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Item A study of tidal and planetary waves in the American and African sectors(2022-11-18) Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Muella, Marcio Tadeu de Assis Honorato; Tardelli, Alexandre; Paulino, Ana Roberta da Silva; Lima, Lourivaldo Mota; Brown, Vera Yesutor Tsali; Pillat, Valdir Gil; São José dos CamposObserved data were obtained from magnetometers measuring the horizontal field intensity H(nT) of the geomagnetic field in the American and African sectors. These magnetometers were located in São José dos Campos, Eusébio, and São Luís, in the American Sector and Tamanrasset, Hermanus, and Tsumeb in the African sector. The datasets were analyzed and periods relating to solar and lunar tidal oscillations were extracted using the least square fit method. Results showed the presence of solar tidal oscillations (diurnal, semidiurnal, and terdiurnal) and semidiurnal lunar tidal oscillations present in both sectors. The latitudinal response of the three solar tidal components at three stations to the sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) of 2018 was also studied. It was observed that the low latitude station nearest the geomagnetic equator presented enhancements in the three components during the event. However, an anomaly was observed in the semidiurnal lunar tide in the African sector which could not be explained. Furthermore, wavelike oscillations between 3 to 32 days and relating to planetary waves were observed in the geomagnetic field. These wavelike oscillations between 3 to 32 days were also seen in the virtual height (h ´F) of the ionosphere measured by ionosondes located at São José dos Campos and Araguatins in the American sector. PW results in the ?H were in good agreement with the F10.7 solar flux. Additionally, during the geomagnetic storm of September 7-11, 2017, ?H component Yariations in the American and African sectors (selected stations) showed different responses suggesting the presence of longitudinal dependence.Item Absence of High Frequency Echoes From Ionosondes During the 23–25 April 2023 Geomagnetic Storm; What Happened?(Advancing Earth and Space Sciences) Habarulema, John Bosco; Zhang, Yongliang; Matamba, Tshimangadzo; Lu, Gang; Katamzi‐Joseph, Zama; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Okoh, Daniel; Seemala, GopiWe report an unusual event on absence of high frequency (HF) echoes in ionosonde observations from the ionospheric F2 region during the geomagnetic storm of 23–25 April 2023. This event was observed in both southern and northern hemispheres over two stations, Grahamstown (33.3°S, 26.5°E), South Africa and Pruhonice (50.0°N, 14.6°E), Czech Republic. Significant O/N2 depletion over the stations was observed by TIMED/GUVI, indicating a strong negative ionospheric storm. This is unique since absence of echoes in ionosonde measurements is usually due to strong radio absorption in the ionosphere associated with solar flares. However, there was no flare activity during the periods of “absent” F2 HF echoes. On the other hand, the ionosonde detected echoes from E‐layer. TIEGCM simulation reproduced TIMED/GUVI O/N2 depletion and showed that NmE was larger than NmF2 on dayside over Pruhonice. TIMED/GUVI O/N2 also showed a clear spatial gradient in the O/N2 depleted regions, suggesting F‐region ionosphere was tilted. By estimating the critical frequency of the F2 layer using GNSS observations, we have shown that it wasn't possible for the ionospheric electron density to reach depletion levels prohibiting reflection of HF echoes from ionosondes. We suggest that this phenomena may have been caused by either (a) maximum electron density of E layer exceeding that of F2 layer and/or (b) ionospheric tilting which made the signals to be reflected far away from the ionosonde locations.Item Atualização e modernização do circuito de síntese de frequência do BDA (Brazilian Decimetric Array)(2023-10-04) Machado, Telmo Claudinei; Oliveira Filho, Irapuan Rodrigues de; Oliveira, Alexandre Soares de; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Fernandes, Francisco Carlos Rocha; Souza, Carlos Alexandre Wuensche de; São José dos CamposA maioria dos eventos solares energéticos, como explosões solares (flares) e eje-ções de massa coronal (CMEs), têm origem na energia magnética acumulada na atmosfera solar, especialmente em regiões ativas. Porém, ainda é necessário estu-dar melhor os mecanismos de acumulação, liberação e transporte, que pode ser feito por diversos instrumentos, em solo ou no espaço. Investigar o Sol em faixas espectrais não ópticas ou de rádio requer a colocação de instrumentos em órbita para evitar o bloqueio atmosférico terrestre nessas bandas, gerando custos subs-tanciais. Assim, uma alternativa menos onerosa foi sugerida: criação, instalação, supervisão e operação de instrumentos em terra, principalmente nas faixas óptica e de rádio. O interferômetro rádio, chamado de Brazilian Decimetric Array (BDA), foi proposto para realizar investigações de fenômenos solares (como flares e CMEs, auxiliando em suas previsões) assim como investigações galácticas e extragalácti-cas. Além da redução de custos, essa alternativa permite monitoramento da evolu-ção