TY - JOUR A1 - Xiong, Chao A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Lühr, Hermann T1 - The Swarm satellite loss of GPS signal and its relation to ionospheric plasma irregularities JF - Space Weather: The International Journal of Research and Applications N2 - In this study we investigated conditions for loss of GPS signals observed by the Swarm satellites during a 2 year period, from December 2013 to November 2015. Our result shows that the Swarm satellites encountered most of the total loss of GPS signal at the ionization anomaly crests, between +/- 5 degrees and +/- 20 degrees magnetic latitude, forming two bands along the magnetic equator, and these low-latitude events mainly appear around postsunset hours from 19: 00 to 22: 00 local time. By further checking the in situ electron density measurements of Swarm, we found that practically, all the total loss of GPS signal events at low latitudes are related to equatorial plasma irregularities (EPIs) that show absolute density depletions larger than 10 x 10(11) m(-3); then, the Swarm satellites encountered for up to 95% loss of GPS signal for at least one channel and up to 45% tracked less than four GPS satellites (making precise orbit determination impossible). For those EPIs with density depletions less than 10 x 10(11) m(-3), the chance of tracked GPS signals less than four reduces to only 1.0%. Swarm also observed total loss of all GPS signal at high latitudes, mainly around local noon, and these events are related to large spatial density gradients due to polar patches or increased geomagnetic/auroral activities. We further found that the loss of GPS signals were less frequent after appropriate settings of the Swarm GPS receivers had been updated. However, the more recent period of the mission, e.g., after the GPS receiver settings have been updated, also coincides with less severe electron density depletions due to the declining solar cycle, making GPS loss events less likely. We conclude that both lower electron density gradients and appropriate GPS receiver settings reduce the probability for Swarm satellites loss of GPS signals. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2016SW001439 SN - 1542-7390 VL - 14 SP - 563 EP - 577 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - GEN A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Michaelis, Ingo A1 - Rauberg, Jan T1 - The role of high‐resolution geomagnetic field models for investigating ionospheric currents at low Earth orbit satellites T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Low Earth orbiting geomagnetic satellite missions, such as the Swarm satellite mission, are the only means to monitor and investigate ionospheric currents on a global scale and to make in situ measurements of F region currents. High-precision geomagnetic satellite missions are also able to detect ionospheric currents during quiet-time geomagnetic conditions that only have few nanotesla amplitudes in the magnetic field. An efficient method to isolate the ionospheric signals from satellite magnetic field measurements has been the use of residuals between the observations and predictions from empirical geomagnetic models for other geomagnetic sources, such as the core and lithospheric field or signals from the quiet-time magnetospheric currents. This study aims at highlighting the importance of high-resolution magnetic field models that are able to predict the lithospheric field and that consider the quiet-time magnetosphere for reliably isolating signatures from ionospheric currents during geomagnetically quiet times. The effects on the detection of ionospheric currents arising from neglecting the lithospheric and magnetospheric sources are discussed on the example of four Swarm orbits during very quiet times. The respective orbits show a broad range of typical scenarios, such as strong and weak ionospheric signal (during day- and nighttime, respectively) superimposed over strong and weak lithospheric signals. If predictions from the lithosphere or magnetosphere are not properly considered, the amplitude of the ionospheric currents, such as the midlatitude Sq currents or the equatorial electrojet (EEJ), is modulated by 10–15 % in the examples shown. An analysis from several orbits above the African sector, where the lithospheric field is significant, showed that the peak value of the signatures of the EEJ is in error by 5 % in average when lithospheric contributions are not considered, which is in the range of uncertainties of present empirical models of the EEJ. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 887 KW - geomagnetic field KW - ionospheric current KW - geomagnetic models Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-435500 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 887 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Michaelis, Ingo A1 - Rauberg, Jan T1 - The role of high-resolution geomagnetic field models for investigating ionospheric currents at low Earth orbit satellites JF - Earth, planets and space N2 - Low Earth orbiting geomagnetic satellite missions, such as the Swarm satellite mission, are the only means to monitor and investigate ionospheric currents on a global scale and to make in situ measurements of F region currents. High-precision geomagnetic satellite missions are also able to detect ionospheric currents during quiet-time geomagnetic conditions that only have few nanotesla amplitudes in the magnetic field. An efficient method to isolate the ionospheric signals from satellite magnetic field measurements has been the use of residuals between the observations and predictions from empirical geomagnetic models for other geomagnetic sources, such as the core and lithospheric field or signals from the quiet-time magnetospheric currents. This study aims at highlighting the importance of high-resolution magnetic field models that are able to predict the lithospheric field and that consider the quiet-time magnetosphere for reliably isolating signatures from ionospheric currents during geomagnetically quiet times. The effects on the detection of ionospheric currents arising from neglecting the lithospheric and magnetospheric sources are discussed on the example of four Swarm orbits during very quiet times. The respective orbits show a broad range of typical scenarios, such as strong and weak ionospheric signal (during day- and nighttime, respectively) superimposed over strong and weak lithospheric signals. If predictions from the lithosphere or magnetosphere are not properly considered, the amplitude of the ionospheric currents, such as the midlatitude Sq currents or the equatorial electrojet (EEJ), is modulated by 10-15 % in the examples shown. An analysis from several orbits above the African sector, where the lithospheric field is significant, showed that the peak value of the signatures of the EEJ is in error by 5 % in average when lithospheric contributions are not considered, which is in the range of uncertainties of present empirical models of the EEJ. KW - Geomagnetic field KW - Ionospheric current KW - Geomagnetic models Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-016-0494-1 SN - 1880-5981 VL - 68 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Matzka, Jürgen A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Bronkalla, Oliver A1 - Morschhauser, Achim T1 - The geomagnetic Kp index and derived indices of geomagnetic activity JF - Space weather : the international journal of research and applications N2 - The geomagnetic Kp index is one of the most extensively used indices of geomagnetic activity, both for scientific and operational purposes. This article reviews the properties of the Kp index and provides a reference for users of the Kp index and associated data products as derived and distributed by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. The near real-time production of the nowcast Kp index is of particular interest for space weather services and here we describe and evaluate its current setup. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2020SW002641 SN - 1542-7390 VL - 19 IS - 5 PB - Wiley CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhelayskaya, Irina S. A1 - Vasile, Ruggero A1 - Shprits, Yuri Y. A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Matzka, Jürgen T1 - Systematic Analysis of Machine Learning and Feature Selection Techniques for Prediction of the Kp Index JF - Space Weather: The International Journal of Research and Applications N2 - The Kp index is a measure of the midlatitude global geomagnetic activity and represents short-term magnetic variations driven by solar wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic field. The Kp index is one of the most widely used indicators for space weather alerts and serves as input to various models, such as for the thermosphere and the radiation belts. It is therefore crucial to predict the Kp index accurately. Previous work in this area has mostly employed artificial neural networks to nowcast Kp, based their inferences on the recent history of Kp and on solar wind measurements at L1. In this study, we systematically test how different machine learning techniques perform on the task of nowcasting and forecasting Kp for prediction horizons of up to 12 hr. Additionally, we investigate different methods of machine learning and information theory for selecting the optimal inputs to a predictive model. We illustrate how these methods can be applied to select the most important inputs to a predictive model of Kp and to significantly reduce input dimensionality. We compare our best performing models based on a reduced set of optimal inputs with the existing models of Kp, using different test intervals, and show how this selection can affect model performance. KW - Kp index KW - Predictive models KW - Feature selection KW - Machine learning KW - Validation Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2019SW002271 SN - 1542-7390 VL - 17 IS - 10 SP - 1461 