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Wave Steepening in Ionospheric Total Electron Density due to the 21 August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse
Author(s) -
Sun YangYi,
Shen Mitchell M.,
Tsai YuLin,
Lin ChiYen,
Chou MinYang,
Yu Tao,
Lin Kai,
Huang Qian,
Wang Jin,
Qiu Lihui,
Chen ChiehHung,
Liu JannYenq
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2020ja028931
Subject(s) - tec , total electron content , ionosphere , geology , solar eclipse , amplitude , wavelength , shadow (psychology) , supersonic speed , geophysics , physics , meteorology , geodesy , atmospheric sciences , optics , astronomy , mechanics , psychology , psychotherapist
This study shows that a supersonic moon shadow of a total solar eclipse can steepen the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) wave on August 21, 2017. A data‐adaptive method named Hilbert‐Huang transform is employed to examine the nonlinear and non‐stationary evolution of the waves. The results show that the TEC wave behaves as a traveling ionospheric disturbance before the totality appearance, turns later into steepening, and breaks eventually. A TEC wave with a period of ∼40 min and wavelength of ∼1,000 km propagates mainly in an east‐southward direction before the totality appearance. The wave amplitude and scales, respectively, increases and reduce by near ∼50% as the moon shadow approaches the western coast of the continental United States. The short‐period TEC waves (period ∼2 min) reveal that the wave may break eventually when the wave gets steeper. The steepness of the TEC wave is reconstructed according to the constructive interference.