das emissões em rádio desde a liberação. Por exemplo, em observações de CME com coronógrafos (como LASCO), a localização, do ponto de target não pode ser obtida. Outras observações são complementares e importantes, como as inter-ferométricas em rádio. Um interferômetro rádio é um instrumento que combina si-nais de dois ou mais elementos, compostos de antenas, e os respectivos recepto-res, para criar uma imagem em rádio mais detalhada do objeto observado. Consi-derando que um radiotelescópio sozinho não gera imagens, dois (ou mais) podem gerar imagens, com melhor ou pior resolução, dependendo das linhas de base e cobertura do plano UV. Para frequências relativamente altas (f > 1 GHz), são em-pregados receptores super-heteródinos, projetados para converter sinais das fre-quências altas para as mais baixas, a fim de permitir o transporte do sinal pelos cabos e componentes do receptor com baixa perda e mantendo coerência de fase, o que permite a detecção, armazenamento e processamento do sinal. O interferô-metro rádio é composto por vários radiotelescópios, sendo um instrumento comple-xo, podendo envolver mais etapas de conversão de frequência ao longo das eta-pas para estabilidade do sinal, principalmente em fase. Em um interferômetro, o ajuste de frequência de cada receptor consome muito tempo. Para agilizar, minimi-zar perdas e maximizar a estabilidade do sinal, foi concebida a automatização da síntese de frequência dos receptores do BDA. Este desenvolvimento pioneiro em-prega microcontrolador de baixo custo junto com circuitos convencionais. É uma tecnologia desenvolvida na própria instituição, a partir de competência existente, implicando significativa redução de custos. Neste trabalho, são apresentados o no-vo circuito da síntese de frequências, as características do hardware e do software, assim como parâmetros de ajuste e controle, resultados de testes de bancada e de validação operacional.Item Daily and Monthly Variations of the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) Over the Brazilian Sector During the Descending Phase of the Solar Cycle 24(Advancing Earth and Space Sciences) Dias, Maukers Alem Lima; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Venkatesh, Karnam; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Ribeiro, Brunno Augusto Gomes; Seemala, Gopi K.; Arcanjo, Mateus de OliveiraIt has been noticed recently that the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) in the Brazilian eastern, middle, and western sectors present significant longitudinal variability within a short separation due to the presence of typical magnetic field structure over South America. Therefore, the main motivation of this study is to investigate day‐to‐day and month‐to‐month characteristics of the EIA in three closely spaced longitudinal sectors over the Brazilian region during the year 2016 in the descending phase of the solar activity. These three longitudinal sectors are perpendicular to the magnetic equator at its largest declination over the globe. The EIA showed a semiannual variation in all sectors with a major maximum during the summer, a minimum during the winter, and secondary maximum during spring. In addition, the EIA shows its classical behavior with a trough around the magnetic equator and crests at low latitudes (from ±15° to ±20°). When the EIA is not developed, the maximum ionization is located around the dip equatorial latitudes and the anomaly crest is absent. The number of days within 1 year that showed clear EIA development in the west, middle, and east sectors is 248 (78.2%), 236 (74.4%), and 265 (83.6%), respectively. The undeveloped/absence of EIA is also found often during the months of winter, and the numbers of such days during 2016 in the west, middle, and east are 69 (21.8%), 81 (25.6%), and 52 (16.4%), respectively. Also, the shape, strength, extent, and lifetimes of EIA crest have shown significant variabilities between the three sectors during different seasons. Further, a comparative analysis is carried out on the variations of EIA crest and lifetime between GPS observations and IRI‐2016 model, and the results are discussed.Item Effects of the Northern Hemisphere sudden stratospheric warmings on the Sporadic-E layers in the Brazilian sector(Elsevier) Fontes Neto, Pedro Alves; Muella, Marcio Tadeu de Assis Honorato ; Resende, Laysa Cristina Araújo; Jesus, Rodolfo de; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Batista, Paulo Prado; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Tardelli, Alexandre; Andrioli, Vania F.Tidal and Planetary Wave (PWs) amplitudes are strongly influenced by Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) events. A nonlinear interaction between the tidal winds and planetary waves during the SSW may contribute to the intensification of sporadic-E (Es) layers in the lower thermosphere. This work investigated the relationship between SSW events in the Northern Hemisphere and the Es layer occurrence at low latitudes in the Brazilian sector. We used data from digital ionosondes installed in the observatories of Araguatins (ARA, 5.65◦ S; 48.12◦ W; dip lat. − 5.44◦) and S ̃ao Jos ́e dos Campos (SJC, 23.18◦ S; 45.89◦ W; dip lat. − 21.37◦) to analyze the Es layers. Additionally, we