Magnetic storm associated enhanced particle precipitation in the South Atlantic Anomaly: Evidence from VLF phase measurements

Phase recordings at Atibaia, Brazil (23°S, 46°W), of 13.6 ‐kHz signal transmitted from Golfo Nuevo, Argentina (43°S, 65°W), a trajectory confined almost completely within the South Atlantic anomaly region, show significant perturbations, indicative of the lowering of the VLF reflection level, following the onset of magnetic disturbances. Simultaneous measurements of the E s layer parameters f t E s and f b E s over Cachoeira Paulista (22°S, 45°W) also show enhancements, with some delay with respect to the magnetic disturbance onset, as was found in our earlier work (Batista and Abdu, 1977). These results show magnetic storm associated ionization enhancements taking place in a height region from approximately 110 km down to 70 km, which we interpret as having been produced by precipitation of high‐energy charged particles in the South Atlantic magnetic anomaly. The results also suggest some degree of day to day variability in the abundance of metallic species and/or in the dynamics of the E region over this region.