Prior to use in operational systems, it is essential to validate ionospheric models in a manner relevant to their intended application to ensure satisfactory performance. For Over-the-Horizon radars (OTHR) operating in the high-frequency (HF) band (3-30 MHz), the problem of model validation is severe when used in Coordinate Registration (CR) and Frequency Management Systems (FMS). It is imperative that the full error characteristics of models is well understood in these applications due to the critical relationship they impose on system performance. To better understand model performance in the context of OTHR, we introduce an ionospheric model validation technique using the oblique ground backscatter measurements in soundings from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN). Analysis is performed in terms of the F-region leading edge (LE) errors and assessment of range-elevation distributions using calibrated interferometer data. This technique is demonstrated by validating the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) 2016 for January and June in both 2014 and 2018. LE RMS errors of 100-400 km and 400-800 km are observed for winter and summer months, respectively. Evening errors regularly exceeding 1,000 km across all months are identified. Ionosonde driven corrections to the IRI-2016 peak parameters provide improvements of 200-800 km to the LE, with the greatest improvements observed during the nighttime. Diagnostics of echo distributions indicate consistent underestimates in model NmF2 during the daytime hours of June 2014 due to offsets of -8° being observed in modelled elevation angles at 18:00 and 21:00 UT.

Medium-scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTIDs) are prominent and ubiquitous features of the mid-latitude ionosphere, and are observed in Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) and high-resolution Global Navigational Satellite Service (GNSS) Total Electron Content (TEC) data. The mechanisms driving these MSTIDs are an open area of research, especially during geomagnetic storms. Previous studies have demonstrated that night-side MSTIDs are associated with an electrodynamic instability mechanism like Perkins, especially during geomagnetically quiet conditions. However, day-side MSTIDs are often associated with atmospheric gravity waves. Very few studies have analyzed the mechanisms driving MSTIDs during strong geomagnetic storms at mid-latitudes. In this study, we present mid-latitude MSTIDs observed in de-trended GNSS TEC data and SuperDARN radars over the North American sector, during a geomagnetic storm (peak Kp reaching 9) on September 7-8, 2017. In SuperDARN, MSTIDs were observed in ionospheric backscatter with Line Of Sight (LOS) velocities exceeding 800 m/s. Additionally, radar LOS velocities oscillated with amplitudes reaching +/-$500 m/s as the MSTIDs passed through the fields-of-view. In detrended TEC, these MSTIDs produced perturbations reaching ~50 percent of background TEC magnitude. The MSTIDs were observed to propagate in the westward/south-westward direction with a time period of ~15 minutes. Projecting de-trended GNSS TEC data along SuperDARN beams showed that enhancements in TEC were correlated with enhancements in SuperDARN SNR and positive LOS velocities. Finally, SuperDARN LOS velocities systematically switched polarities between the crests and the troughs of the MSTIDs, indicating the presence of polarization electric fields and an electrodynamic instability process during these MSTIDs.

On 15 January 2022, the submarine volcano on the southwest Pacific island of Tonga violently erupted. Thus far, the ionospheric oscillation features caused by the volcanic eruption have not been identified. Here, observations from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radars and digisondes \change{are}{were} employed to analyze ionospheric oscillations in the Northern Hemisphere caused by the volcanic eruption in Tonga. Due to the magnetic field conjugate effect, the ionospheric oscillations were observed much earlier than the arrival of surface air pressure waves, and the maximum negative line-of-sight (LOS) velocity of the ionospheric oscillations exceeded 100 m/s in the F layer. After the surface air pressure waves arrived, the maximum LOS velocity in the E layer approached 150 m/s. A maximum upward displacement of 100 km was observed in the ionosphere. This work provides a new perspective for understanding the strong ionospheric oscillation caused by geological hazards observed on Earth.