used the temperature, zonal wind, and PWs data at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere during the major SSW event that occurred in February/2018 and during the events of Dec/2018–Jan/2019 and Dec/2020–Jan/2021. The results showed a maximum frequency peak of 20 MHz (~5 × 106 electrons.cm− 3) at ARA and SJC during these SSW events. The large values of ftEs, fbEs, and electronic densities were observed between 100 and 115 km height in the Esf/l type layers during daytime or nighttime periods. The results also showed that the number of large values of ftEs, fbEs, and electronic density of the Es layer was much higher in ARA than in SJC, in general. The wavelet power spectrum analyses of the ftEs and fbEs showed a periodicity of 2- days before and after the central day of the SSWs events at the station of ARA, with three prominent peaks in the 2018/2019 event. At the SJC station the quasi-2-day periodicity in the wavelet analyses of the ftEs was observed after the central day in all three SSW events, with a peak before the central day during the 2020/2021 event.Item Effects of the terdiurnal tide on the sporadic E (Es) layer development at low latitudes over the Brazilian sector(European Geosciences Union) Fontes, Pedro Alves; Muella, Marcio Tadeu de Assis Honorato; Resende, Laysa Cristina Araújo; Andrioli, Vânia Fátima; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Batista, Paulo Prado; Carrasco, Alexander JoseSporadic E (Es) layers are patches of high ionization observed at around 100–140 km height in the E region. Their formation at low latitudes is primarily associated with the diurnal and semidiurnal components of the tidal winds via the ion convergence driven by the wind shear mechanism. However, recent studies have shown the influence of other tidal modes, such as the terdiurnal tide. Therefore, this work investigates the effect of terdiurnal tide-like oscillations on the occurrence and formation of the Es layers observed over Palmas (10.17∘ S, 48.33∘ W; dip lat. −7.31∘), a low-latitude station in Brazil. The analysis was conducted from December 2008 to November 2009 by using data collected from CADI (Canadian Advanced Digital Ionosonde). Additionally, the E Region Ionospheric Model (MIRE) was used to simulate the terdiurnal tidal component in the Es layer development. The results show modulations of 8 h periods on the occurrence rates of the Es layers during all seasonal periods. In general, we see three well-defined peaks in a superimposed summation of the Es layer types per hour in summer and autumn. We also observed that the amplitude modulation of the terdiurnal tide on the Es occurrence rates minimizes in December in comparison to the other months of the summer season. Other relevant aspects of the observations, with complementary statistical and periodogram analysis, are highlighted and discussed.Item Estudo da ionosfera sobre o equador magnético no setor brasileiro durante diferentes períodos de atividade solar(2021-03-29) Pillat, Valdir Gil; Ojeda González, Arian; Tardelli, Alexandre; Bolzan, Maurício José Alves; Cardoso, Felipe Antônio; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; São José dos CamposA ionosfera e sua dinâmica de plasma são temas de estudos desde a sua descoberta, compreender a dinâmica desta região da atmosfera terrestre é fundamental para a compreensão dos fatores que influênciam o funcionamento de satélites e equipamentos tecnológicos que suportam sistemas de telecomunicação baseada em sinais eletromagnéticos ou ondas de rádio, cuja aplicabilidade é parte fundamental do dia-a-dia da sociedade humana moderna. Este trabalho utiliza receptores GPS (Global Posioting System) de 19 estações GPS-TEC, da Rede Brasileira de Monitoramento Contínuo (RBMC), que estão localizados entre ±5° de latitude magnética a partir do equador magnético, para analisar o Conteúdo Eletrônico Total (TEC) da ionosfera na região do equador magnético, sobre o setor brasileiro, com o objetivo de identificar as características desta região para os dias geomagneticamente calmos (DST> -30 nT) nos anos de 2015 e 2018. Utilizaram-se ferramentas computacionais desenvolvidas especialmente para este trabalho para organizar os dados obtidos pelos receptores GPS com resolução de 1 minuto, para os 24 meses estudados, permitindo a manipulação eficiente e a obtenção de informação relevante da variação do TEC sobre o equador magnético. Este estudo mostrou que o valor máximo do TEC registrado para períodos de alta atividade é, aproximadamente, duas vezes maior que os valor de TEC máximo registrado nos períodos de baixa atividade solar, para o mesmo período do ano. Observou-se, também, que independente da época do ano, ou período de atividade solar, o mínimo valor de TEC é de ~2,5 TECU e é registrado no horário de 09:00 UT. Os resultados mostram, também, que nos meses de final de inverno, primavera-verão e início de outono, do ano de 2015 (alta atividade solar) o TEC apresenta um segundo pico por volta das 00:00 UT. Também se verificou a viabilidade de utilizar as ferramentas computacionais desenvolvidas neste trabalho para estudar o desenvolvimento de irregularidades ionosféricas em um curto espaço de tempo (dias). Com este objetivo selecionou-se