EP - 1486 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Park, Jaeheung A1 - Lühr, Hermann A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Rodriguez-Zuluaga, Juan A1 - Knudsen, David J. A1 - Burchill, Johnathan K. A1 - Kwak, Young-Sil T1 - Statistical survey of nighttime midlatitude magnetic fluctuations: Their source location and Poynting flux as derived from the Swarm constellation JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - This is the first statistical survey of field fluctuations related with medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs), which considers magnetic field, electric field, and plasma density variations at the same time. Midlatitude electric fluctuations (MEFs) and midlatitude magnetic fluctuations (MMFs) observed in the nighttime topside ionosphere have generally been attributed to MSTIDs. Although the topic has been studied for several decades, statistical studies of the Poynting flux related with MEF/MMF/MSTID have not yet been conducted. In this study we make use of electric/magnetic field and plasma density observations by the European Space Agency's Swarm constellation to address the statistical behavior of the Poynting flux. We have found that (1) the Poynting flux is directed mainly from the summer to winter hemisphere, (2) its magnitude is larger before midnight than thereafter, and (3) the magnitude is not well correlated with fluctuation level of in situ plasma density. These results are discussed in the context of previous studies. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JA023408 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 121 SP - 11235 EP - 11248 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - GEN A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Wendt, Vivien A1 - Miyoshi, Y. A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Kervalishvili, Guram N. A1 - Laštovička, J. A1 - Kozubek, M. A1 - Ward, W. A1 - Themens, D. R. A1 - Kristoffersen, S. A1 - Alken, Patrick T1 - September 2019 Antarctic sudden stratospheric warming BT - Quasi-6-Day wave burst and ionospheric effects T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - An exceptionally strong stationary planetary wave with Zonal Wavenumber 1 led to a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in the Southern Hemisphere in September 2019. Ionospheric data from European Space Agency's Swarm satellite constellation mission show prominent 6-day variations in the dayside low-latitude region at this time, which can be attributed to forcing from the middle atmosphere by the Rossby normal mode "quasi-6-day wave" (Q6DW). Geopotential height measurements by the Microwave Limb Sounder aboard National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Aura satellite reveal a burst of global Q6DW activity in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere during the SSW, which is one of the strongest in the record. The Q6DW is apparently generated in the polar stratosphere at 30-40 km, where the atmosphere is unstable due to strong vertical wind shear connected with planetary wave breaking. These results suggest that an Antarctic SSW can lead to ionospheric variability through wave forcing from the middle atmosphere. Plain Language Summary: A sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is an extreme wintertime polar meteorological phenomenon occurring mostly over the Arctic region. Studies have shown that Arctic SSW can influence the entire atmosphere. In September 2019, a rare SSW event occurred in the Antarctic region, providing an opportunity to investigate its broader impact on the whole atmosphere. We present observations from the middle atmosphere and ionosphere during this event, noting unusually strong wave activity throughout this region. Our results suggest that an Antarctic SSW can have a significant impact on the whole atmosphere system similar to those due to Arctic events. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1394 KW - Rossby-normal modes KW - nonumiform background configuration KW - total electron-content KW - large-scale KW - planetary-waves KW - 5-day waves KW - equatorial electrojet KW - lower thermosphere KW - symmetric modes KW - 6.5-Day wave Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-515814 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Wendt, Vivien A1 - Miyoshi, Y. A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Kervalishvili, Guram N. A1 - Laštovička, J. A1 - Kozubek, M. A1 - Ward, W. A1 - Themens, D. R. A1 - Kristoffersen, S. A1 - Alken, Patrick T1 - September 2019 Antarctic sudden stratospheric warming BT - Quasi-6-Day wave burst and ionospheric effects JF - Geophysical Research Letters N2 - An exceptionally strong stationary planetary wave with Zonal Wavenumber 1 led to a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in the Southern Hemisphere in September 2019. Ionospheric data from European Space Agency's Swarm satellite constellation mission show prominent 6-day variations in the dayside low-latitude region at this time, which can be attributed to forcing from the middle atmosphere by the Rossby normal mode "quasi-6-day wave" (Q6DW). Geopotential height measurements by the Microwave Limb Sounder aboard National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Aura satellite reveal a burst of global Q6DW activity in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere during the SSW, which is one of the strongest in the record. The Q6DW is apparently generated in the polar stratosphere at 30-40 km, where the atmosphere is unstable due to strong vertical wind shear connected with planetary wave breaking. These results suggest that an Antarctic SSW can lead to ionospheric variability through wave forcing from the middle atmosphere. Plain Language Summary: A sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is an extreme wintertime polar meteorological phenomenon occurring mostly over the Arctic region. Studies have shown that Arctic SSW can influence the entire atmosphere. In September 2019, a rare SSW event occurred in the Antarctic region, providing an opportunity to investigate its broader impact on the whole atmosphere. We present observations from the middle atmosphere and ionosphere during this event, noting unusually strong wave activity throughout this region. Our results suggest that an Antarctic SSW can have a significant impact on the whole atmosphere system similar to those due to Arctic events. KW - Rossby-normal modes KW - nonumiform background configuration KW - total electron-content KW - large-scale KW - planetary-waves KW - 5-day waves KW - equatorial electrojet KW - lower thermosphere KW - symmetric modes KW - 6.5-Day wave Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL086577 SN - 0094-8276 SN - 1944-8007 VL - 47 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - GEN A1 - Xiong, Chao A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Lühr, Hermann A1 - Park, Jaeheung A1 - Fejer, Bela G. A1 - Kervalishvili, Guram N. T1 - Scale analysis of equatorial plasma irregularities derived from Swarm constellation T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - In this study, we investigated the scale sizes of equatorial plasma irregularities (EPIs) using measurements from the Swarm satellites during its early mission and final constellation phases. We found that with longitudinal separation between Swarm satellites larger than 0.4°, no significant correlation was found any more. This result suggests that EPI structures include plasma density scale sizes less than 44 km in the zonal direction. During the Swarm earlier mission phase, clearly better EPI correlations are obtained in the northern hemisphere, implying more fragmented irregularities in the southern hemisphere where the ambient magnetic field is low. The previously reported inverted-C shell structure of EPIs is generally confirmed by the Swarm observations in the northern hemisphere, but with various tilt angles. From the Swarm spacecrafts with zonal separations of about 150 km, we conclude that larger zonal scale sizes of irregularities exist during the early evening hours (around 1900 LT). T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1112 KW - Equatorial plasma irregularities KW - ionospheric scale lengths KW - Swarm constellation Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-431842 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1112 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Xiong, Chao A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Luehr, Hermann A1 - Park, Jaeheung A1 - Fejer, Bela G. A1 - Kervalishvili, Guram N. T1 - Scale analysis of equatorial plasma irregularities derived from Swarm constellation JF - Earth, planets and space N2 - In this study, we investigated the scale sizes of equatorial plasma irregularities (EPIs) using measurements from the Swarm satellites during its early mission and final constellation phases. We found that with longitudinal separation between Swarm satellites larger than 0.4 degrees, no significant correlation was found any more. This result suggests that EPI structures include plasma density scale sizes less than 44 km in the zonal direction. During the Swarm earlier mission phase, clearly better EPI correlations are obtained in the northern hemisphere, implying more fragmented irregularities in the southern hemisphere where the ambient magnetic field is low. The previously reported inverted-C shell structure of EPIs is generally confirmed by the Swarm observations in the northern hemisphere, but with various tilt angles. From the Swarm spacecrafts with zonal separations of about 150 km, we conclude that larger zonal scale sizes of irregularities exist during the early evening hours (around 1900 LT). KW - Equatorial plasma irregularities KW - Ionospheric scale lengths KW - Swarm constellation Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-016-0502-5 SN - 1880-5981 VL - 68 SP - 189 EP - 202 