LOFAR Observations of Substructure Within a Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance at Mid‐Latitude
Abstract The large scale morphology and finer sub‐structure within a slowly propagating traveling ionospheric disturbance (TID) are studied using wide band trans‐ionospheric radio observations with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR; van Haarlem et al., 2013, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201220873)...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Space Weather |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003198 |
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| author | Gareth Dorrian Richard Fallows Alan Wood David R. Themens Ben Boyde Andrzej Krankowski Mario Bisi Bartosz Dąbrowski Christian Vocks |
| author_facet | Gareth Dorrian Richard Fallows Alan Wood David R. Themens Ben Boyde Andrzej Krankowski Mario Bisi Bartosz Dąbrowski Christian Vocks |
| author_sort | Gareth Dorrian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The large scale morphology and finer sub‐structure within a slowly propagating traveling ionospheric disturbance (TID) are studied using wide band trans‐ionospheric radio observations with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR; van Haarlem et al., 2013, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201220873). The observations were made under geomagnetically quiet conditions, between 0400 and 0800 on 7 January 2019, over the UK. In combination with ionograms and Global Navigation Satellite System Total Electron Content anomaly data we estimate the TID velocity to ∼60 ms−1, in a North‐westerly direction. Clearly defined substructures with oscillation periods of ∼300 s were identified within the TID, corresponding to scale sizes of 20 km. At the geometries and observing wavelengths involved, the Fresnel scale is between 3 and 4 km, hence these substructures contribute significant refractive scattering to the received LOFAR signal. The refractive scattering is strongly coherent across the LOFAR bandwidth used here (25–64 MHz). The size of these structures distinguishes them from previously identified ionospheric scintillation with LOFAR in Fallows et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2020010, where the scale sizes of the plasma structure varied from ∼500 m to 5 km. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-664169e34a7d4be08f11f11979fd4415 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1542-7390 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Space Weather |
| spelling | doaj-art-664169e34a7d4be08f11f11979fd44152025-01-14T16:35:23ZengWileySpace Weather1542-73902023-01-01211n/an/a10.1029/2022SW003198LOFAR Observations of Substructure Within a Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance at Mid‐LatitudeGareth Dorrian0Richard Fallows1Alan Wood2David R. Themens3Ben Boyde4Andrzej Krankowski5Mario Bisi6Bartosz Dąbrowski7Christian Vocks8Space Environment and Radio Engineering Group (SERENE) University of Birmingham Birmingham UKRAL Space United Kingdom Research and Innovation Science & Technology Facilities Council Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Harwell Campus Oxfordshire UKSpace Environment and Radio Engineering Group (SERENE) University of Birmingham Birmingham UKSpace Environment and Radio Engineering Group (SERENE) University of Birmingham Birmingham UKSpace Environment and Radio Engineering Group (SERENE) University of Birmingham Birmingham UKSpace Radio‐Diagnostics Research Center University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Olsztyn PolandRAL Space United Kingdom Research and Innovation Science & Technology Facilities Council Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Harwell Campus Oxfordshire UKSpace Radio‐Diagnostics Research Center University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Olsztyn PolandLeibniz‐Instit für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP) Potsdam GermanyAbstract The large scale morphology and finer sub‐structure within a slowly propagating traveling ionospheric disturbance (TID) are studied using wide band trans‐ionospheric radio observations with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR; van Haarlem et al., 2013, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201220873). The observations were made under geomagnetically quiet conditions, between 0400 and 0800 on 7 January 2019, over the UK. In combination with ionograms and Global Navigation Satellite System Total Electron Content anomaly data we estimate the TID velocity to ∼60 ms−1, in a North‐westerly direction. Clearly defined substructures with oscillation periods of ∼300 s were identified within the TID, corresponding to scale sizes of 20 km. At the geometries and observing wavelengths involved, the Fresnel scale is between 3 and 4 km, hence these substructures contribute significant refractive scattering to the received LOFAR signal. The refractive scattering is strongly coherent across the LOFAR bandwidth used here (25–64 MHz). The size of these structures distinguishes them from previously identified ionospheric scintillation with LOFAR in Fallows et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2020010, where the scale sizes of the plasma structure varied from ∼500 m to 5 km.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003198traveling ionospheric disturbanceionospheric scintillationLOw frequency ARray |
| spellingShingle | Gareth Dorrian Richard Fallows Alan Wood David R. Themens Ben Boyde Andrzej Krankowski Mario Bisi Bartosz Dąbrowski Christian Vocks LOFAR Observations of Substructure Within a Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance at Mid‐Latitude Space Weather traveling ionospheric disturbance ionospheric scintillation LOw frequency ARray |
| title | LOFAR Observations of Substructure Within a Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance at Mid‐Latitude |
| title_full | LOFAR Observations of Substructure Within a Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance at Mid‐Latitude |
| title_fullStr | LOFAR Observations of Substructure Within a Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance at Mid‐Latitude |
| title_full_unstemmed | LOFAR Observations of Substructure Within a Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance at Mid‐Latitude |
| title_short | LOFAR Observations of Substructure Within a Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance at Mid‐Latitude |
| title_sort | lofar observations of substructure within a traveling ionospheric disturbance at mid latitude |
| topic | traveling ionospheric disturbance ionospheric scintillation LOw frequency ARray |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003198 |
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