o período geomagnético de 27-28 de setembro de 2017 onde foi possível verificar que houve a inibição na evolução de irregularidades ionosféricas durante a fase principal deste período geomagneticamente perturbado.Item Estudo das variações diária e mensal da anomalia de ionização Equatorial (EIA) sobre o setor brasileiro durante 2016 (fase decrescente do ciclo solar 24(2020-09-29) Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Tardelli, Alexandre; Muella, Marcio Tadeu de Assis Honorato; Denardini, Clezio Marcos; Bolzan, Maurício José Alves; Dias, Maukers Alem Lima; São José dos CamposO presente estudo investiga as variações das características da Anomalia Ionosférica Equatorial (Equatorial Ionization Anomaly - EIA), no setor brasileiro, em 2016 (fase decrescente do ciclo solar 24), utilizando dados de Conteúdo Eletrônico Total (Total Electron Content - TEC). Os dados foram obtidos por meio de 35 receptores de Sistema de Posicionamento Global (Global Positioning System - GPS) –TEC, de dupla frequência, distribuídos em 3 linhas perpendiculares ao equador magnético, denominadas de setores (oeste, central e leste), do equador magnético até além do pico sul da anomalia. Os dados Conteúdo Eletrônico Total na Vertical (Vertical Total Electron Content - VTEC) foram obtidos a partir de dados de TEC das estações de GPS-TEC, que foram comparados aos dados de VTEC calculados pelo modelo International Reference Ionosphere - IRI. Notou-se que a EIA apresenta uma variação semianual nos três setores, com máximo principal durante o verão, mínimo durante o inverno e máximo secundário durante a primavera. Além disso, a EIA mostra seu comportamento clássico com uma depressão (vale) ao redor do equador magnético e cristas em baixas latitudes (de ± 15° a ± 20°). Quando a EIA não é formada, a ionização máxima se localiza em torno do equador magnético e as cristas da anomalia estão ausentes. Durante a investigação, notou-se a formação da EIA atípica, que apresenta múltiplas estruturas. O número de dias, durante 2016, que mostraram EIA formada nos setores oeste, central e leste é de 248 (78,2%), 236 (74,4%) e 265 (83,6%), respectivamente. A EIA não formada é encontrada com maior frequência durante os meses de inverno, e o número de dias de 2016 em que isso ocorre nos setores oeste, central e leste foram 69 (21,8%), 81 (25,6%) e 52 (16,4%), respectivamente. As cristas da EIA mostraram variabilidade significativa na forma, na intensidade, na extensão e no tempo que permanecem formadas, entre os três setores, durante as diferentes estações do ano. Além disso, foram realizadas análises comparativas entre as variações da EIA obtidas por observações de GPS-TEC e pelo modelo IRI-2016 e os resultados são discutidos.Item Estudo do sistema ionosfera-termosfera durante eventos extremos de clima espacial (tempestades geomagnéticas), no decorrer da fase descendente do ciclo solar 24(2020-09-17) Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Tardelli, Alexandre; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Silva, Marlos Rockenbach da; Bolzan, Maurício José Alves; Ribeiro, Brunno Augusto Gomes; São José dos CamposO objetivo deste trabalho é estudar o acoplamento do sistema ionosfera-termosfera desde a região equatorial/baixas latitudes até além da crista da Anomalia Ionosférica Equatorial (Equatorial ionization anomaly – EIA) durante períodos geomagneticamente perturbados nos setores latino-americano e africano. O estudo será realizado no decurso da fase descendente do ciclo solar 24 com tempestades geomagnéticas que ocorreram entre 16 e 18 de janeiro de 2013 (moderada, índice Dst -53 nT), entre 22 e 24 de junho de 2015 (intensa, índice Dst -204 nT) e entre 27 e 29 de maio de 2017 (intensa, índice Dst -125 nT) e os principais aspectos que serão abordados e investigados são: a) Propagação (como velocidade e direção ) das TIDs (perturbações ionosféricas propagantes); b) Ocorrência de irregularidades de plasma do tipo Spread-F; c) Comportamento da EIA durante períodos perturbados; d) Perturbações ionosféricas positivas e negativas durante períodos perturbados; e) Acoplamento termosferaionosfera durante períodos perturbados; e f) Possíveis modificações no sistema termosferaionosfera devido ao dínamo perturbado e/ou PPEF (penetração rápida de campos elétricos). Os instrumentos que serão utilizados para investigação consistir em dados observacionais de GPS-TEC, ionossonda e fotômetro imageador all-sky.Item Estudo dos distúrbios ionosféricos no setor americano e africano em resposta a dois fortes eventos de aquecimento estratosférico súbito (SSW) para os anos 2017-2018 e 2018-2019(2022-08-25) Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Muella, Marcio Tadeu de Assis Honorato; Tardelli, Alexandre; Bolzan, Maurício José Alves; Silva, Marlos Rockenbach da; Vieira, Francisco; São José dos CamposO evento de aquecimento estratosférico súbito (SSW) se caracteriza por um forte aumento da temperatura estratosférica polar durante o inverno. Neste estudo, investiga-se a ionosfera durante os SSW2017-2018 e SSW2018-2019 sobre os setores latino-americano e africano. Utilizou-se VTEC, ROT (inferidos através de dados de GPS-TEC), foF2, h´F e Spread-F (obtidos através da análise de ionogramas). Foram