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Xiong, Chao A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Alken, Patrick A1 - Rauberg, Jan T1 - Relationship between large-scale ionospheric field-aligned currents and electron/ion precipitations BT - DMSP observations JF - Earth, planets and space N2 - In this study, we have derived field-aligned currents (FACs) from magnetometers onboard the Defense Meteorological Satellite Project (DMSP) satellites. The magnetic latitude versus local time distribution of FACs from DMSP shows comparable dependences with previous findings on the intensity and orientation of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)B(y)andB(z)components, which confirms the reliability of DMSP FAC data set. With simultaneous measurements of precipitating particles from DMSP, we further investigate the relation between large-scale FACs and precipitating particles. Our result shows that precipitation electron and ion fluxes both increase in magnitude and extend to lower latitude for enhanced southward IMFBz, which is similar to the behavior of FACs. Under weak northward and southwardB(z)conditions, the locations of the R2 current maxima, at both dusk and dawn sides and in both hemispheres, are found to be close to the maxima of the particle energy fluxes; while for the same IMF conditions, R1 currents are displaced further to the respective particle flux peaks. Largest displacement (about 3.5 degrees) is found between the downward R1 current and ion flux peak at the dawn side. Our results suggest that there exists systematic differences in locations of electron/ion precipitation and large-scale upward/downward FACs. As outlined by the statistical mean of these two parameters, the FAC peaks enclose the particle energy flux peaks in an auroral band at both dusk and dawn sides. Our comparisons also found that particle precipitation at dawn and dusk and in both hemispheres maximizes near the mean R2 current peaks. The particle precipitation flux maxima closer to the R1 current peaks are lower in magnitude. This is opposite to the known feature that R1 currents are on average stronger than R2 currents. KW - field-aligned currents KW - aurora KW - particle precipitation KW - DMSP Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-020-01286-z SN - 1880-5981 VL - 72 IS - 1 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Lühr, H. A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Park, J. T1 - Relation between stratospheric sudden warming and the lunar effect on the equatorial electrojet based on Huancayo recordings T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - It has been known for many decades that the lunar tidal influence in the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) is noticeably enhanced during Northern Hemisphere winters. Recent literature has discussed the role of stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) events behind the enhancement of lunar tides and the findings suggest a positive correlation between the lunar tidal amplitude and lower stratospheric parameters (zonal mean air temperature and zonal mean zonal wind) during SSW events. The positive correlation raises the question whether an inverse approach could also be developed which makes it possible to deduce the occurrence of SSW events before their direct observations (before 1952) from the amplitude of the lunar tides. This study presents an analysis technique based on the phase of the semi-monthly lunar tide to determine the lunar tidal modulation of the EEJ. A statistical approach using the superposed epoch analysis is also carried out to formulate a relation between the EEJ tidal amplitude and lower stratospheric parameters. Using these results, we have estimated a threshold value for the tidal wave power that could be used to identify years with SSW events from magnetic field observations. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 517 KW - Ionosphere KW - electric fields and currents KW - meteorology and atmospheric dynamics KW - waves and tides Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-409564 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 517 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Luehr, H. A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Park, J. T1 - Relation between stratospheric sudden warming and the lunar effect on the equatorial electrojet based on Huancayo recordings JF - Annales geophysicae N2 - It has been known for many decades that the lunar tidal influence in the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) is noticeably enhanced during Northern Hemisphere winters. Recent literature has discussed the role of stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) events behind the enhancement of lunar tides and the findings suggest a positive correlation between the lunar tidal amplitude and lower stratospheric parameters (zonal mean air temperature and zonal mean zonal wind) during SSW events. The positive correlation raises the question whether an inverse approach could also be developed which makes it possible to deduce the occurrence of SSW events before their direct observations (before 1952) from the amplitude of the lunar tides. This study presents an analysis technique based on the phase of the semi-monthly lunar tide to determine the lunar tidal modulation of the EEJ. A statistical approach using the superposed epoch analysis is also carried out to formulate a relation between the EEJ tidal amplitude and lower stratospheric parameters. Using these results, we have estimated a threshold value for the tidal wave power that could be used to identify years with SSW events from magnetic field observations. KW - Ionosphere KW - electric fields and currents KW - meteorology and atmospheric dynamics KW - waves and tides Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-235-2015 SN - 0992-7689 SN - 1432-0576 VL - 33 IS - 2 SP - 235 EP - 243 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Matzka, Jürgen A1 - Alken, Patrick T1 - Quasi-6-Day Wave Modulation of the Equatorial Electrojet JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - The equatorial electrojet is an enhanced eastward current in the dayside E region ionosphere flowing along the magnetic equator. The equatorial electrojet is highly variable as it is subject to various forcing mechanisms including atmospheric waves from the lower layers of the atmosphere. There are occasionally times when the intensity of the equatorial electrojet at a fixed longitude shows an oscillatory variation with a period of approximately 6days. We present case studies of such events based on the equatorial electrojet measurements from the CHAMP and Swarm satellites. The spatial and temporal variability of the equatorial electrojet intensity during these events reveals characteristics of a westward propagating wave with zonal wavenumber 1, consistent with the effect of the quasi-6-day planetary wave. Analyses of the geopotential height data from the Aura satellite confirm the presence of the quasi-6-day planetary wave in the lower thermosphere during the events. The amplitude of the quasi-6-day variation in the equatorial electrojet intensity depends on longitude, but no systematic longitudinal dependence is found for different events. During the event of August 2010, quasi-6-day variations are also observed by ground-based magnetometers and a radar in the Peruvian sector. The effect of the quasi-6-day wave accounts for up to +/- 5.9m/s in the equatorial vertical plasma velocity at noon, which is much larger than previously predicted by a numerical model. These results suggest that the quasi-6-day planetary wave is an important source of short-term variability in the equatorial ionosphere. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JA025365 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 123 IS - 5 SP - 4094 EP - 4109 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Matzka, Jürgen A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Lilienkamp, Henning A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Veliz, Oscar T1 - Quantifying solar flux and geomagnetic main field influence on the equatorial ionospheric current system at the geomagnetic observatory Huancayo JF - Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics N2 - In order to analyse the sensitivity of the equatorial ionospheric current system, i.e. the solar quiet current system and the equatorial electrojet, to solar cycle variations and to the secular variation of the geomagnetic main field, we have analysed 51 years (1935-1985) of geomagnetic observatory data from Huancayo, Peru. This period is ideal to analyse the influence of the main field strength on the amplitude of the quiet daily variation, since the main field decreases significantly from 1935 to 1985, while the distance of the magnetic equator to the observatory remains stable. To this end, we digitised some 19 years of hourly mean values of the horizontal component (H), which have not been available digitally at the World Data Centres. Then, the sensitivity of the amplitude Ali of the quiet daily variation to both solar cycle variations (in terms of sunspot numbers and solar flux F10.7) and changes of the geomagnetic main field strength (due to secular variation) was determined. We confirm an increase of Delta H for the decreasing main field in this period, as expected from physics based models (Cnossen, 2016), but with a somewhat smaller rate of 4.4% (5.8% considering one standard error) compared with 6.9% predicted by the physics based model. KW - Magnetic field KW - Equatorial ionosphere KW - Geomagnetic secular variation KW - Solar cycle Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2017.04.014 SN - 1364-6826 SN - 1879-1824 VL - 163 SP - 120 EP - 125 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Maute, Astrid A1 - Pedatella, Nick A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Lühr, Hermann A1 - Stolle, Claudia T1 - On the variability