Night-time F-region and daytime E-region ionospheric drifts measured at Udaipur during solar flares

B. M. Vyas (1) , R. Pandey (1)

1 Department of Physics

Ionospheric drifts measured at a low latitude station, Udaipur (Geomag. Lat. 14.5° N), in the night-time F-region and daytime E-region during solar flares have been studied. The night-time observations, which correspond to the F-region drifts, were carried out on five different nights. The daytime observation corresponding to the E-region drifts is only for one day. It is found that the apparent drift during the solar flare period is reduced considerably, in the daytime E-region as well as in the night-time F-region. The East-West and North-South components of the apparent drift speed are also similarly affected. For the daytime E-region drifts during a flare, increased ionization and subsequent reduction of reflection height is proposed to be the cause of reduced drift speeds. For the night-time F-region drifts, a reduced electric field at the F-region heights resulting from coupling of sunlit and dark hemispheres has been proposed to be the possible cause.

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère; Sciences de la Terre

B. M. Vyas, R. Pandey. Night-time F-region and daytime E-region ionospheric drifts measured at Udaipur during solar flares. Annales Geophysicae, 2002, 20 (11), pp.1837-1842. ⟨hal-00317389⟩