We demonstrate a novel method for observing Large Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (LSTIDs) using high frequency (HF) amateur radio reporting networks, including the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), Weak Signal Propagation Reporter Network (WSPRNet), and PSKReporter. LSTIDs are quasi-periodic variations in ionospheric densities with horizontal wavelengths > 1000 km and periods between 30 to 180 min. On 3 Nov 2017, LSTID signatures were observed simultaneously over the continental United States in amateur radio, SuperDARN HF radar, and GNSS Total Electron Content with a period of ~2.5 hr, propagation azimuth of ~163°, horizontal wavelength of ~1680 km, and phase speed of ~1200 km/hr. SuperMAG SME index enhancements and Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar measurements suggest the LSTIDs were driven by auroral electrojet intensifications and Joule heating. This novel measurement technique has applications in future scientific studies and for assessing the impact of LSTIDs on HF communications.

Long-lasting Pc5 ultralow frequency (ULF) waves spanning the dayside and extending from L~5.5 into the polar cap region were observed by conjugate ground magnetometers. Observations from MMS satellites in the magnetosphere and magnetometers on the ground confirmed that the ULF waves on closed field lines were due to fundamental toroidal field line resonances (FLRs). Monochromatic waves at lower latitudes tended to maximize their power away from noon in both the morning and afternoon sectors, while more broadband waves at higher latitudes tended to have a wave power maximum near noon. The wave power distribution and anti-sunward wave propagation suggest surface waves on a Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) unstable magnetopause coupled with FLRs. Based on satellite observations in the foreshock/magnetosheath, the more turbulent ion foreshock during an extended period of radial interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) likely plays an important role in providing seed perturbations for the growth of the KH waves.

An interplanetary shock can abruptly compress the magnetosphere, excite magnetospheric waves and field-aligned currents, and cause a ground magnetic response known as a sudden commencement (SC). However, the transient (<~1 min) response of the ionosphere-thermosphere system during an SC has been little studied due to limited temporal resolution in previous investigations. Here, we report observations of a global reversal of ionospheric vertical plasma motion during an SC on 24 October 2011 using ~6 s resolution SuperDARN ground scatter data. The dayside ionosphere suddenly moved downward during the magnetospheric compression due to the SC, lasting for only ~1 min before moving upward. By contrast, the post-midnight ionosphere briefly moved upward then moved downward during the SC. Simulations with a coupled geospace model suggest that the reversed E X B vertical drift is caused by a global reversal of ionospheric zonal electric field induced by magnetospheric compression during the SC.

Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) are propagating variations in ionospheric electron densities that affect radio communications and can help with understanding energy transport throughout the coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere-neutral atmosphere system. Large scale TIDs (LSTIDs) have periods T ≈30-180 min, horizontal phase velocities vH≈‍100-‍250 m/s, and horizontal wavelengths H>1000 km and are believed to be generated either by geomagnetic activity or lower atmospheric sources. TIDs create concavities in the ionospheric electron density profile that move horizontally with the TID and cause skip-distance focusing effects for high frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) radio signals propagating through the ionosphere. The signature of this phenomena is manifest as quasi-periodic variations in contact ranges in HF amateur radio communication reports recorded by automated monitoring systems such as the Weak Signal Propagation Reporting Network (WSPRNet) and the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN). In this study, members of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) present a climatology of LSTID activity using RBN and WSPRNet observations on the 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21, and 28 MHz amateur radio bands from 2017. Results will be organized as a function observation frequency, longitudinal sector (North America and Europe), season, and geomagnetic activity level. Connections to geospace are explored via SYM-H and Auroral Electrojet indexes, while neutral atmospheric sources are explored using NASA’s Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2).