of the semidiurnal solar and lunar tides of the equatorial electrojet during sudden stratospheric warmings JF - Annales geophysicae N2 - The variabilities of the semidiurnal solar and lunar tides of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) are investigated during the 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2013 major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events in this study. For this purpose, ground-magnetometer recordings at the equatorial observatories in Huancayo and Fuquene are utilized. Results show a major enhancement in the amplitude of the EEJ semidiurnal lunar tide in each of the four warming events. The EEJ semidiurnal solar tidal amplitude shows an amplification prior to the onset of warmings, a reduction during the deceleration of the zonal mean zonal wind at 60 degrees N and 10 hPa, and a second enhancement a few days after the peak reversal of the zonal mean zonal wind during all four SSWs. Results also reveal that the amplitude of the EEJ semidiurnal lunar tide becomes comparable or even greater than the amplitude of the EEJ semidiurnal solar tide during all these warming events. The present study also compares the EEJ semidiurnal solar and lunar tidal changes with the variability of the migrating semidiurnal solar (SW2) and lunar (M2) tides in neutral temperature and zonal wind obtained from numerical simulations at E-region heights. A better agreement between the enhancements of the EEJ semidiurnal lunar tide and the M2 tide is found in comparison with the enhancements of the EEJ semidiurnal solar tide and the SW2 tide in both the neutral temperature and zonal wind at the E-region altitudes. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-1545-2018 SN - 0992-7689 SN - 1432-0576 VL - 36 IS - 6 SP - 1545 EP - 1562 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - GEN A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Maute, Astrid A1 - Pedatella, Nick A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Lühr, Hermann A1 - Stolle, Claudia T1 - On the variability of the semidiurnal solar and lunar tides of the equatorial electrojet during sudden stratospheric warmings T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The variabilities of the semidiurnal solar and lunar tides of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) are investigated during the 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2013 major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events in this study. For this purpose, ground-magnetometer recordings at the equatorial observatories in Huancayo and Fúquene are utilized. Results show a major enhancement in the amplitude of the EEJ semidiurnal lunar tide in each of the four warming events. The EEJ semidiurnal solar tidal amplitude shows an amplification prior to the onset of warmings, a reduction during the deceleration of the zonal mean zonal wind at 60∘ N and 10 hPa, and a second enhancement a few days after the peak reversal of the zonal mean zonal wind during all four SSWs. Results also reveal that the amplitude of the EEJ semidiurnal lunar tide becomes comparable or even greater than the amplitude of the EEJ semidiurnal solar tide during all these warming events. The present study also compares the EEJ semidiurnal solar and lunar tidal changes with the variability of the migrating semidiurnal solar (SW2) and lunar (M2) tides in neutral temperature and zonal wind obtained from numerical simulations at E-region heights. A better agreement between the enhancements of the EEJ semidiurnal lunar tide and the M2 tide is found in comparison with the enhancements of the EEJ semidiurnal solar tide and the SW2 tide in both the neutral temperature and zonal wind at the E-region altitudes. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1075 KW - middle atmosphere KW - latitude ionosphere KW - temperature changes KW - lower thermosphere KW - magnetic field KW - TIME-GCM KW - winds KW - circulation KW - events KW - winter Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-468389 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1075 SP - 1545 EP - 1562 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rodriguez-Zuluaga, Juan A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Park, J. T1 - On the direction of the Poynting flux associated with equatorial plasma depletions as derived from Swarm JF - Geophysical research letters N2 - Magnetic and electric field observations from the European Space Agency Swarm mission are used to report the direction of electromagnetic energy flux associated with equatorial plasma depletions. Contrary to expectations, the observations suggest a general interhemispheric Poynting flux rather than concurrent flows at both hemispheres toward or away from the equator. Of high interest is a particular behavior noticed over the region with the largest variation in the magnetic declination. This is a Poynting flux flowing mainly into the southern magnetic hemisphere about between 60 degrees W and 30 degrees E and into the northern magnetic hemisphere between 110 degrees W and 60 degrees W. The abrupt change in the flow direction at 60 degrees W is suggested to be caused by an asymmetry between the hemispheres on the ionospheric conductivity, likely due to the influence of thermospheric winds and the presence of the South Atlantic Anomaly. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073385 SN - 0094-8276 SN - 1944-8007 VL - 44 SP - 5884 EP - 5891 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rodriguez-Zuluaga, Juan A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Lühr, H. A1 - Park, J. A1 - Scherliess, L. A1 - Chau, J. L. T1 - On the balance between plasma and magnetic pressure across equatorial plasma depletions JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - In magnetized plasmas such as the ionosphere, electric currents develop in regions of strong density gradients to balance the resulting plasma pressure gradients. These currents, usually known as diamagnetic currents decrease the magnetic pressure where the plasma pressure increases, and vice versa. In the low‐latitude ionosphere, equatorial plasma depletions (EPDs) are well known for their steep plasma density gradients and adverse effect on radio wave propagation. In this paper, we use continuous measurements of the magnetic field and electron density from the European Space Agency's Swarm constellation mission to assess the balance between plasma and magnetic pressure across large‐scale EPDs. The analysis is based on the magnetic fluctuations related to diamagnetic currents flowing at the edges of EPDs. This study shows that most of the EPDs detected by Swarm present a decrease of the plasma pressure relative to the ambient plasma. However, EPDs with high plasma pressure are also identified mainly in the vicinity of the South Atlantic magnetic anomaly. From the electron density measurements, we deduce that such an increase in plasma pressure within EPDs might be possible by temperatures inside the EPD as high as twice the temperature of the ambient plasma. Due to the distinct location of the high‐pressure EPDs, we suggest that a possible heating mechanism might be due to precipitation of particle from the radiation belts. This finding corresponds to the first observational evidence of plasma pressure enhancements in regions of depleted plasma density in the ionosphere. KW - equatorial plasma depletions KW - spread F KW - plasma pressure KW - magnetic pressure KW - diamagnetic currents Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JA026700 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 124 IS - 7 SP - 5936 EP - 5944 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Park, Jaeheung A1 - Lühr, Hermann A1 - Kervalishvili, Guram N. A1 - Rauberg, Jan A1 - Michaelis, Ingo A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Kwak, Young-Sil T1 - Nighttime magnetic field fluctuations in the topside ionosphere at midlatitudes and their relation to medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances: The spatial structure and scale sizes JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - Previous studies suggested that electric and/or magnetic field fluctuations observed in the nighttime topside ionosphere at midlatitudes generally originate from quiet time nocturnal medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs). However, decisive evidences for the connection between the two have been missing. In this study we make use of the multispacecraft observations of midlatitude magnetic fluctuations (MMFs) in the nighttime topside ionosphere by the Swarm constellation. The analysis results show that the area hosting MMFs is elongated in the NW-SE (NE-SW) direction in the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere. The elongation direction and the magnetic field polarization support that the area hosting MMFs is nearly field aligned. All these properties of MMFs suggest that they have close relationship with MSTIDs. Expectation values of root-mean-square field-aligned currents associated with MMFs are up to about 4nA/m(2). MMF coherency significantly drops for longitudinal distances of 1 degrees. KW - midlatitude nighttime magnetic fluctuation KW - nighttime MSTID KW - Swarm constellation Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JA021315 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 120 IS - 8 SP - 6818 EP - 6830 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Park, Jaeheung A1 - Lühr, Hermann A1 - Kervalishvili, Guram A1 - Rauberg, Jan A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Kwak, Young-Sil A1 - Lee, Woo Kyoung T1 - Morphology of high-latitude plasma density perturbations as deduced from the total electron content measurements onboard the Swarm constellation JF - Journal of geophysical research : A, Space physics N2 - In this study, we investigate the climatology of high-latitude total electron content (TEC) variations as observed by the dual-frequency Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers onboard the Swarm satellite constellation. The distribution of TEC perturbations as a function of geographic/magnetic coordinates and seasons reasonably agrees with that of the Challenging Minisatellite Payload observations published earlier. Categorizing the high-latitude TEC perturbations according to line-of-sight directions between Swarm and GNSS satellites, we can deduce their morphology with respect to the geomagnetic field lines. In the Northern Hemisphere, the perturbation shapes are mostly aligned with the L shell surface, and this anisotropy is strongest in the nightside auroral (substorm) and subauroral regions and weakest in the central polar cap. The results are consistent with the well-known two-cell plasma convection pattern of the high-latitude ionosphere, which is approximately aligned with L shells at auroral regions and crossing different L shells for a significant part of the polar cap. In the Southern Hemisphere, the perturbation structures exhibit noticeable misalignment to the local L shells. Here the direction toward the Sun has an additional influence on the plasma structure, which we attribute to photoionization effects. The larger offset between geographic and geomagnetic poles in the south than in the north is responsible for the hemispheric difference. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JA023086 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 122 IS - 1 SP - 1338 EP - 1359 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prokhorov, Boris E. A1 - Förster, Matthias A1 - Lesur, Vincent A1 - Namgaladze, Alexander A. A1 - Holschneider, Matthias A1 - Stolle, Claudia T1 - Modeling of the ionospheric current system and calculating its JF - Magnetic Fields in the Solar System: Planets, Moons and Solar Wind Interactions N2 - The additional magnetic field produced by the ionospheric current system is a part of the Earth’s magnetic field. This current system is a highly variable part of a global electric circuit. The solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) interaction with the Earth’s magnetosphere is the external driver for the global electric circuit in the ionosphere. The energy is transferred via the field-aligned currents (FACs) to the Earth’s ionosphere. The interactions between the neutral and charged particles in the ionosphere lead to the so-called thermospheric neutral wind dynamo which represents the second important driver for the global current system. Both processes are components of the magnetosphere–ionosphere–thermosphere (MIT) system, which depends on solar and geomagnetic conditions, and have significant seasonal and UT variations. The modeling of the global dynamic Earth’s ionospheric current system is the first aim of this investigation. For our study, we use the Potsdam version of the Upper Atmosphere Model (UAM-P). The UAM is a first-principle, time-dependent, and fully self-consistent numerical global model. The model includes the thermosphere, ionosphere, plasmasphere, and inner magnetosphere as well as the electrodynamics of the coupled MIT system for the altitudinal range from 80 (60) km up to the 15 Earth radii. The UAM-P differs from the UAM by a new electric field block. For this study, the lower latitudinal and equatorial electrodynamics of the UAM-P model was improved. The calculation of the ionospheric current system’s contribution to the Earth’s magnetic field is the second aim of this study. We present the method, which allows computing the additional magnetic field inside and outside the current layer as generated by the space current density distribution using the Biot-Savart law. Additionally, we perform a comparison of the additional magnetic field calculation using 2D (equivalent currents) and 3D current distribution. Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-64292-5 SN - 978-3-319-64291-8 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64292-5_10 SN - 0067-0057 SN - 2214-7985 VL - 448 SP - 263 EP - 292 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Matzka, Jürgen A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Luehr, Hermann A1 - Alken, Patrick T1 - Longitudinal Variation of the Lunar Tide in the Equatorial Electrojet JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - The atmospheric lunar tide is one known source of ionospheric variability. The subject received renewed attention as recent studies found a link between stratospheric sudden warmings and amplified lunar tidal perturbations in the equatorial ionosphere. There is increasing evidence from ground observations that the lunar tidal influence on the ionosphere depends on longitude. We use magnetic field measurements from the CHAMP satellite during July 2000 to September 2010 and from the two Swarm satellites during November 2013 to February 2017 to determine, for the first time, the complete seasonal- longitudinal climatology of the semidiurnal lunar tidal variation in the equatorial electrojet intensity. Significant longitudinal variability is found in the amplitude of the lunar tidal variation, while the longitudinal variability in the phase is small. The amplitude peaks in the Peruvian sector (similar to 285 degrees E) during the Northern Hemisphere winter and equinoxes, and in the Brazilian sector (similar to 325 degrees E) during the Northern Hemisphere summer. There are also local amplitude maxima at similar to 55 degrees E and similar to 120 degrees E. The longitudinal variation is partly due to the modulation of ionospheric conductivities by the inhomogeneous geomagnetic field. Another possible cause of the longitudinal variability is neutral wind forcing by nonmigrating lunar tides. A tidal spectrum analysis of the semidiurnal lunar tidal variation in the equatorial electrojet reveals the dominance of the westward propagating mode with zonal wave number 2 (SW2), with secondary contributions by westward propagating modes with zonal wave numbers 3 (SW3) and 4 (SW4). Eastward propagating waves are largely absent from the tidal spectrum. Further study will be required for the relative importance of ionospheric conductivities and nonmigrating lunar tides. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JA024601 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 122 SP - 12445 EP - 12463 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Soares, Gabriel A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Matzka, Jürgen A1 - Pinheiro, Katia A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Alken, Patrick A1 - Yoshikawa, Akimasa A1 - Uozumi, Teiji A1 - Fujimoto, Akiko A1 - Kulkarni, Atul T1 - Longitudinal variability of the equatorial counter electrojet during the solar cycle 24 JF - Studia geophysica et geodaetica N2 - Ground and space-based geomagnetic data were used in the investigation of the longitudinal, seasonal and lunar phase dependence of the equatorial counter electrojet (CEJ) occurrence in the Peruvian, Brazilian, African, Indian and Philippine sectors during geomagnetically quiet days from the solar cycle 24 (2008 to 2018). We found that CEJ events occur more frequently during the morning (MCEJ) than in the afternoon (ACEJ). The highest MCEJ and ACEJ occurrence rates were observed for the Brazilian sector. Distinct seasonal dependence was found for each longitudinal sector under investigation. The lunar phase dependence was determined for the first time for the Philippine sector (longitude 125 degrees E), and it was shown to be less pronounced than in the Peruvian, Brazilian and African sectors. We demonstrate that differences in CEJ rates derived from ground-based and satellite data can arise from the longitudinal separation between low-latitude and equatorial stations that are used to determine the signal and its consequent time delay in their sunrise/sunset times at ionospheric heights. KW - geomagnetism KW - equatorial ionosphere KW - geomagnetic observatories KW - satellite data Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11200-018-0286-0 SN - 0039-3169 SN - 1573-1626 VL - 63 IS - 2 SP - 304 EP - 319 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Lühr, Hermann T1 - Longitude-dependent lunar tidal modulation of the equatorial electrojet during stratospheric sudden warmings JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - The effects of coupling between different layers of the atmosphere during Stratospheric Sudden Warming (SSW) events have been studied quite extensively in the past fewyears, and in this context large lunitidal enhancements in the equatorial ionosphere have also been widely discussed. In this study we report about the longitudinal variabilities in lunitidal enhancement in the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) during SSWs through ground and space observations in the Peruvian and Indian sectors. We observe that the amplification of lunitidal oscillations in EEJ is significantly larger over the Peruvian sector in comparison to the Indian sector. We further compare the lunitidal oscillations in both the sectors during the 2005-2006 and 2008-2009 major SSW events and during a non-SSW winter of 2006-2007. It is found that the lunitidal amplitude in EEJ over the Peruvian sector showed similar enhancements during both the major SSWs, but the enhancements were notably different in the Indian sector. Independent from SSW events, we have also performed a climatological analysis of the lunar modulation of the EEJ during December solstice over both the sectors by using 10years of CHAMP magnetic measurements and found larger lunitidal amplitudes over the Peruvian sector confirming the results from ground magnetometer observations. We have also analyzed the semidiurnal lunar tidal amplitude in neutral temperature measurements from Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) at 110km and found lesser longitudinal variability than the lunitidal amplitude in EEJ. Our results suggest that the longitudinal