utilizadas 88 estações de GPS-TEC, sendo 68 no setor americano e 20 estações no setor africano e 3 estações de ionossonda. Os dados analisados de GPS-TEC cobrem uma ampla faixa do globo terrestre que vai desde medias latitudes do hemisfério norte até medias latitudes do hemisfério sul no setor Americano e baixas latitudes do hemisfério norte até baixas latitudes do hemisfério sul no setor Africano. Os dados analisados de foF2, h´F e Spread-F foram observados no setor Americano (Araguatins, Jataí e São José dos Campos). O período de estudo compreende o período de dezembro a março (DOY 335 a DOY 90), invernoprimavera no hemisfério norte. Notou-se que a ionosfera apresenta uma variação dia-adia significativa antes, durante e depois dos SSWs. Porém o VTEC se intensificou durante o SSW2017-2018 e diminuiu durante o SSW2018-2019, tanto no setor americano como no setor africano. Durante o SSW2017-2018 o foF2 apresentou valores maiores, o h´F teve uma forte variação e o Spread-F uma diminuição na ocorrência em comparação com o período antes e posterior ao SSW. Por outro lado, durante o SSW2018-2019 notou-se uma forte diminuição do foF2, h´F e spread-F. É importante ressaltar que o ROT no setor africano foi fortemente suprimido em ambos os SSWs.Item Evidence of anti-correlation between sporadic (Es) layers occurrence and solar activity observed at low latitudes over the Brazilian sector(Elsevier) Fontes Neto, Pedro Alves; Muella, Marcio Tadeu de Assis Honorato; Resende, Laysa Cristina Araújo; Fagundes, Paulo RobertoSporadic E-layers (Es) are thin and denser layers with high ionization observed at about 100–140 km altitude in the E region. Their formation is mainly associated with the tidal components of the diurnal and semidiurnal winds with the convergence of ions driven by the wind shear mechanism. This present work shows evidence of the relationship between the occurrence of Es layers and the solar activity at two observatories located in the Brazilian sector, the near-equatorial site of Palmas (PAL, 10.17 S; 48.33 W; dip lat. 7.31 ) and the low latitude station of Sa ̃o Jose ́ dos Campos (SJC, 23.18 S; 45.89 W; dip lat. 19.35 ). The analysis was performed from Decem- ber/2008 to November/2009 (a period of low solar activity) and from December/2013 to November/2014 (a period of high solar activity) using data collected from two digital ionosondes. Our results show an anti-correlation of the Es layer occurrence concerning the solar activity over both stations studied here. A more clearly observed anti-correlation at the SJC station can be attributed to a greater tidal amplitude at low latitudes. Other relevant aspects of the observations associated with the formation of the Es layers are highlighted and discussed.Item Ground and satellite-based observations of ionospheric plasma bubbles and blobs at 5.65° latitude in the Brazilian sector(Elsevier) Agyei-Yeboah, Ebenezer; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Tardelli, Alexandre; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Pignalberi, Alessio; Kavutarapu, Venkatesh; Pezzopane, Michael; Vieira, FranciscoThis investigation uses simultaneous observations from all-sky imager system and an ionosonde collocated at Araguatins (5.65° S, 48.07° W and dip-latitude of 4.17° S), a near-equatorial region in Brazil. These simultaneous observations were used to investigate the occurrence of plasma bubbles and blobs in the field of the imaging system and their association with atypical range Spread-F signature in ionograms. Also, in-situ observation of plasma density from Swarm satellites were used to support the ground-based observations. Using a few cases, a methodology will be established to identify in the plasma blobs (atypical ESF) in the ionograms when there is the simultaneous observation of plasma bubbles and blobs in the field of view of the ionosonde. For this purpose, simultaneous sequence of OI 630.0 nm nightglow images and ionograms are presented for different case studies; 1. when there is the absence of a plasma bubble or blob, 2. when there is only the occurrence of plasma bubbles and 3. when there is the occurrence of plasma bubbles and blobs, in order to compare traces in the ionogram in all these case studies. With these we can cover all kinds of signatures in the ionograms corresponding to no irregularities, plasma bubbles only and plasma bubbles-blobs. These OI 630.0 nm nightglow and ionograms recorded simultaneously make it possible to establish a novel methodology to recognize in ionograms cases when there is the occurrence of Spread-F signature associated with bubble-blob in the FOV of the ionosonde.Item Ionospheric disturbances in a large area of the terrestrial globe by two strong solar flares of September 6, 2017, the strongest space weather events in the last decade(Elsevier) Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Pezzopane, Michael; Habarulema, John Bosco; Venkatesh, Karnam; Dias, Maukers Alem Lima; Tardelli, Alexandre; Abreu, Alessandro José de; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Pignalberi, Alessio; Bolzan, Maurício José Alves; Ribeiro, Brunno Augusto Gomes; Vieira, Francisco; Raulin, Jean-Pierre; Denardini, Clezio Marcos; Seemala, Gopi K.; Arcanjo, Mateus