Statistical study of the equatorial F2 layer critical frequency at Ouagadougou during solar cycles 20, 21 and 22, using Legrand and Simon's classification of geomagnetic activity

International audienceThis paper presents the statistical analysis of the diurnal variations of the F layer at the equatorial station of Ouagadougou (Lat: 12.4 N; Long: 358.5 E; dip: 5.9 ) from 1966 to 1998 (=> ~11 680 days). We consider three main factors of variability: (1) the season (spring, summer, autumn and winter), (2) the phase of the sunspot cycle (ascending, maximum, descending and minimum) and (3) the geomagnetic activity classified by Legrand and Simon in four groups: slow solar wind, high solar wind streams, fluctuating solar wind and shock activity. We easily identify the influence of the solar wind speed and shock activity on the diurnal pattern of the F layer. Shock and recurrent activities tend to enhance or diminish the morning or afternoon maximum of the F2 layer critical frequency. The difference of the diurnal foF2 variation during the increasing and decreasing phases of the sunspot solar cycle is explained by different solar wind regimes. The slow solar wind dominates during the increasing phase of the sunspot cycle and the fluctuating solar wind dominates during the decreasing phase of the sunspot cycle. This paper demonstrates that it is possible using a large database, to bring up significant morphologies of the diurnal variation of the foF2 critical frequency as a function of (1) different solar events such as quiet solar wind, fluctuating wind, recurrent high stream wind and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs); (2) solar cycle phases and (3) seasons. It is an approach directly connecting the critical frequency of the F2 layer to the solar parameters

On the electric current systems in the earth’s environment : Some historical aspects. Part I: external part/ionosphere/quiet variation

In this paper we present some historical aspects of ionospheric electric currents. Our attention is focused on the regular part of these currents at the origin of the Earth's magnetic field daily variation Sr. The steps described in this paper correspond to advances in fundamental physics, as well as in technology, data interpretation or other factors. The paper covers the period from 1870 to date.Material digitalizado en SEDICI gracias a la colaboración de la Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas (UNLP).Asociación Argentina de Geofísicos y Geodesta

Equinox transition at the magnetic equator in Africa: analysis of ESF ionograms

International audienceWe study equatorial night-time F layer behaviour from quarter-hourly ionograms at Korhogo/Ivory Coast (9.2° N, 5° W, dip lat. −2.4°) during local Spring March–April 1995, declining solar flux period, according to the magnetic activity. The height and thickness of the F-layer are found to vary intensely with time and from one day to the next. At time of the equinox transition, by the end of March, a net change of the nightly height-time variation is observed. The regime of a single height peak phase before 22 March changes to up to three main F-layer height phases after 30 March, each associated to a dominant mechanism. The first phase is identified to the post-sunset E×B pulse, the second phase associated to a change in the wind circulation phenomenon and the third one attributed to pre-sunrise phenomena. The influence of the magnetic activity is identified by the increase in the second peak amplitude. After the 21 April magnetic-equinox period, the height-time morphology becomes more irregular suggesting meridional wind abatement. The initiation, the growth and the maintenance of ESF are explored in relation to these nightly variations. The Rayleigh-Taylor instability is clearly identified as main precursor phenomenon. This is followed by the P-type (F-layer peak spread) structures, the whole with no specific dependence on the magnetic activity and on the F-layer phases, in contrast to further I and F-type (Inside and Frequency spread) ESFs. We discuss our results in the light of recent advanced experiments in Peru and the pacific

On the long term change in the geomagnetic activity during the 20th century

International audienceThe analysis of the aa index series presented in this paper clearly shows that during the last century (1900 to 2000) the number of quiet days (Aa<20 nT) drastically di- minished from a mean annual value greater than 270 days per year at the end of the nineteenth century to a mean value of 160 quiet days per year one hundred years later. This de- crease is mainly due to the decrease of the number of very quiet days (Aa<13 nT). We show that the so-evidenced de- crease in the number of quiet days cannot be accounted for by drift in the aa baseline resulting in a systematic underes- timation of aa during the first quarter of the century: a 2– 3 nT overestimation in the aa increase during the 20th cen- tury would lead to a 20–40% overestimation in the decrease of the number of quiet days during the same period.The quiet days and very quiet days correspond to periods during which the Earth encounters slow solar wind streams flowing in the heliosheet during the period where the solar magnetic field has a dipolar geometry. Therefore, the ob- served change in the number of quiet days is the signature of a long term evolution of the solar coronal field topology. It may be interpreted in terms of an increase in the magnitude of the solar dipole, the associated decrease of the heliosheet thickness accounting for the observed decrease in the number of quiet days

