Occurrence of pre-sunset L-band scintillation due to strong presence of sporadic-E over Arabian Peninsula

Shaikh, Muhammad Mubasshir; Fernini, Ilias; Gopakumar, Govardan; Alameri, N.M.

doi:10.1016/j.asr.2020.02.011

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…It may be attributed to the winter anomaly [14], where the ionization level during the winter season is higher than that of the summer season. This feature was previously reported in [8], [9], and during the winter solstices of the last solar cycle minimum in an equatorial location [10]. It is important to note that, unlike previous works, no enhancement of S4 was observed during the post-sunset to midnight (17-24 LT) period [7], [10].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

“…The study region is the Arabian Peninsula (25.2827°N, 55.4621°E), which falls under the northern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly. The presence of pre-sunset scintillation for the Arabian peninsula region has been previously highlighted in [8], [9]. This is a feature that has previously been only observed in equatorial regions [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

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Mapping of S4 Over the Arabian Peninsula During Solar Minimum

Darya

Shaikh

Fernini

et al. 2022

IEEE Geosci. Remote Sensing Lett.

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In this letter, we study the temporal and spatial variability of ionospheric irregularities by generating high-resolution maps of the observed amplitude scintillation index (S4) using data from a multi-constellation and multi-frequency GNSS receiver. The study region is the Arabian Peninsula, which falls under the northern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). Even though the study was conducted during a solar minimum period, considerable occurrences of pre-sunset scintillation have been observed between 15-17 local time, particularly during the winter solstices. While most scintillation occurrences have been observed at low elevation (15 to 30 degrees), a considerable number of scintillation patches have been observed towards the north, east, and southeast of the receiver location, for elevation angles ranging from 40 to 60 degrees. Our analysis shows that BeiDou geostationary orbit (GEO) and inclined GEO (IGSO) satellites may have been the main contributor to the increased number of scintillation occurrences observed around the eastern side of the receiver as compared to the western side. Out of all the GNSS constellations with MEO satellites, GPS was the most impacted by amplitude scintillation, while BeiDou and Galileo satellites were the least affected. It is anticipated that the patches of ionospheric irregularities reported in this work would be further enhanced as the solar activity increases in the coming years. Therefore, this work can serve as a reference for future studies during periods of increased geomagnetic activity.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Mapping of S4 Over the Arabian Peninsula During Solar Minimum

Darya

Shaikh

Fernini

et al. 2022

IEEE Geosci. Remote Sensing Lett.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Mapping of S4 Over the Arabian Peninsula During Solar Minimum

Darya¹,

Shaikh²,

Fernini³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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<p>In this letter, we study the temporal and spatial variability of ionospheric irregularities by generating high-resolution maps of the observed amplitude scintillation index (S4) using data from a multi-constellation and multi-frequency GNSS receiver. The study is located in the Arabian Peninsula region, which falls under the northern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). Even though the study was conducted during a solar minimum period, considerable pre-sunset scintillation occurrences have been observed between 15-17 local time, particularly during the winter solstices. While most scintillation occurrences have been observed at low elevation (20 to 25 degrees), a considerable number of scintillation causing ionospheric irregularities have been observed towards the north, east, and southeast of the receiver location, for elevation ranging from 40 to 60 degrees. Out of all the GNSS constellations with medium-earth-orbit (MEO) satellites, GPS was the most impacted by amplitude scintillation, while BeiDou and Galileo satellites were the least affected. It is anticipated that the patches of ionospheric irregularities reported in this work will be further enhanced as solar activity increases in the coming years. Therefore, this work can serve as a reference for future studies during periods of increased geomagnetic activity.</p>

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“…Sporadic E (Es) layer is known as a narrow layer with dense electron density, which can occasionally occur in the E region ionosphere and severely interfere with long‐distance radio communications (e.g., Chris et al., 2020; Shaikh et al., 2020; Yue et al., 2016). The observations and theoretical explanations of the characteristics of the Es layers have always been very important for space weather and navigation communication (e.g., Arras et al., 2008; Chu et al., 2014; Haldoupis, 2011; Maeda & Heki, 2015; Qiu et al., 2019, 2021; Sun et al., 2018, 2021; Wang et al., 2021; Whitehead, 1960; Wu et al., 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altitudinal and Latitudinal Variations in Ionospheric Sporadic‐E Layer Obtained From FORMOSAT‐3/COSMIC Radio Occultation

Qiu

Yan

et al. 2021

JGR Space Physics

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Sporadic E (Es) layers are known for their layered structures with enhanced electron density. Recently, some scientists have studied the relationship between the occurrence rate and intensity of the Es layer in the global distribution. However, the relationship between the Es layer parameters (Es layer occurrence rate, Es layer intensity, Es layer thickness) in the vertical direction seems to be ignored to date. This paper highlights the vertical profiles of the occurrence rate, intensity, and thickness of the Es layers by using scintillation index (S4) from FORMOSAT‐3/COSMIC satellites from July 2007 to March 2015. The results show that there are some persistent differences between the occurrence rate, intensity, and thickness of the Es layers in the vertical profiles, which is different from their general similarity in the latitude distribution. It is found that the Es layer occurrence rate has a maximum value at ∼102 km altitude, but the Es layer intensity and Es layer thickness reach their maximum at an altitude of ∼110 km. Besides, the intensity and thickness of the Es layer exhibit a high linear relationship, which suggests that the larger electron density of the Es layer, the thicker its thickness. The Horizontal Wind Model (HWM14) indicates that the latitudinal variations in Es layers parameters are highly coincident with the zonal wind shear. However, the altitudinal variations in Es layers parameters do not agree well with the zonal wind shear.

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Occurrence of pre-sunset L-band scintillation due to strong presence of sporadic-E over Arabian Peninsula

Cited by 10 publications

References 39 publications

Mapping of S4 Over the Arabian Peninsula During Solar Minimum

Mapping of S4 Over the Arabian Peninsula During Solar Minimum

Mapping of S4 Over the Arabian Peninsula During Solar Minimum

Altitudinal and Latitudinal Variations in Ionospheric Sporadic‐E Layer Obtained From FORMOSAT‐3/COSMIC Radio Occultation

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