de OliveiraOn September 6, 2017, the solar active region AR 2673 emitted two solar flares: the first at 08:57 UT (X2.2) and the second at 11:53 UT (X9.3); both were powerful enough to black-out high and low frequency radio waves (where UT is universal time). The X9.3 was the strongest solar flare event in the past decade. In this study, we took the advantage of these two extreme flare events to investigate cor- responding effects on the ionosphere using multi-instrument observations from magnetometers, Global Positioning System – Total Elec- tron content (GPS-TEC) receivers, ionosondes and Swarm satellites over a large geographical extent covering South American, African and European sectors. During the X2.2 flare, European and African sectors were sunlit and during X9.3 European, African, and South American sectors were sunlit and exposed to the solar flare radiation. During the X2.2 flare, there was an ionosonde blackout for a dura- tion of about 45 min, while during the X9.3 flare this blackout lasted for 1 h and 30 min. The blackout are seen over a large global extent which demonstrates the severity of solar flare events in disrupting the radio communication. The horizontal component of Earth’s geo- magnetic field has shown ripples and enhancements during these flare events. The ionospheric Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) showed a positive phase along with an intensification of the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) over the South American and African sectors. The dynamical and physical processes associated with the TEC and EIA variabilities due to solar flare are discussed.Item Ionospheric disturbances over the American and African sectors due to the 2019 major Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW 2019), under low solar activity conditions(Elsevier) Vieira, Francisco; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Agyei-Yeboah, Ebenezer; Venkatesh, Kavutarapu; Arcanjo, Mateus de OliveiraSudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) is one of the most spectacular atmospheric large-scale phenomena, which takes place at high latitudes during winter months and is more frequent in the Arctic region than in the Antarctic region. SSWs can change the vertical, latitudinal, and longitudinal distributions of the neutral atmosphere and its dynamics, which in turn affects the ionospheric electrodynamic processes. Simultaneous inferred VTEC from GPS networks over the American and African sectors are used to investigate the ionospheric response due to the SSW 2019 from DOY 356 to DOY 20 (December 22, 2018–January 20, 2019). This study investigates the VTEC and EIA diurnal and day-to-day responses in the American and African sectors during the SSW. It is noted that the VTEC decreased on most of the days at several latitude regions. However, it is also noted that the VTEC increased on some days and in some latitude regions, particularly during the SSW temperature peak. The EIA exhibits significant changes in its shape, intensity, and symmetry during the SSW. This study using simultaneous observations over American and African sectors covering a large geographical extent demonstrates the similarities and differences in ionospheric response to the SSW 2019 event over different regions.Item Ionospheric GPS-TEC responses from equatorial region to the EIA crest in the South American sector under intense space weather conditions(Elsevier) Abreu, Alessandro José de; Correia, Emilia; Denardini, Clezio Marcos; Jesus, Rodolfo de; Venkatesh, Kavutarapu; Roberto, Marisa; Abalde, José Ricardo; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Bolzan, Maurício José Alves; Gende, Maurício AlfredoWe present and discuss the ionospheric F-region observations from equator to the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) regions over the South American sector during an intense space weather event occurred between 27 and May 29, 2017. During this geomagnetic storm, the symmetric-H (SYM-H) reached a minimum of − 142 nT at ~0700 UT on May 28, 2017. For this investigation, we analyze the vertical total electron content (VTEC) observations from a chain of nearly 120 Global Positioning System (GPS) stations. Magnetometer measurements obtained at two stations in the low latitude regions are also presented. The observations do not indicate prompt penetration electric field (PPEF) effects in the VTEC variations. Magnetometer’s observations over Cuiaba ´ (CBA) and Cachoeira Paulista (CXP) in central west and south parts of Brazil, respectively, have shown a strong crosscorrelation with SYM-H in the period between 3 and 48 h. The results also show positive ionospheric storm phase during the recovery phase on May 28, 2017. Positive effect during the recovery phase of the geomagnetic storm is possibly associated with effects of disturbances winds. During the recovery phase, a strong intensification of the EIA took place, possibly related to an additional ionization effect. The VTEC values show differences between the west and east sectors. This indicates that the EIA crest is stronger in the east sector than in the west sector, possibly due to the combination of disturbance wind effects and geomagnetic field geometry where