Equatorial Ionization anomaly disturbances (EIA) triggered by the May 2024 solar Coronal Mass Ejection (CME): The strongest geomagnetic superstorm in the last two decades

Between May 10–15, 2024, a geomagnetic superstorm, the most intense in the past two decades, was recorded. This G5-level super- storm exhibited a Disturbance Storm Time (Dst) index of −412 nT and a Kp index of 9. The sudden storm commencement (SSC) occurred on May 10 at 17:05 UT, followed by the main phase from 18:00 UT on May 10 to 03:00 UT on May 11. The recovery phase lasted from 03:00 UT on May 11 until May 15. During this period, nine X-class solar flares were observed, indicating intense solar activ- ity. The superstorm led to significant ionospheric disturbances, which were analyzed using data from two ionosonde stations and GPS- TEC data from a network across the American sector, covering equatorial to low-mid latitude regions. A negative storm effect was observed in the equatorial region, while a positive ionospheric effect was observed in the low-mid latitudes during the main phase, accom- panied by the uplift of the F-layer to altitudes exceeding 1024 km, driven by storm induced prompt penetration electric fields. Addition- ally, a strong negative storm effect was recorded during the recovery phase on May 11 in daytime, probably due to O/N2 ratio changes.