Nowcasting, forecasting and warning for ionospheric propagation: supporting databases

The use of data is essential in the context of nowcasting, forecasting and warning of ionospheric propagation conditions, with roles to play in the development, evaluation and operation of models and services. Descriptions are given of three databases that have been established in the course of the COST 271 Action: a database of prompt ionospheric soundings, an extension to a database generated by the EISCAT incoherent scatter radars, and a database intended to facilitate evaluation of TEC estimation methods. Each database includes some background information, a description of the contents and interface, and instructions as to how to gain access to it

Global ionospheric monitoring and navigation systems

Postprint (published version

Monitoring the recovery-stress states of athletes: Psychometric properties of the Acute Recovery and Stress Scale and Short Recovery and Stress Scale among Dutch and Flemish Athletes

The Acute Recovery and Stress Scale (ARSS) and the Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS) are recently-introduced instruments to monitor recovery and stress processes in athletes. In this study, our aims were to replicate and extend previous psychometric assessments of the instruments, by incorporating recovery and stress dimensions into one model. Therefore, we conducted five confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and determined structural validity, internal consistency, cross-cultural validity, and construct validity. Dutch and Flemish athletes (N=385, 213 females, 170 males, 2 others, 21.03±5.44 years) completed the translated ARSS and SRSS, the Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport-76), and information on their last training. There was a good model fit for the replicated CFA, sub-optimal model fit for the models that incorporated recovery and stress into one model, and satisfactory internal consistency (α=.75 – .87). The correlations within and between the ARSS and SRSS, as well as between the ARSS/SRSS and the RESTQ-Sport-76 (r=.31 – -.77 for the ARSS, r=.28 – -.63 for the SRSS) and information of their last training also supported construct validity. The combined findings support the use of the ARSS and SRSS to assess stress and recovery in sports-related research and practice

Delayed response of the ionosphere to solar EUV variability

Physical and chemical processes in the ionosphere are driven by complex interactions with the solar radiation. The ionospheric plasma is in particular sensitive to solar EUV and UV variations with a time delay between one and two days. This delay is assumed to be related to thermospheric transport processes from the lower ionosphere to the F region. In previous analyses, the delay has been investigated using the F10.7 index. Here we present preliminary results of the ionospheric delay based on a comprehensive and reliable database consisting of GNSS TEC Maps and EUV spectral flux data. We plan to specify the various dependencies from geographic/geomagnetic location, altitude, season, local time, geophysical and solar radiation conditions such as the solar activity level. The first results for dependencies from seasons and wavelengths regions of the EUV are presented in this paper. These results can provide more insight into ionospheric processes and are of interest for applications dependent on reliable ionospheric weather forecasts, e.g. GNSS error analyses, prediction and mitigation.</p

A new plasmapause model based on IMAGE RPI and Van-Allen-Probe data via automatic detection

The plasmapause, i.e. the outer boundary of the plasmasphere, is characterised by a sharp electron density gradient. The Neustrelitz ESOC PlasmaPause Model (NEPPM) is a newly developed model of the plasmapause location Lpp. The actual plasmapause positions are derived from the electron density measurements recorded onboard the IMAGE satellite between 2000 and 2005 and the Van Allen probes between 2012 and 2018. An automatic algorithm is developed for detecting plasmapause location along electron density versus altitude profile. The NEPPM model functions are fitted to the Lpp measurements in a least squares sense and model parameters are determined. In our NEPPM approach an ellipse is assumed to describe the principal plasmapause shape in the geomagnetic equatorial plane. This is aligned with the bulge that follows the level of solar activity. Embedded into a 3D approach, the NEPPM allows non-dipole B vectors, providing 3D positions on the plasmapause torus for given latitude, longitude, epoch and Dst. The underlying fitting procedures recreate the varying Lpp as a function of the Dst index and magnetic local time, which gives a better conformity than the GCPM (Global Core Plasma Model). We thank ESOC (ESA/ESOC/OPS-GN) for their support in developing the model

Impact of the 26-30 May 2003 solar events on the earth ionosphere and thermosphere.

During the last week of May 2003, the solar active region AR 10365 produced a large number of flares, several of which were accompanied by Coronal Mass Ejections (CME). Specifically on 27 and 28 May three halo CMEs were observed which had a significant impact on geospace. On 29 May, upon their arrival at the L1 point, in front of the Earth's magnetosphere, two interplanetary shocks and two additional solar wind pressure pulses were recorded by the ACE spacecraft. The interplanetary magnetic field data showed the clear signature of a magnetic cloud passing ACE. In the wake of the successive increases in solar wind pressure, the magnetosphere became strongly compressed and the sub-solar magnetopause moved inside five Earth radii. At low altitudes the increased energy input to the magnetosphere was responsible for a substantial enhancement of Region-1 field-aligned currents. The ionospheric Hall currents also intensified and the entire high-latitude current system moved equatorward by about 10°. Several substorms occurred during this period, some of them - but not all - apparently triggered by the solar wind pressure pulses. The storm's most notable consequences on geospace, including space weather effects, were (1) the expansion of the auroral oval, and aurorae seen at mid latitudes, (2) the significant modification of the total electron content in the sunlight high-latitude ionosphere, (3) the perturbation of radio-wave propagation manifested by HF blackouts and increased GPS signal scintillation, and (4) the heating of the thermosphere, causing increased satellite drag. We discuss the reasons why the May 2003 storm is less intense than the October-November 2003 storms, although several indicators reach similar intensities

Near Earth space plasma monitoring under COST 296

This review paper presents the main achievements of the near Earth space plasma monitoring under COST 296 Action. The outputs of the COST 296 community making data, historical and real-time, standardized and available to the ionospheric community for their research, applications and modeling purposes are presented. The contribution of COST 296 with the added value of the validated data made possible a trusted ionospheric monitoring for research and modeling purposes, and it served for testing and improving the algorithms producing real-time data and providing data users measurement uncertainties. These value added data also served for calibration and validation of space-borne sensors. New techniques and parameters have been developed for monitoring the near Earth space plasma, as time dependent 2D maps of vertical total electron content (vTEC), other key ionospheric parameters and activity indices for distinguishing disturbed ionospheric conditions, as well as a technique for improving the discrepancies of different mapping services. The dissemination of the above products has been developed by COST 296 participants throughout the websites making them available on-line for real-time applications