TEC

About: TEC is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5119 publications have been published within this topic receiving 84696 citations.

Investigation of ionospheric TEC precursors related to the M7.8 Nepal and M8.3 Chile earthquakes in 2015 based on spectral and statistical analysis

Abstract: Ionospheric total electron content (TEC) variations prior to 2 large earthquakes in Nepal (M = 7.8) and Chile (M = 8.3) in 2015 were analyzed using measurements from global navigation satellite system network with the aim to detect possible ionospheric anomalies associated to these seismic events and describe their main features, by applying statistical and spectral analysis. It was shown that abnormal TEC variations appeared few days up to few hours before the events lasting up to 8 h, whereas intensified TEC wave-like oscillations with periods 20 and 2–5 min were also identified that could be linked to the impending earthquakes. An unusual modification of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly 5 days before the main shock was also detected. Spectral analysis on TEC satellite measurements proved an effective method for the discrimination between seismically induced ionospheric waves and those of different origin such as the solar terminator transition and geomagnetic storms.

Neutral composition effects on ionospheric storms at middle and low latitudes

Abstract: [1] The two-dimensional structure of thermospheric neutral composition, specifically, the atomic oxygen to molecular nitrogen column density ratio, [O/N2], is studied during the 17–24 April 2002 geomagnetic storms to understand the cause of ionospheric storms in regions equatorward of the auroral oval on an instantaneous large scale. The [O/N2] ratio is derived from the dayglow emission ratio of O I 1356 A to N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (1600–1800 A) acquired from the Polar ultraviolet imager (UVI) and the total electron content (TEC), which is used to infer ionospheric storms, is derived from the phase delays of dual-band global positioning satellite (GPS) accumulated around the globe. It is found that the regions of decreasing [O/N2] generally coincided with the regions of depleted TEC during and after the development of the storms. This is consistent with previous theoretical and experimental analysis in which composition changes play a major role in the negative ionospheric storm effects. At lower latitudes, long-lived positive storm effects predicted by empirical and general circulation models were not observed. In fact, there was no noticeable change in [O/N2]. The TEC data also showed no noticeable change, except a few “short-lived,” localized positive TEC perturbations. For this particular event, the equatorward expansion of the decreased [O/N2] at the onset of the first storms was estimated to be more than 600 m/s, much faster than the typical thermospheric wind, and reached ∼30°N in 2 hours much equatorward (>25° MLAT) beyond the auroral electrojets. This result suggests that midlatitude (negative) ionospheric storms are caused by direct equatorward penetration of a reduced thermospheric [O/N2], at least during the first few hours of storms.

Two-mode ionospheric response and Rayleigh wave group velocity distribution reckoned from GPS measurement following Mw 7.8 Nepal earthquake on 25 April 2015

Abstract: The coseismic-induced ionospheric total electron content (TEC) perturbations were analyzed following the Mw 7.8 Nepal earthquake (28.147°N, 84.708°E; depth ~15 km) that occurred on 25 April 2015 at 06:11:26 UTC. The ionospheric response is due to both the modes, i.e., shock acoustic waves (slow mode) and Rayleigh wave induced (fast mode). The continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) data at about 60 sites from various GPS networks have been used in the present study. All the sites within epicentral distance of ~2400 km and 70°–170° azimuth recorded the Rayleigh wave-induced TEC response, while the sites within ~400–2200 km in the same azimuth recorded the response from both the modes. The maximum coseismic-induced peak-to-peak TEC amplitude is ~1.2 total electron content unit, 1 TECU = 1016 el m−2. From Hodochron plot, the apparent Rayleigh wave velocity has been determined as ~2400 m/s on the average and the acoustic wave velocity as 1180 m/s, both these waves being discernible beyond ~1200 km of epicentral distance as also evident from Hodochron plot and wavelet spectrographs. We reckoned the Rayleigh wave group velocities using ionospheric response at selected radial pairs of stations and validated. The ionospheric response distribution seen mainly depending on the epicentral distance, satellite geometry, directivity of radiation pattern, and the upper crustal heterogeneity. This study highlights the characteristics of ionospheric response consequent to the 2015 Nepal earthquake.