged as the potential future transport trend, whether for space tourism or other applications. While several design concepts have been explored thus far for the suborbital flight operation, one of the main lingering concerns is actually the destination of the flight. The altitude of 100 km, which is the commonly chosen destination for suborbital flight, provides an imaginary separation between air and space. The quest for this separation sparks intense debates not only in the scientific communities but also in the political circles and legal fraternities. In conjunction with that, this research aims to analyse the suborbital flight operation by using the analytical tool of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE) in order to discuss its implications to a nation. From the analysis, among the advantages of suborbital flight operation include the shifting of role for space development from public agency to private enterprise, creation of new industry to generate revenue, public opportunity for access to space, new, low cost and reusable technology and material and also the enhancement of atmospheric studies. On the other hand, among established disadvantages of suborbital flight operation include the absence of international consensus on the boundary between air and space, intensive capital requirement to develop new technology and infrastructure, damage to third party liability, limited track record for flight safety, lack of regulation for new industry and also the air pollution resulting from the flight activity. All in all, it can be taken that there are many advantages that suborbital flight could bring to a nation but its subsequent disadvantages have to be carefully considered as well to ensure the sustainability of its operation and industry.

Publication date: Available online 6 February 2018

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): Hui Li, Chi Wang, Shengping He, Huijun Wang, Cui Tu, Jiyao Xu, Fei Li, Xiaocheng Guo

Studies on Sun-climate connection have been carried out for several decades, and almost all of them focused on the effects of solar total irradiation energy. As the second major terrestrial energy source from outer space, the solar wind energy flux exhibits more significant long-term variations. However, its link to the global climate change is rarely concerned and remains a mystery. As a fundamental and important aspect of the Earth's weather and climate system, tropical cyclone activity has been causing more and more attentions. Here we investigate the possible modulation of the total energy flux input from the solar wind into the Earth's magnetosphere on the global tropical cyclone activity during 1963–2012. From a global perspective, the accumulated cyclone energy increases gradually since 1963 and starts to decrease after 1994. Compare to the previously frequently used parameters, e.g., the sunspot number, the total solar irradiation, the solar F10.7 irradiation, the tropical sea surface temperature, and the south oscillation index, the total solar wind energy flux input exhibits a better correlation with the global tropical cyclone activity. Furthermore, the tropical cyclones seem to be stronger with more intense geomagnetic activities. A plausible modulation mechanism is thus proposed to link the terrestrial weather phenomenon to the seemingly-unrelated solar wind energy input.

Publication date: Available online 2 February 2018

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): Binod Adhikari, Nirakar Sapkota, Subodh Dahal, Binod Bhattarai, Krishna Khanal, Narayan P. Chapagain

An EMF (electromagnetic field) is induced over an incremental area when magnetized plasma from sun interacts with the Earth's magnetic field. This phenomenon delivers a Geomagnetically Induced Current (GIC) or induces geo-electric field at the Earth's surface and in the ground. GIC and horizontal component of geomagnetic field have been studied with respect to various geomagnetic events. Particularly, we have studied four events. The first one is geomagnetically quiet period (5 October 2003), the second one is weak storm (21 October 2003), the third one is moderate storm (14 October 2003) and the last one is an intense storm (30 October 2003). By comparing the development of GIC during geomagnetic storms, we found that intense geomagnetic storms show higher development on GIC magnitude. The GIC during storm events is several times greater than that during the quiet day. AE index shows more activity in the event of 30th October than other events and GIC is also more in this event. This can be accounted to the greater geomagnetic disturbance in this case. The power ranges of higher intensity are seen at various time scales on different events. We have analysed GIC signal associated with four geomagnetic storms and found distinct periodicities at the time when H component highly perturbed. The characteristic of GIC signal demonstrates high variability with time without presence of continuous periodicities. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) analysis reveals that whenever the geomagnetic field is perturbed, there will be high possibility of detecting GIC. The singularities present in GIC signal are due to the peak value of electrical currents system in the ionosphere and magnetosphere, and corresponding high fluctuations in H component. In this work, we explore the remarkable ability of wavelets to highlight the singularities associated with discontinuities present in the GIC.

Publication date: Available online 1 February 2018

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): Shikun Lu, Hao Zhang, Xihai Li, Yihong Li, Chao Niu, Xiaoyun Yang, Daizhi Liu

The modern science of networks has brought significant advances to our understanding of complex systems. We employ the probabilistic graphical model to build complex networks to model the global ionospheric variations. The global ionospheric maps (GIMs) of vertical total electron content (VTEC) for the 12 months in 2012 have been selected analyze the ionospheric variations from the perspective of complex network. The information flow in the networks represents the causal interactions between the ionospheric variations at different locations. The distributions of the edges' geospatial distances in the ionospheric networks show that the information flow in the ionosphere is mainly transmitted locally, almost obeying the geospatial proximity principle. The asymmetric distribution of the edges' distances probably elucidates the more efficient transmission of ionospheric variations in the westward and southward directions. The community topologies within the ionospheric networks indicate the effect of the geomagnetic field and geographical distance on the information flow in the ionosphere. The geomagnetic field has shown an enhanced effect on the meridional interaction in the ionosphere, causing the vertical community topologies within the ionospheric networks at middle and low latitudes. For the ionospheric cells located at high latitudes in GIM, the geographical distances result in the horizontal community topologies. The fractal analysis reveals the existence of self-similar structure in the ionospheric networks on the global scale. The fractality in the ionospheric information flow may indicate the reasonability of the VTEC's prediction at a certain location by spatial prediction based on the data obtained in known regions.

Publication date: Available online 31 January 2018

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Author(s): Zamri Zainal Abidin, M.H. Jusoh, M. Abbas, O.S. Bolaji, A. Yoshikawa

Magnetic records of the declination (D) component for the solar quiet year 2011–2013 obtained from Magnetic Data Acquisition System (MAGDAS) at Langkawi (Geog. Lon. 99.68∘ E, Geog. Lat. 6.30∘N), Malaysia were utilized in this study. The minutes averages were used to delineate the diurnal (Sq(D)) variation. The monthly mean (MSq(D)) and their seasonal variabilities (SVq(D)) were also analysed. The Sq(D) and their MSq(D) exhibit smooth regular occurring pattern in the month of April–September and became highly perturbed in October–March across the years. The highest positive (∼3.5 arc-min) and the negative (∼−3.0 arc-min) values were observed in August 2011 during the dawn and noon sectors. These maxima shifted to July and September in 2012 with peaks ∼3.2 and −3.0 arc-min. In 2013, the positive maximum (∼3.0 arc-min) and its negative (∼−2.5 arc-min) were again seen in August. This implies that the dawn and noon sectors of August 2011 and 2013 are strongly influenced by IHFACs and this effect shifted to July and September in 2012. IHFACs through the years flow from the winter to summer hemisphere during the noon and dusk sectors and flow in opposite direction during the dawn sector. The day-to-day magnitudes of Sq(D) and MSq(D) seems to suggest the inter-hemispheric imbalance of the ionospheric Sq current earlier established by Van Sabben as the cause of IHFACs is not strongly affected by the changes in annual solar variation. Dusk-side IHFACs were observed to be northbound in all the seasons with the exception of June solstice. The direction of IHFACs does not change except in April and November. The current intensity is not large in solstices except in August 2011 and 2013 but it shifted to July in 2012. The result further showed that the magnitude of the duskside IHFACS is determined to some extent by the strength of the noontime IHFACs. IHFACs were generally observed to be greater during the daytime than night-time hours.