A nighttime temperature maximum in the thermosphere above Saint Santin in winter

International audienceThe Saint Santin (45 N) incoherent scatter radar data base shows a local enhancement in nighttime ion temperature that occurs in winter only. Its amplitude can exceed 100 K and averages 40 K on the basis of a conservative computation. The enhancement peaks near 4 LT and has a duration of about 4 hours. We discuss two possible explanations for this feature: (1) it is caused by the convergence of global winds at the global pressure minimum, under which Saint Santin rotates at winter solstice, and (2) it is an extension or propagation of the well-known low-latitude midnight temperature maximum to midlatitudes, perhaps to that pressure minimum

Ionospheric and magnetic signatures of a high speed solar wind in low latitudes on 13 October 2012

International audienceThis paper presents the impact of a fast solar wind on the ionosphere, in low latitudes, on 13 October 2012. On that day, the high speed solar wind reached the Earth around 16:00UT, during the recovery phase of a geomagnetic storm which started around 00:00UT. The solar wind speed was determined to be 580km/s, on the same day, around 17:00UT. Its impact was observed in low and equatorial latitudes, in Africa and in Eastern South America, on the F layer and on the geomagnetic field variations. Through the analysis of magnetic indices, ionosonde characteristics and the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field, we found that the 13 October 2012 event exhibited a local impact, affecting the observatories situated in a longitude sector between 315°E and 45°E. Particularly, the F layer in Africa (observed by the ionosonde at Ascension Island) did not present any lift, and there was a delay for approximately two hours of the ascent of the F layer in America (the ionosonde at Fortaleza). In this case, there was an evident inhibition on the development of spread F at the time of the Pre Reversal Enhancement (PRE) in Africa and Eastern America, while the ionograms of the days before and after presented clear spread F traces. The disturbances of the ionospheric equivalent electric current (Diono) deduced from the variations of the geomagnetic field at M'Bour near Dakar (Africa) and at Kourou (Eastern America) exhibited on the dayside, an anti Sq current which is signature of the influence of the Disturbance Dynamo Electric Field (DDEF)

Middle and low latitude ionosphere response to 2015 St. Patrick's Day geomagnetic storm

International audienceThis paper presents a study of the St Patrick's Day storm of 2015, with its ionospheric response at middle and low latitudes. The effects of the storm in each longitudinal sector (Asian, African, American, and Pacific) are characterized using global and regional electron content. At the beginning of the storm, one or two ionospheric positive storm effects are observed depending on the longitudinal zones. After the main phase of the storm, a strong decrease in ionization is observed at all longitudes, lasting several days. The American region exhibits the most remarkable increase in vertical total electron content (vTEC), while in the Asian sector, the largest decrease in vTEC is observed. At low latitudes, using spectral analysis, we were able to separate the effects of the prompt penetration of the magnetospheric convection electric field (PPEF) and of the disturbance dynamo electric field (DDEF) on the basis of ground magnetic data. Concerning the PPEF, Earth's magnetic field oscillations occur simultaneously in the Asian, African, and American sectors, during southward magnetization of the B z component of the interplanetary magnetic field. Concerning the DDEF, diurnal magnetic oscillations in the horizontal component H of the Earth's magnetic field exhibit a behavior that is opposed to the regular one. These diurnal oscillations are recognized to last several days in all longitudinal sectors. The observational data obtained by all sensors used in the present paper can be interpreted on the basis of existing theoretical models

Introduction à la Météorologie de l'Espace / Dynamos et Courants électriques Grande échelle

International audienceSoleil et Terre : 2 corps magnétiques en mouvement Emission du soleil Cycle solaire Dynamo solaire: le vrai cycle solaire/ indices solaires Le canal de la radiation régulière Ionosphère / Dynamo ionosphérique Le canal de la radiation perturbée Éruptions solaires solar flare Le canal des particules Vent solaire régulier Orages magnétiques CME (Ejection de matière coronale) et trous coronaux Activité magnétique et Activité solaire Dynamo ionosphérique et Dynamo terrestre Les courants électriques associés aux différentes dynamos LIonosphère équatoriale Conclusio

Space Weather

International audienceEarths motions Definition of Space Weather Sun Earth Links through dynamo processes : the main permanent dynamos Solar dynamo Solar wind/magnetosphere dynamo Ionospheric dynamo Earths dynamo Electric current Systems Electrodynamics between high and low latitudes Magnetic indice