in the east sector the field lines are more inclined.Item Ionospheric storm due to solar Coronal mass ejection in September 2017 over the Brazilian and African longitudes(Elsevier) Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Tsali-Brown, Vera Yesutor; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Arcanjo, Mateus de Oliveira; Venkatesh, Kavutarapu; Habarulema, John Bosco; Bolzan, Maurício José Alves; Jesusm Rodolfo F. de; Abreu, Alessandro José de; Tardelli, Alexandre; Vieira, Francisco; Denardini, Clezio MarcosCoronal mass ejection (CME) occurs when there is an abrupt release of a large amount of solar plasma, and this cloud of plasma released by the Sun has an intrinsic magnetic field. In addition, CMEs often follow solar flares (SF). The CME cloud travels outward from the Sun to the interplanetary medium and eventually hits the Earth’s system. One of the most significant aspects of space weather is the ionospheric response due to SF or CME. The direction of the interplanetary magnetic field, solar wind speed, and the number of particles are relevant parameters of the CME when it hits the Earth’s system. A geomagnetic storm is most geo-efficient when the plasma cloud has an interplanetary magnetic field southward and it is accompanied by an increase in the solar wind speed and particle number density. We investigated the ionospheric response (F-region) in the Brazilian and African sectors during a geomagnetic storm event on September 07–10, 2017, using magnetometer and GPS-TEC networks data. Positive ionospheric disturbances are observed in the VTEC during the disturbed period (September 07–08, 2017) over the Brazilian and African sectors. Also, two latitudinal chains of GPS-TEC stations from the equatorial region to low latitudes in the East and West Brazilian sectors and another chain in the East African sector are used to investigate the storm time behavior of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). We noted that the EIA was disturbed in the American and African sectors during the main phase of the geomagnetic storm. Also, the Brazilian sector was more disturbed than the African sector.Item Longitudinal variations of the occurrence of F3 and F4 layers within the southern EIA and their dependence on solar cycle(Elsevier) Tardelli, Alexandre; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Pezzopane, Michael; Pillat, Valdir GilThis investigation presents for the first time the seasonal and solar cycle variations of the daytime F-layer multiple stratifications (F3 and F4 layers) near the southern crest of the EIA in two different longitudinal sectors of South America. To perform the study, the ionograms recorded from 2007 to 2015 at Sao Jose´ dos Campos (23.2 S, 45.9 W), Brazil (eastern sector), and at Tucuma´n (26.9 S, 65.4 W), Argentina (western sector), are considered. Both sites present a frequency of occurrence of the F3 and F4 layers which is directly proportional to the solar activity, and an annual variation with a maximum in spring/summer and a minimum in autumn/winter. The main result that came out from the analysis is that the frequency of occurrence of the F3 and F4 layers is higher in the western sector than in the eastern sector, and this could be attributed to a different gravity waves activity characterizing the two longitudinal sectors. 2021 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Item Morphological Features of Ionospheric Scintillations During High Solar Activity Using GPS Observations Over the South American Sector(Advancing Earth and Space Sciences) Jesus, Rodolfo de; Batista, Inez Staciarini; Takahashi, Hisao; Barros, Diego; Figueiredo, Cosme Alexandre Oliveira Barros; Abreu, Alessandro José de; Jonah, Olusegun Folarin; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Venkatesh, KarnamThe main objective of this study is to investigate the ionospheric irregularities observed by Global Positioning System‐total electron content (GPS‐TEC) receivers during the high solar activity years of 2013 and 2014 at different stations in the equatorial and low‐latitude regions in the South American sector. The ionospheric parameters used in this investigation are the TEC, the rate of change of the TEC index (ROTI), and the amplitude scintillation index (S4). In the South American sector, the ROTI and S4 indices showed that the ionospheric irregularities have an annual variation with maximum occurrence from September to April, between 20:00 LT and 02:00 LT, and no occurrence from May to August. Also, strong phase fluctuations (ROTI >1) are observed over South America at 19 LT in October and November. Morlet wavelet analysis of ROTI and S4 showed that planetary wave‐scale periods ranging from 2 to 8 days are predominant during September–March at 20–02 LT in South America. In addition, using a keogram it was possible to evaluate the distance between adjacent ionospheric plasma depletions, and this result is presented and discussed. The longitudinal distances between adjacent bubbles vary around ~600–1000 km, which is larger than values reported in most previous studies.Item Multi-instrument study of various aspects of equatorialionospheric irregularities over American and African