The most dynamic electromagnetic coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere occurs in the polar upper atmosphere. It is critical to quantify the electromagnetic energy and momentum input associated with this coupling as its impacts on the ionosphere and thermosphere system are global and major, often leading to considerable disturbances in near-Earth space environments. The current general circulation models of the upper atmosphere exhibit systematic biases that can be attributed to an inadequate representation of the Joule heating rate resulting from unaccounted stochastic fluctuations of electric fields associated with the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. These biases exist regardless of geomagnetic activity levels. To overcome this limitation, a new multiresolution random field modeling approach is developed, and the efficacy of the approach is demonstrated using SuperDARN data carefully curated for the study during a largely quiet 4 hours period on February 29, 2012. Regional small-scale electrostatic fields sampled at different resolutions from a probabilistic distribution of electric field variability conditioned on actual SuperDARN LOS observations exhibit considerably more localized fine-scale features in comparison to global large-scale fields modeled using the SuperDARN Assimilative Mapping procedure. The overall hemispherically integrated Joule heating rate is increased by a factor of about 1.5 due to the effect of random regional small-scale electric fields, which is close to the lower end of arbitrarily adjusted Joule heating multiplicative factor of 1.5 and 2.5 typically used in upper atmosphere general circulation models. The study represents an important step towards a data-driven ensemble modeling of magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere coupling processes.

Over–the–Horizon (OTH) communication is strongly dependent on the state of the ionosphere, which is susceptible to solar flares. Trans–ionospheric high frequency (HF) signals experience a strong attenuation following a solar flare, commonly referred to as Short–Wave Fadeout (SWF). In this study, we examine the role of dispersion relation–collision frequency formulations on the estimation of flare–driven HF absorption seen in Riometer observation using a data assimilation framework. Specifically, the framework first uses modified solar irradiance models (such as EUVAC, FISM), which incorporate high–resolution solar flux data from GOES satellite X-ray sensors, to compute the enhanced ionization produced during the flare events. The framework then uses different dispersion relation–collision frequency formulations to estimate enhanced HF absorption. Finally, the modeled HF absorption is compared against the data to determine which combination of dispersion relation–collision frequency formulation best reproduces the Riometer observations. From the modeling work, we find that the Appleton–Hartree dispersion relation in combination with Schunk–Nagy collision frequency profile produces the best agreement with Riometer data.

The term “ionospheric sluggishness” is used to describe the time delay between maximum radio absorption in the ionosphere following the time of maximum irradiance during a solar flare. Sluggishness is one of the characteristic properties known to be maximized around D-region heights and can be used for studying lower ionospheric (D-region) and mesospheric chemistry. This article is our first attempt to estimate ionospheric sluggishness using high frequency (HF, 3 – 30 MHz) instruments. Specifically, we report on first estimates of sluggishness from riometer and SuperDARN observations following a solar flare and propose two new methods to estimate sluggishness. Sluggishness is shown to be anti-correlated with the peak solar X-ray flux and positively correlated with solar zenith angle and geographic latitude. The choice of instrument, method, and reference solar waveband effects the sluggishness estimation. A simulation study was performed to estimate the effective recombination coefficient, which was found to vary between 4-5 orders of magnitude. We suggest that the effective recombination coefficient is highly sensitive to D-region’s negative and positive ion chemistry.

Trans–ionospheric high frequency (HF) signals experience a strong attenuation following a solar flare, commonly referred to as Short–Wave Fadeout (SWF). Although solar flare-driven HF absorption is a well-known impact of SWF, the occurrence of a frequency shift on radio wave signal traversing the lower ionosphere in the early stages of SWF, also known as “Doppler Flash”, is newly reported and not well understood. Some prior investigations have suggested two possible sources that might contribute to the manifestation of Doppler Flash: first, enhancements of plasma density in the D and lower E regions; second, the lowering of the reflection point in the F region. Observations and modeling evidence regarding the manifestation and evolution of Doppler Flash in the ionosphere are limited. This study seeks to advance our understanding of the initial impacts of solar flare-driven SWF. We use WACCM-X to estimate flare-driven enhanced ionization in D, E, and F-regions and a ray-tracing code (Pharlap) to simulate a 1-hop HF communication through the modified ionosphere. Once the ray traveling path has been identified, the model estimates the Doppler frequency shift along the ray path. Finally, the outputs are validated against observations of SWF made with SuperDARN HF radars. We find that changes in refractive index in the D and lower E regions due to plasma density enhancement are the primary cause of Doppler Flash.