Open AccessSeasonal and solar cycle association of zonal drifts of ionospheric plasma irregularities in the Indian equatorial region
Author(s) -
B. M. Pathan,
D. R. K. Rao
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
annales geophysicae
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.522
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1432-0576
pISSN - 0992-7689
DOI - 10.1007/s00585-996-0297-y
Subject(s) - ionosphere , earth's magnetic field , equator , magnetic dip , solar cycle , f region , atmospheric sciences , geology , sunspot , solar minimum , daytime , climatology , interplanetary scintillation , geophysics , geodesy , plasma , latitude , physics , solar wind , magnetic field , quantum mechanics , coronal mass ejection
Long series of simultaneous VHF scintillation\udobservations at two stations situated in near magnetic east-west direction in\udthe vicinity of the dip equator in the Indian region have been employed to\udinvestigate the night-time ionospheric plasma zonal drifts. The drifts are found\udto be predominantly easterly. On comparing the magnitudes of the drifts with\udthose results derived earlier by HF fading technique, monitoring signals from\udtwo satellites at a station and spaced receiver experiment, their associations\udwith the season and the degree of solar activity are discussed. On a broader\udscale, the annual mean sunspot number is shown to have a direct control on the\udderived drift, the positive relationship even on day to day basis with the solar\udflux is established. However, the relationship, as understood by the slope of\udthe best fit line, in the Indian region (0.27) is found to be weaker when\udcompared with the similar slope (0.45) in the American sector. There appears to\udbe no geomagnetic activity control on the estimated drifts