sectors(2022-08-02) Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Ojeda González, Arian; Silva, Igo Paulino; Batista, Inez Staciarini; Agyei-Yeboah, Ebenezer; Tardelli, Alexandre; São José dos CamposThis thesis is devoted to the study of ionospheric irregularities observed over Brazil and Africa using different instruments and observational techniques. First, the occurrence of ionospheric irregularities like plasma bubbles, blobs, and Spread-F (typical and atypical have been investigated using all-sky imaging systems and ionosondes located at Araguatins, Jataí, and São José dos Campos. Afterward, GPS-TEC data from 33 receiver stations located in different parts of Brazil and Africa were used in the investigation of ROT (rate of TEC change) phase fluctuations during the Antarctic Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW). Electron density measurements from the Swarm constellation have also been employed to aid in the analysis and discussion of some of the results obtained from ionosonde and ASI. The thesis focuses on two main studies. One study was dedicated to exploring the observation of the simultaneous occurrence of ionospheric plasma bubbles and blobs using an all-sky imaging system and the observation of atypical Spread-F on ionograms. Based on these observations, a novel methodology is proposed for the observation and studies of ionospheric plasma blobs using ionosondes. The proposed methodology employed a colocated all-sky imager and ionosonde at Araguatins to observe simultaneously occurring plasma bubbles and blobs and then the corresponding ionograms were analyzed. The characteristics of the echoes on the ionograms were compared with the observations from the OI 630 nm nightglow images from the all-sky imager for when there were no irregularities and when bubbles and/or blobs were present. The results showed that in the presence of bubbles and blobs, Spread-Fs with high-frequency echoes were drawn on the ionograms at almost the same time as the images were taken. The results also showed that the generation of plasma blobs could be influenced by the development of bubbles and that the equatorial ionization anomaly may play a major role in their development. The other focus of the thesis is the study of the effects of the 2019 minor Antarctic SSW event on the generation/suppression of ionospheric irregularities. The critical frequency obtained from the three ionosonde stations at Araguatins, Jataí, and São José dos Campos was used to monitor the ionospheric irregularities during the different phases of the SSW event. Spread-F (Brazil) and ROT phase fluctuations (Brazil, Africa) occurrence at different latitudes during different phases of the event were analyzed. Irregularity occurrence from a similar period in 2018 when no SSW event was recorded in the Antarctic region was also analyzed. The results showed a general decrease in occurrence rates during the peak phase of the event compared to the other phases in 2019. The results also showed a decrease in occurrence rate from the peak phase in 2018 (no SSW) to the peak phase in 2019 (SSW).Item New Findings of the Sporadic E (Es) Layer Development Around the Magnetic Equator During a High-Speed Solar (HSS) Wind Stream Event(Advancing Earth and Space Sciences) Resende, Laysa Cristina Araújo; Zhu, Y.; Denardini, Clezio Marcos; Batista, Inez Staciarini; Shi, Jiankui; Moro, Juliano; Chen, Sony Su; Santos, Fredson Conceição; Silva, Ligia Alves da; Andrioli, Vania Fatima; Muella, Marcio Tadeu de Assis Honorato; Fagundes, Paulo Roberto; Carrasco, Alexander Jose; Pillat, Valdir Gil; Wang, Chi; Liu, Z.The equatorial (Esq) and blanketing (Esb) sporadic (Es) layers occur due to the EquatorialElectrojet Current (EEJ) plasma instabilities and tidal wind components, respectively. Both Esq and Esb layers can appear concurrently over some Brazilian equatorial regions due to the peculiar geomagnetic field configuration in this sector. Previous works indicate that the inclination angle limit for the Esq occurrence in ionograms is 7°. However, we found evidence that regions more distant can also experience such equatorial dynamics during disturbed periods. In this context, we deeply investigated this EEJ influence expansion effect by analyzing the Esq layers in regions not so close to the magnetic equator during a high-speed solar wind stream event that occurred on May 05 and 06, 2018. To explain these atypical Esq layer occurrences, we considered the Es layer parameters obtained from digital ionosondes over the Brazilian regions, São Luís (dip: 9.5°), and Araguatins (dip: 10.5°). We use magnetometer data and a model named MIRE (E Region Ionospheric Model) to validate this mechanism. The results show that the eastward electric field of the Gradient Drift instability in the EEJ is effective during the magnetic storm main phase in the boundary equatorial magnetic sites, creating the Es q layers. Thus, the EEJ plasma irregularity superimposes the wind shear mechanism, changing the Es layer dynamics during disturbed periods over the magnetic equator boundary sites. Therefore, this work establishes new findings of the EEJ influence expansion dynamics in the Es layer formation over the Brazilian regions, which was considered in MIRE for the first time.