VLF Measurements and Modeling of the D-Region Response to the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

Abstract

In this paper, we report measurements in Colorado and Utah of the disturbed very-low-frequency (VLF) signals from the NML Navy transmitter in North Dakota during the 2017 solar eclipse. Using an occultation mask of solar fluxes together with detailed chemistry and VLF propagation simulations, we quantify the D-region response to the eclipse, in terms of electron density variation, as well as the expected signatures of VLF transmitter signals. The VLF measurements, including an anomalous amplitude enhancement recorded in UT, can be quantitatively explained using the Wait and Spies ionospheric profile with a sharpness parameter of β = 0.3 km −1 above ∼55 km and an increase in the D-region ionosphere height of h 8 km. This sharpness parameter is consistent with previously reported rocket measurements and first-principles calculations. The best-fit results suggest a reduction of D-region electron density by ∼90% during the eclipse in the D-region, implying an occultation of Lyman-α by nearly 99%. This finding agrees with detailed calculations of time-dependent obscuration factors utilizing the He 30.4-nm images from Solar Dynamics Observatory as a proxy for the distribution of Lyman-α across the solar disk and limb. Moreover, the present results show that subionospheric VLF propagation is sensitive to the sharpness parameter of the electron density profile in the D-region. Previously reported first-principles simulations have shown that the sharpness parameter is mostly controlled by the background concentration of minor neutral species. Thus, the VLF technique can be likely used to remotely sense these neutral species at and below the effective reflection altitudes of VLF waves. IndexTerms-D-region ionosphere, earth-ionosphere waveguide, finite-difference frequency domain (FDFD), ionosphere, ionosphere chemistry, Lyman-α radiation, solar eclipse, subionospheric very-low-frequency (VLF) remote sensing, transmitter, VLF. Manuscript

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