On the Extraordinary L‐Band Scintillation Event Observed in the American Sector During the 23–24 March 2023 Geomagnetic Storm
Abstract We report an extraordinary L‐band scintillation event detected in the American sector on the night of 23–24 March 2023. The event was detected using observations distributed from the magnetic equator to mid latitudes. The observations were made by ionospheric scintillation and total electro...
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Wiley
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Space Weather |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024SW004213 |
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| author | J. Gomez Socola F. S. Rodrigues J. Sousasantos M. R. Quesada R. Heelis Y. Otsuka A. Shinbori M. Nishioka S. Perwitasari |
| author_facet | J. Gomez Socola F. S. Rodrigues J. Sousasantos M. R. Quesada R. Heelis Y. Otsuka A. Shinbori M. Nishioka S. Perwitasari |
| author_sort | J. Gomez Socola |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract We report an extraordinary L‐band scintillation event detected in the American sector on the night of 23–24 March 2023. The event was detected using observations distributed from the magnetic equator to mid latitudes. The observations were made by ionospheric scintillation and total electron content (TEC) monitors deployed at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO, ∼−1° dip latitude), at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology (CRT, ∼20° dip latitude), and at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD, ∼42° dip latitude). The observations show intense pre‐ and post‐midnight scintillations at JRO, a magnetic equatorial site where L‐band scintillation is typically weak and limited to pre‐midnight hours. The observations also show long‐lasting extremely intense L‐band scintillations detected by the CRT monitor. Additionally, the rare occurrence of intense mid‐latitude scintillation was detected by the UTD monitor around local midnight. Understanding of the ionospheric conditions leading to scintillation was assisted by TEC and rate of change of TEC index (ROTI) maps. The maps showed that the observed scintillation event was caused by equatorial plasma bubble (EPB)‐like ionospheric depletions reaching mid latitudes. TEC maps also showed the occurrence of an enhanced equatorial ionization anomaly throughout the night indicating the action of disturbance electric fields and creating conditions that favor the occurrence of severe scintillation. Additionally, the ROTI maps confirm the occurrence of pre‐ and post‐midnight EPBs that can explain the long duration of low latitude scintillation. The observations describe the spatio‐temporal variation and quantify the severity of the scintillation impact of EPB‐like disturbances reaching mid latitudes. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1542-7390 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Space Weather |
| spelling | doaj-art-7c328d264e094c9bb227400432f4ffa12025-08-20T03:33:25ZengWileySpace Weather1542-73902025-06-01236n/an/a10.1029/2024SW004213On the Extraordinary L‐Band Scintillation Event Observed in the American Sector During the 23–24 March 2023 Geomagnetic StormJ. Gomez Socola0F. S. Rodrigues1J. Sousasantos2M. R. Quesada3R. Heelis4Y. Otsuka5A. Shinbori6M. Nishioka7S. Perwitasari8The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson TX USAThe University of Texas at Dallas Richardson TX USAThe University of Texas at Dallas Richardson TX USACosta Rica Institute of Technology Cartago Costa RicaThe University of Texas at Dallas Richardson TX USAInstitute for Space‐Earth Environmental Research Nagoya University Nagoya JapanInstitute for Space‐Earth Environmental Research Nagoya University Nagoya JapanNational Institute of Information and Communications Technology Tokyo JapanNational Institute of Information and Communications Technology Tokyo JapanAbstract We report an extraordinary L‐band scintillation event detected in the American sector on the night of 23–24 March 2023. The event was detected using observations distributed from the magnetic equator to mid latitudes. The observations were made by ionospheric scintillation and total electron content (TEC) monitors deployed at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO, ∼−1° dip latitude), at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology (CRT, ∼20° dip latitude), and at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD, ∼42° dip latitude). The observations show intense pre‐ and post‐midnight scintillations at JRO, a magnetic equatorial site where L‐band scintillation is typically weak and limited to pre‐midnight hours. The observations also show long‐lasting extremely intense L‐band scintillations detected by the CRT monitor. Additionally, the rare occurrence of intense mid‐latitude scintillation was detected by the UTD monitor around local midnight. Understanding of the ionospheric conditions leading to scintillation was assisted by TEC and rate of change of TEC index (ROTI) maps. The maps showed that the observed scintillation event was caused by equatorial plasma bubble (EPB)‐like ionospheric depletions reaching mid latitudes. TEC maps also showed the occurrence of an enhanced equatorial ionization anomaly throughout the night indicating the action of disturbance electric fields and creating conditions that favor the occurrence of severe scintillation. Additionally, the ROTI maps confirm the occurrence of pre‐ and post‐midnight EPBs that can explain the long duration of low latitude scintillation. The observations describe the spatio‐temporal variation and quantify the severity of the scintillation impact of EPB‐like disturbances reaching mid latitudes.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024SW004213ionosphereextreme EPBscintillationGNSSL‐bandTEC |
| spellingShingle | J. Gomez Socola F. S. Rodrigues J. Sousasantos M. R. Quesada R. Heelis Y. Otsuka A. Shinbori M. Nishioka S. Perwitasari On the Extraordinary L‐Band Scintillation Event Observed in the American Sector During the 23–24 March 2023 Geomagnetic Storm Space Weather ionosphere extreme EPB scintillation GNSS L‐band TEC |
| title | On the Extraordinary L‐Band Scintillation Event Observed in the American Sector During the 23–24 March 2023 Geomagnetic Storm |
| title_full | On the Extraordinary L‐Band Scintillation Event Observed in the American Sector During the 23–24 March 2023 Geomagnetic Storm |
| title_fullStr | On the Extraordinary L‐Band Scintillation Event Observed in the American Sector During the 23–24 March 2023 Geomagnetic Storm |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Extraordinary L‐Band Scintillation Event Observed in the American Sector During the 23–24 March 2023 Geomagnetic Storm |
| title_short | On the Extraordinary L‐Band Scintillation Event Observed in the American Sector During the 23–24 March 2023 Geomagnetic Storm |
| title_sort | on the extraordinary l band scintillation event observed in the american sector during the 23 24 march 2023 geomagnetic storm |
| topic | ionosphere extreme EPB scintillation GNSS L‐band TEC |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024SW004213 |
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