Two‐Dimensional Reconstruction of Ionospheric Plasma Density Variations Using Swarm
Abstract Space weather phenomena such as scintillations of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals are of increasing importance for aviation, the maritime, and civil engineering industries. The ionospheric plasma irregularities causing scintillations are associated with strong gradients i...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2020-06-01
|
| Series: | Space Weather |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019SW002406 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841536389452136448 |
|---|---|
| author | A. Fæhn Follestad L. B. N. Clausen W. J. Miloch J. van denIJssel R. Haagmans |
| author_facet | A. Fæhn Follestad L. B. N. Clausen W. J. Miloch J. van denIJssel R. Haagmans |
| author_sort | A. Fæhn Follestad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Space weather phenomena such as scintillations of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals are of increasing importance for aviation, the maritime, and civil engineering industries. The ionospheric plasma irregularities causing scintillations are associated with strong gradients in ionospheric plasma density. To provide nowcasts and forecasts of space weather effects, it is vital to monitor the ionosphere and detect strong density variations. To reconstruct plasma density variations in the polar cap ionosphere, we use total electron content (TEC) estimates from the Swarm satellites' GPS receivers. By considering events where the Swarm satellites are in close proximity, we obtain plasma density variations by inverting TEC measurements on a two‐dimensional grid. We first demonstrate the method using synthetic test data, before applying it to real data. The method is validated using in situ Langmuir probe measurements and ground‐based TEC observations. We find that the new method can reproduce density variations, although it is sensitive to the geometry of the Swarm satellite constellation and to the calculated plasma temperature. Our proposed method opens new possibilities for ionospheric plasma monitoring that uses GPS receivers aboard low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2457fc3337df4903939708b809c2a5f0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1542-7390 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Space Weather |
| spelling | doaj-art-2457fc3337df4903939708b809c2a5f02025-01-14T16:30:43ZengWileySpace Weather1542-73902020-06-01186n/an/a10.1029/2019SW002406Two‐Dimensional Reconstruction of Ionospheric Plasma Density Variations Using SwarmA. Fæhn Follestad0L. B. N. Clausen1W. J. Miloch2J. van denIJssel3R. Haagmans4Department of Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayDepartment of Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayDepartment of Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayDepartment of Space Engineering Delft University of Technology Delft The NetherlandsESA/ESTEC Noordwjik The NetherlandsAbstract Space weather phenomena such as scintillations of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals are of increasing importance for aviation, the maritime, and civil engineering industries. The ionospheric plasma irregularities causing scintillations are associated with strong gradients in ionospheric plasma density. To provide nowcasts and forecasts of space weather effects, it is vital to monitor the ionosphere and detect strong density variations. To reconstruct plasma density variations in the polar cap ionosphere, we use total electron content (TEC) estimates from the Swarm satellites' GPS receivers. By considering events where the Swarm satellites are in close proximity, we obtain plasma density variations by inverting TEC measurements on a two‐dimensional grid. We first demonstrate the method using synthetic test data, before applying it to real data. The method is validated using in situ Langmuir probe measurements and ground‐based TEC observations. We find that the new method can reproduce density variations, although it is sensitive to the geometry of the Swarm satellite constellation and to the calculated plasma temperature. Our proposed method opens new possibilities for ionospheric plasma monitoring that uses GPS receivers aboard low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019SW002406Swarmpolar cappolar cap patchesionospherespace weather |
| spellingShingle | A. Fæhn Follestad L. B. N. Clausen W. J. Miloch J. van denIJssel R. Haagmans Two‐Dimensional Reconstruction of Ionospheric Plasma Density Variations Using Swarm Space Weather Swarm polar cap polar cap patches ionosphere space weather |
| title | Two‐Dimensional Reconstruction of Ionospheric Plasma Density Variations Using Swarm |
| title_full | Two‐Dimensional Reconstruction of Ionospheric Plasma Density Variations Using Swarm |
| title_fullStr | Two‐Dimensional Reconstruction of Ionospheric Plasma Density Variations Using Swarm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Two‐Dimensional Reconstruction of Ionospheric Plasma Density Variations Using Swarm |
| title_short | Two‐Dimensional Reconstruction of Ionospheric Plasma Density Variations Using Swarm |
| title_sort | two dimensional reconstruction of ionospheric plasma density variations using swarm |
| topic | Swarm polar cap polar cap patches ionosphere space weather |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019SW002406 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT afæhnfollestad twodimensionalreconstructionofionosphericplasmadensityvariationsusingswarm AT lbnclausen twodimensionalreconstructionofionosphericplasmadensityvariationsusingswarm AT wjmiloch twodimensionalreconstructionofionosphericplasmadensityvariationsusingswarm AT jvandenijssel twodimensionalreconstructionofionosphericplasmadensityvariationsusingswarm AT rhaagmans twodimensionalreconstructionofionosphericplasmadensityvariationsusingswarm |