Speaker
Description
The ionosphere plays an important role in space weather phenomena and its understanding is important in High Frequency (HF) communications and navigation systems. However its response to sudden solar activity, e.g., solar flares, is still an area of ongoing research. In this work, we report for the first time the global statistical response of the ionospheric topside electron density to X-class solar flares during geomagnetically quiet days (Kp ≤ 2). Here, the global electron density of the topside ionosphere’s response to X-class solar flares from 2014 to 2024 is studied utilizing in situ measurements of electron density by Swarm satellites and X-ray flux measurements by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2020) model is used to provide background topside electron density information and the percentage deviation between the model values and Swarm measurements is computed. The results indicate a consistent decrease in the electron density at all latitudes during solar flares, with greater depletion observed in high-latitude regions. The decrease in topside electron density during solar flares is largely due to thermal ionospheric plasma expansion leading to oxygen ions up flow to the plasmasphere prevailing at higher altitudes during solar flares. The findings obtained not only support current studies, but also present a statistically robust global investigation of topside ionospheric dynamics in the most intense solar events and so have significant impacts on space weather modelling and mitigation.
| Apply for student award at which level: | MSc |
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| Consent on use of personal information: Abstract Submission | Yes, I ACCEPT |