variabilities in lunitidal modulation of the EEJ during SSWs could be related to electrodynamics in the E region dynamo. KW - SSW KW - vertical coupling KW - equatorial electrojet KW - lunar tide of EEJ Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JA023609 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 122 IS - 3 SP - 3760 EP - 3776 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rodriguez-Zuluaga, Juan A1 - Stolle, Claudia T1 - Interhemispheric field-aligned currents at the edges of equatorial plasma depletions JF - Scientific reports N2 - A comprehensive description of electromagnetic processes related to equatorial plasma depletions (EPDs) is essential for understanding their evolution and day-to-day variability. Recently, field-aligned currents (FACs) flowing at both western and eastern edges of EPDs were observed to be interhemispheric rather than anti-parallel about the dip equator, as suggested by previous theoretical studies. In this paper, we investigate the spatial and temporal variability of the FACs orientation using simultaneous measurements of electron density and magnetic field gathered by ESA’s Swarm constellation mission. By using empirical models, we assess the role of the Pedersen conductance in the preference of the FACs to close either in the northern or southern magnetic hemisphere. Here we show that the closure of the FACs agrees with an electrostatic regime determined by a hemispherical asymmetry of the Pedersen conductance. That is, the EPD-related FACs close at lower altitudes in the hemisphere with the highest conductivity. The evidence of this conclusion stands on the general agreement between the longitudinal and seasonal variability of both the conductivity and the FACs orientation. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-37955-z SN - 2045-2322 VL - 9 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Matzka, Jürgen A1 - Liu, Huixin A1 - Tao, Chihiro T1 - Interannual variability of the daytime equatorial ionospheric electric field JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - Understanding the variability of the ionosphere is important for the prediction of space weather and climate. Recent studies have shown that forcing from the lower atmosphere plays a significant role for the short-term (day-to-day) variability of the low-latitude ionosphere. The present study aims to assess the importance of atmospheric forcing for the variability of the daytime equatorial ionospheric electric field on the interannual (year-to-year) time scale. Magnetic field measurements from Huancayo (12.05 degrees S, 75.33 degrees W) are used to augment the equatorial vertical plasma drift velocity (V-Z) measurements from the Jicamarca Unattended Long-term Investigations of the Ionosphere and Atmosphere radar during 2001-2016. V-Z can be regarded as a measure of the zonal electric field. After removing the seasonal variation of similar to 10m/s, midday values of V-Z show an interannual variation of similar to 2m/s with an oscillation period of 2-3years. No evidence of solar cycle influence is found. The Ground-to-topside Atmosphere-Ionosphere model for Aeronomy, which takes into account realistic atmospheric variability below 30km, reproduces the pattern of the observed interannual variation without having to include variable forcing from the magnetosphere. The results indicate that lower atmospheric forcing plays a dominant role for the observed interannual variability of V-Z at 1200 local time. KW - interannual variability KW - plasma drifts KW - equatorial electrojet (EEJ) KW - vertical coupling KW - JULIA KW - GAIA Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JA025165 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 123 IS - 5 SP - 4241 EP - 4256 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cervantes, Sebastian A1 - Shprits, Yuri Y. A1 - Aseev, Nikita A. A1 - Drozdov, Alexander Y. A1 - Castillo Tibocha, Angelica Maria A1 - Stolle, Claudia T1 - Identifying radiation belt electron source and loss processes by assimilating spacecraft data in a three-dimensional diffusion model JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - Data assimilation aims to blend incomplete and inaccurate data with physics-based dynamical models. In the Earth's radiation belts, it is used to reconstruct electron phase space density, and it has become an increasingly important tool in validating our current understanding of radiation belt dynamics, identifying new physical processes, and predicting the near-Earth hazardous radiation environment. In this study, we perform reanalysis of the sparse measurements from four spacecraft using the three-dimensional Versatile Electron Radiation Belt diffusion model and a split-operator Kalman filter over a 6-month period from 1 October 2012 to 1 April 2013. In comparison to previous works, our 3-D model accounts for more physical processes, namely, mixed pitch angle-energy diffusion, scattering by Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron waves, and magnetopause shadowing. We describe how data assimilation, by means of the innovation vector, can be used to account for missing physics in the model. We use this method to identify the radial distances from the Earth and the geomagnetic conditions where our model is inconsistent with the measured phase space density for different values of the invariants mu and K. As a result, the Kalman filter adjusts the predictions in order to match the observations, and we interpret this as evidence of where and when additional source or loss processes are active. The current work demonstrates that 3-D data assimilation provides a comprehensive picture of the radiation belt electrons and is a crucial step toward performing reanalysis using measurements from ongoing and future missions. KW - acceleration KW - code KW - density KW - emic waves KW - energetic particle KW - mechanisms KW - reanalysis KW - ultrarelativistic electrons KW - weather Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JA027514 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 125 IS - 1 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Luo, Xiaomin A1 - Xiong, Chao A1 - Gu, Shengfeng A1 - Lou, Yidong A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Wan, Xin A1 - Liu, Kangkang A1 - Song, Weiwei T1 - Geomagnetically conjugate observations of equatorial plasma irregularities from swarm constellation and ground-based GPS stations JF - Journal of geophysical research: Space physics N2 - The near-polar orbit satellites of Swarm mission provide a good opportunity to investigate the conjugacy of equatorial plasma irregularities (EPIs) since their trajectories at low latitudes are basically aligned with fixed geographical longitude. However, the Swarm in situ electron density occasionally shows EPIs at only one hemisphere at this longitude. In this study, we provide detailed analysis of such EPI events from the in situ electron densities and onboard global positioning system (GPS) measurements of Swarm low pair satellites, and simultaneous GPS data from two geomagnetically conjugate ground stations at the Africa longitudes. The result indicates that when Swam in situ electron density sometime shows EPIs at only one hemisphere, the GPS scintillations are still observed from the Swarm onboard receiver and by the two conjugate ground stations. It implies that the EPIs should generally elongate along the geomagnetic flux tube. More than two-year statistic results show that the onset time of scintillation in the northern station is on average 16 and 18 min earlier than that in the southern station for September equinox and December solstice in 2015, while for March equinox in 2016 the onset time of scintillation of northern station is about 11 min later than that of southern station, which indicates the asymmetry features of EPIs along the flux tube. Further analysis of nearly three-year GPS data from two conjugate stations at the Asia longitudes, we find that during solar maximum years the local sunset time plays an important role for causing the difference of onset time of scintillation between two conjugate stations. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JA026515 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 124 IS - 5 SP - 3650 EP - 3665 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Soares, Gabriel Brando A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Cnossen, Ingrid A1 - Matzka, Jürgen A1 - Pinheiro, Katia J. A1 - Morschhauser, Achim A1 - Alken, Patrick A1 - Stolle, Claudia T1 - Evolution of the geomagnetic daily variation at Tatuoca, Brazil, From 1957 to 2019 BT - a transition from Sq to EEJ JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - The magnetic equator in the Brazilian region has moved over 1,100 km northward since 1957, passing the geomagnetic observatory Tatuoca (TTB), in northern Brazil, around 2013. We recovered and processed TTB hourly mean values of the geomagnetic field horizontal (H) component from 1957 until 2019, allowing the investigation of long-term changes in the daily variation due to the influence of secular variation, solar activity, season, and lunar phase. The H day-to-day variability and the occurrence of the counter electrojet at TTB were also investigated. Until the 1990s, ionospheric solar quiet currents dominated the quiet-time daily variation at TTB. After 2000, the magnitude of the daily variation became appreciably greater due to the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) contribution. The H seasonal and day-to-day variability increased as the magnetic equator approached, but their amplitudes normalized to the average daily variation remained at similar levels. Meanwhile, the amplitude of the lunar variation, normalized in the same way, increased from 5% to 12%. Within the EEJ region, the occurrence rate of the morning counter electrojet (MCEJ) increased with proximity to the magnetic equator, while the afternoon counter electrojet (ACEJ) did not. EEJ currents derived from CHAMP and Swarm satellite data revealed that the MCEJ rate varies with magnetic latitude within the EEJ region while the ACEJ rate is largely constant. Simulations with the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model based on different geomagnetic main field configurations suggest that long-term changes in the geomagnetic daily variation at TTB can be attributed to the main field secular variation. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA028109 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 125 IS - 9 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - GEN A1 - Park, J. A1 - Lühr, H. A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Malhotra, G. A1 - Baker, J. B. H. A1 - Buchert, Stephan A1 - Gill, R. T1 - Estimating along-track plasma drift speed from electron density measurements by the three Swarm satellites T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Plasma convection in the high-latitude ionosphere provides important information about magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling. In this study we estimate the along-track component of plasma convection within and around the polar cap, using electron density profiles measured by the three Swarm satellites. The velocity values estimated from the two different satellite pairs agree with each other. In both hemispheres the estimated velocity is generally anti-sunward, especially for higher speeds. The obtained velocity is in qualitative agreement with Super Dual Auroral Radar Network data. Our method can supplement currently available instruments for ionospheric plasma velocity measurements, especially in cases where these traditional instruments suffer from their inherent limitations. Also, the method can be generalized to other satellite constellations carrying electron density probes. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 503 KW - ionosphere KW - plasma convection Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-408417 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 503 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Park, J. A1 - Luehr, H. A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Malhotra, G. A1 - Baker, J. B. H. A1 - Buchert, Stephan A1 - Gill, R. T1 - Estimating along-track plasma drift speed from electron density measurements by the three Swarm satellites JF - Annales geophysicae N2 - Plasma convection in the high-latitude ionosphere provides important information about magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling. In this study we estimate the along-track component of plasma convection within and around the polar cap, using electron density profiles measured by the three Swarm satellites. The velocity values estimated from the two different satellite pairs agree with each other. In both hemispheres the estimated velocity is generally anti-sunward, especially for higher speeds. The obtained velocity is in qualitative agreement with Super Dual Auroral Radar Network data. Our method can supplement currently available instruments for ionospheric plasma velocity measurements, especially in cases where these traditional instruments suffer from their inherent limitations. Also, the method can be generalized to other satellite constellations carrying electron density probes. KW - Ionosphere KW - Plasma convection Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-829-2015 SN - 0992-7689 SN - 1432-0576 VL - 33 IS - 7 SP - 829 EP - 835 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Soares, Gabriel A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Matzka, Jürgen A1 - Pinheiro, Katia A1 - Morschhauser, Achim A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Alken, Patrick T1 - Equatorial counter electrojet longitudinal and seasonal variablity in the American sector JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - The equatorial electrojet occasionally reverses during morning and afternoon hours, leading to periods of westward current in the ionospheric E region that are known as counter electrojet (CEJ) events. We present the first analysis of CEJ climatology and CEJ dependence on solar flux and lunar phase for the Brazilian sector, based on an extensive ground-based data set for the years 2008 to 2017 from the geomagnetic observatory Tatuoca (1.2 degrees S, 48.5 degrees W), and we compare it to the results found for Huancayo (12.0 degrees S, 75.3 degrees W) observatory in the Peruvian sector. We found a predominance of morning CEJ events for both sectors. The afternoon CEJ occurrence rate in the Brazilian sector is twice as high as in the Peruvian sector. The afternoon CEJ occurrence rate strongly depends on season, with maximum rates occurring during the northern-hemisphere summer for the Brazilian sector and during the northern-hemisphere winter for the Peruvian sector. Significant discrepancies between the two sectors are also found for morning CEJ rates during the northern-hemisphere summer. These longitudinal differences are in agreement with a CEJ climatology derived from contemporary Swarm satellite data and can be attributed in part to the well-known longitudinal wave-4 structure in the background equatorial electrojet strength that results from nonmigrating solar tides and stationary planetary waves. Simulations with the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model show that the remaining longitudinal variability in CEJ during northern summer can be explained by the effect of migrating tides in the presence of the varying geomagnetic field in the South Atlantic Anomaly. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JA025968 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 123 IS - 11 SP - 9906 EP - 9920 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Park, Jaeheung A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Rauberg, Jan A1 - Michaelis, Ingo A1 - Olsen, Nils T1 - Diagnosing low-/mid-latitude ionospheric currents using platform magnetometers BT - CryoSat-2 and GRACE-FO JF - Earth, planets and space N2 - Electric currents flowing in the terrestrial ionosphere have conventionally been diagnosed by low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with science-grade magnetometers and long booms on magnetically clean satellites. In recent years, there are a variety of endeavors to incorporate platform magnetometers, which are initially designed for navigation purposes, to study ionospheric currents. Because of the suboptimal resolution and significant noise of the platform magnetometers, however, most of the studies were confined to high-latitude auroral regions, where magnetic field deflections from ionospheric currents easily exceed 100 nT. This study aims to demonstrate the possibility of diagnosing weak low-/mid-latitude ionospheric currents based on platform magnetometers. We use navigation magnetometer data from two satellites, CryoSat-2 and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO), both of which have been intensively calibrated based on housekeeping data and a high-precision geomagnetic field model. Analyses based on 8 years of CryoSat-2 data as well as similar to 1.5 years of GRACE-FO data reproduce well-known climatology of inter-hemispheric field-aligned currents (IHFACs), as reported by previous satellite missions dedicated to precise magnetic observations. Also, our results show that C-shaped structures appearing in noontime IHFAC distributions conform to the shape of the South Atlantic Anomaly. The F-region dynamo currents are only partially identified in the platform magnetometer data, possibly because the currents are weaker than IHFACs in general and depend significantly on altitude and solar activity. Still, this study evidences noontime F-region dynamo currents at the highest altitude (717 km) ever reported. We expect that further data accumulation from continuously operating missions may reveal the dynamo currents more clearly during the next solar maximum. KW - Platform magnetometers KW - CryoSat-2 KW - GRACE-FO KW - Inter-hemispheric KW - field-aligned currents KW - F-region dynamo currents Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-020-01274-3 SN - 1343-8832 SN - 1880-5981 VL - 72 IS - 1 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Siddiqui, Tarique Adnan A1 - Yamazaki, Yosuke A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Lühr, Hermann A1 - Matzka, Jürgen A1 - Maute, Astrid A1 - Pedatella, Nicholas T1 - Dependence of Lunar Tide of the Equatorial Electrojet on the Wintertime Polar Vortex, Solar Flux, and QBO JF - Geophysical research letters N2 - The lower atmospheric forcing effects on the ionosphere are particularly evident during extreme meteorological events known as sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). During SSWs, the polar stratosphere and ionosphere, two distant atmospheric regions, are coupled through the SSW-induced modulation of atmospheric migrating and nonmigrating tides. The changes in the migrating semidiurnal solar and lunar tides are the major source of ionospheric variabilities during SSWs. In this study, we use 55 years of ground-magnetometer observations to investigate the composite characteristics of the lunar tide of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) during SSWs. These long-term observations allow us to capture the EEJ lunar tidal response to the SSWs in a statistical sense. Further, we examine the influence of solar flux conditions and the phases of quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) on the lunar tide and find that the QBO phases and solar flux conditions modulate the EEJ lunar tidal response during SSWs in a similar way as they modulate the wintertime Arctic polar vortex. This work provides first evidence of modulation of the EEJ lunar tide due to QBO. Plain Language Summary This study focuses on the vertical coupling between the polar stratosphere and equatorial ionosphere during sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Extreme meteorological events such as SSWs induce variabilities in the ionosphere by modulating the atmospheric migrating and nonmigrating tides, and these variabilities can be comparable to a moderate geomagnetic storm. Observations and modeling studies have found that the changes in the migrating semidiurnal solar and lunar tides are a major source of ionospheric variabilities during SSWs. The equatorial electrojet (EEJ) is a narrow ribbon of current flowing over the dip equator in the ionosphere and is particularly sensitive to tidal changes. Long-term ground-magnetometer recordings have been used in this study to estimate the variations induced in EEJ during SSWs due to the lunar semidiurnal tide in a statistical sense. The wintertime Arctic polar vortex and the occurrence of SSWs are modulated by solar flux conditions and the phases of quasi-biennial oscillation. In this work, we find the first evidence of lunar tidal modulation of EEJ due to quasi-biennial oscillation during SSWs. Our findings will be useful in providing improved predictions of ionospheric variations due to SSWs. The aeronomy community will be the most impacted by this paper. KW - lunar tide KW - equatorial electrojet KW - vertical coupling KW - SSW KW - QBO KW - planetary waves Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077510 SN - 0094-8276 SN - 1944-8007 VL - 45 IS - 9 SP - 3801 EP - 3810 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wan, Xin A1 - Xiong, Chao A1 - Rodriguez-Zuluaga, Juan A1 - Kervalishvili, Guram N. A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Wang, Hui T1 - Climatology of the Occurrence Rate and Amplitudes of Local Time Distinguished Equatorial Plasma Depletions Observed by Swarm Satellite JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - In this study, we developed an autodetection technique for the equatorial plasma depletions (EPDs) and their occurrence and depletion amplitudes based on in situ electron density measurements gathered by Swarm A satellite. For the first time, comparisons are made among the detected EPDs and their amplitudes with the loss of Global Positioning System (GPS) signal of receivers onboard Swarm A, and the Swarm Level-2 product, Ionospheric Bubble Index (IBI). It has been found that the highest rate of EPD occurrence takes place generally between 2200 and 0000 magnetic local time (MLT), in agreement with the IBI. However, the largest amplitudes of EPD are detected earlier at about 1900-2100 MLT. This coincides with the moment of higher background electron density and the largest occurrence of GPS signal loss. From a longitudinal perspective, the higher depletion amplitude is always witnessed in spatial bins with higher background electron density. At most longitudes, the occurrence rate of postmidnight EPDs is reduced compared to premidnight ones; while more postmidnight EPDs are observed at African longitudes. CHAMP observations confirm this point regardless of high or low solar activity condition. Further by comparing with previous studies and the plasma vertical drift velocity from ROCSAT-1, we suggest that while the F region vertical plasma drift plays a key role in dominating the occurrence of EPDs during premidnight hours, the postmidnight EPDs are the combined results from the continuing of former EPDs and newborn EPDs, especially during June solstice. And these newborn EPDs during postmidnight hours seem to be less related to the plasma vertical drift. KW - equatorial plasma depletion KW - swarm LP KW - depletion amplitude KW - climatology KW - postmidnight Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JA025072 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 123 IS - 4 SP - 3014 EP - 3026 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Xiong, Chao A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Park, Jaeheung T1 - Climatology of GPS signal loss observed by Swarm satellites JF - Annales geophysicae N2 - By using 3-year global positioning system (GPS) measurements from December 2013 to November 2016, we provide in this study a detailed survey on the climatology of the GPS signal loss of Swarm onboard receivers. Our results show that the GPS signal losses prefer to occur at both low latitudes between +/- 5 and +/- 20 degrees magnetic latitude (MLAT) and high latitudes above 60 degrees MLAT in both hemispheres. These events at all latitudes are observed mainly during equinoxes and December solstice months, while totally absent during June solstice months. At low latitudes the GPS signal losses are caused by the equatorial plasma irregularities shortly after sunset, and at high latitude they are also highly related to the large density gradients associated with ionospheric irregularities. Additionally, the high-latitude events are more often observed in the Southern Hemisphere, occurring mainly at the cusp region and along nightside auroral latitudes. The signal losses mainly happen for those GPS rays with elevation angles less than 20 degrees, and more commonly occur when the line of sight between GPS and Swarm satellites is aligned with the shell structure of plasma irregularities. Our results also confirm that the capability of the Swarm receiver has been improved after the bandwidth of the phase-locked loop (PLL) widened, but the updates cannot radically avoid the interruption in tracking GPS satellites caused by the ionospheric plasma irregularities. Additionally, after the PLL bandwidth increased larger than 0.5 Hz, some unexpected signal losses are observed even at middle latitudes, which are not related to the ionospheric plasma irregularities. Our results suggest that rather than 1.0 Hz, a PLL bandwidth of 0.5 Hz is a more suitable value for the Swarm receiver. KW - Ionosphere KW - equatorial ionosphere KW - ionospheric irregularities KW - radio science KW - radio wave propagation Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-679-2018 SN - 0992-7689 SN - 1432-0576 VL - 36 IS - 2 SP - 679 EP - 693 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - GEN A1 - Xiong, Chao A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Park, Jaeheung T1 - Climatology of GPS signal loss observed by Swarm satellites T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - By using 3-year global positioning system (GPS)measurements from December 2013 to November 2016, we provide in this study a detailed survey on the climatology of the GPS signal loss of Swarm onboard receivers. Our results show that the GPS signal losses prefer to occur at both low latitudes between ±5 and ±20 ◦ magnetic latitude (MLAT) and high latitudes above 60 ◦ MLAT in both hemispheres. These events at all latitudes are observed mainly during equinoxes and December solstice months, while totally absent during June solstice months. At low latitudes the GPS signal losses are caused by the equatorial plasma irregularities shortly after sunset, and at high latitude they are also highly related to the large density gradients associated with ionospheric irregularities. Additionally, the high-latitude events are more often observed in the Southern Hemisphere, occurring mainly at the cusp region and along nightside auroral latitudes. The signal losses mainly happen for those GPS rays with elevation angles less than 20 ◦ , and more commonly occur when the line of sight between GPS and Swarm satellites is aligned with the shell structure of plasma irregularities. Our results also confirm that the capability of the Swarm receiver has been improved after the bandwidth of the phase-locked loop (PLL) widened, but the updates cannot radically avoid the interruption in tracking GPS satellites caused by the ionospheric plasma irregularities. Additionally, after the PLL bandwidth increased larger than 0.5 Hz, some unexpected signal losses are observed even at middle latitudes, which are not related to the ionospheric plasma irregularities. Our results suggest that rather than 1.0 Hz, a PLL bandwidth of 0.5 Hz is a more suitable value for the Swarm receiver. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 712 KW - Ionosphere (equatorial ionosphere; ionospheric irregularities) KW - radio science (radio wave propagation) Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-427391 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 712 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Park, Jaeheung A1 - Stolle, Claudia A1 - Xiong, Chao A1 - Lühr, Hermann A1 - Pfaff, Robert F. A1 - Buchert, Stephan A1 - Martinis, Carlos R. T1 - A dayside plasma depletion observed at midlatitudes during quiet geomagnetic conditions JF - Geophysical research letters N2 - In this study we investigate a dayside, midlatitude plasma depletion (DMLPD) encountered on 22 May 2014 by the Swarm and GRACE satellites, as well as ground-based instruments. The DMLPD was observed near Puerto Rico by Swarm near 10 LT under quiet geomagnetic conditions at altitudes of 475-520 km and magnetic latitudes of similar to 25 degrees-30 degrees. The DMLPD was also revealed in total electron content observations by the Saint Croix station and by the GRACE satellites (430 km) near 16 LT and near the same geographic location. The unique Swarm constellation enables the horizontal tilt of the DMLPD to be measured (35 degrees clockwise from the geomagnetic east-west direction). Ground-based airglow images at Arecibo showed no evidence for plasma density depletions during the night prior to this dayside event. The C/NOFS equatorial satellite showed evidence for very modest plasma density depletions that had rotated into the morningside from nightside. However, the equatorial depletions do not appear related to the DMLPD, for which the magnetic apex height is about 2500 km. The origins of the DMLPD are unknown, but may be related to gravity waves. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062655 SN - 0094-8276 SN - 1944-8007 VL - 42 IS - 4 SP - 967 EP - 974 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER -