TEC global disturbances in equatorial ionosphere during annular solar eclipse on June 21, 2020

Heading: 
Space Physics
1Chernogor, LF, Mylovanov, YB
1V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Kinemat. fiz. nebesnyh tel (Online) 2023, 39(4):3-33
https://doi.org/10.15407/kfnt2023.04.003
Language: Ukrainian
Abstract: 

Solar eclipse (SE) causes disturbances that can be recorded in all subsystems of the Earth — atmosphere — ionosphere — magnetosphere system, as well as in geophysical fields. The response of the system to the SE significantly depends on the magnitude of the eclipse, phase of the solar cycle, the state of atmospheric and space weather, the season, time and observation coordinates. Manifestations of the response are also determined by the observation technique. Despite the fact that the impact of the SE on the ionosphere has been studied for about 100 years, a number of unresolved issues remain. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the analysis of temporal variations of TEC caused by the annular SE on June 21, 2020 in the equatorial ionosphere. We have analyzed 132 time dependences of TEC that covered a significant area with an eclipse. The maximum magnitude Mmax = 0.9940, which began at 04:47:45 UT, was observed in northern India in Uttarakhand and lasted 38 s. The state of space weather was favorable for the study of the effects of the SE on June 21, 2020. To detect the response of the ionosphere to the annular SE on June 21, 2020, the Global Navigation Satellite System signal recordings were processed. Time variations of TEC in the ionosphere on reference days and on the day with the SE on June 21, 2020 were analyzed on a global scale. For this purpose the results of measurements at 12 stations and 11 GPS satellites were used. The dependence of the deficit value and the relative reduction of TEC caused by the SE on the time of day was investigated. The lowest deficit value (–2...–3 TECU) was observed in the morning. In the daytime and in the evening hours it reached –4...–6 TECU. The relative decrease in TEC was almost independent of time of day and reached –30...–35 %. No stable dependence of TEC deficit on the eclipse magnitude was found. The relative decrease in TEC clearly depended on the magnitude of the SE: smaller values of the magnitude corresponded to smaller values of magnitude of the relative decrease. The duration of the TEC reduction by 1.5…2.5 h exceeded the duration of the eclipse. In the daytime and in the evening hours there was a delay of TEC minimum values in relation to the maximum magnitude of the SE by 10…20 min. Wave-like disturbances of TEC were practically absent. Undisturbed and disturbed by the eclipse TEC values significantly depended on the location of stations and the trajectory of satellites, which is due to the influence of equatorial ionization anomaly. This was the main feature of the ionospheric effects of the SE at latitudes 0°…30° N.
Keywords: equatorial ionosphere, features of ionospheric eclipse effect, longitude and latitude dependences, solar eclipse, total electron content

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