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Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling

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A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Atmospheric Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2024) | Viewed by 14182

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yang-Yi Sun

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Guest Editor

Institute of Geophysics and Geomatics, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: troposphere-ionosphere coupling; magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling; lithospheric disturbance; nonlinear analysis

Dr. Min-Yang Chou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

1. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
2. Department of Physics, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA
Interests: ionosphere; space weather; ionospheric disturbances; irregularities; GNSS RO; gravity waves

Dr. Chia-Hung Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Earth Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 701401, Taiwan
Interests: data assimilation; ionospheric physics; GNSS system; space weather

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Activities from solar (above) and surface (below) seriously impact the Earth's atmosphere and the near-Earth space environment. The interactions of different spheres, including lithosphere, atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere, are complex, making it challenging to investigate the origin, propagation, and evolution of waves, currents, and dynamics in the Earth's system to remain challenging.

The advance of remote sensing and in situ observations of satellites and ground-based instruments collected the evidence from the Earth's spheres, which establishes the connection between nature and human beings. On the other hand, numerical simulations enable the understanding of the complex coupling processes in Earth's lithosphere, atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere.

The Special Issue anticipates studies that include but is not limited to the observation and simulation of weathers phenomena in the thermosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere; the impact of tropospheric, seismic, volcanic, and tsunami disturbances on the upper atmosphere; the satellite and ground-based multi-parameter observations, detections, and validations; as well as cross-disciplinary studies, in theory, modeling, and laboratory experiments for better understanding on the coupling of the lithosphere, atmosphere, and space.

Prof. Dr. Yang-Yi Sun
Dr. Min-Yang Chou
Dr. Chia-Hung Chen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

spheres coupling
ionospheric and thermospheric weather
magnetosphere-ionosphere interaction
tropospheric activity
lithospheric activity

Published Papers (11 papers)

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19 pages, 14368 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Sub-Hourly Variations of Wind Shear in the Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere as Observed by the China Meteor Radar Chain

by Chi Long, Tao Yu, Jian Zhang, Xiangxiang Yan, Na Yang, Jin Wang, Chunliang Xia, Yu Liang and Hailun Ye

Remote Sens. 2024, 16(7), 1291; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16071291 - 06 Apr 2024

Viewed by 381

Abstract

Wind shear has important implications for Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) and gravity waves (GWs) in the mesosphere–lower thermosphere (MLT) region where its momentum transport process is dominated by short-period (<1 h) GWs. However, the sub-hourly variation in wind shear is still not well quantified. This study aims to improve current understanding of vertical wind shear by analyzing multi-year meteor radar measurements at the Mohe (MH, 53.5°N, 122.3°E), Beijing (BJ, 40.3

° N

, 116.2

° E

), Wuhan (WH, 30.5

° N

, 114.6

° E

), and Fuke (FK, 19.5°N, 109.1°E) stations in China. The wind field is estimated by a new algorithm, e.g., the damped least squares fitting. Taking the wind shear estimated by normal products as a criterion, the shear produced by the new algorithm has more statistical convergence as compared to the traditional algorithm, e.g., the least squares fitting. Therefore, we argue that the 10 min DLSA wind probably produces a more reasonable vertical shear. Both intensive wind shears and GW kinetic energy can be simultaneously captured during the 0600–1600 UTs of May at MH and during the 1300–2400 UTs of March at FK, possibly implying that the up-propagation of GWs could contribute to the production of large wind shears. The sub-hourly variation in wind shears is potentially valuable for understanding the interrelationship between shear (or KHI) and GWs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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13 pages, 11868 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Comparison of the Heights of Sporadic E Layers and Vertical Ion Convergence Parameters

by Yan Yu, Tao Yu, Lihui Qiu, Xiangxiang Yan, Jin Wang, Yu Liang, Shuo Liu and Yifan Qi

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(24), 5674; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15245674 - 08 Dec 2023

Viewed by 825

Abstract

Sporadic E (Es) layers are thin layers of enhanced electron density that commonly appear at altitudes of 90–130 km, often impacting radio communications and navigation systems. The wind shear theory posits that the vertical ion drift, influenced by atmospheric neutral winds and the magnetic field, serves as a significant dynamic driver for the formation and movement of Es layers. In current studies, both the heights of ion vertical velocity null (IVN) and the maximum vertical ion convergence (VICmax) have been proposed as the potential height of Es layer occurrence. In this study, utilizing the neutral atmospheric wind data derived from the WACCM-X (The Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere extension), we computed and compared these two parameters with the observed Es layer heights recorded by the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (FORMOsa SATellite-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate) radio occultation (RO) observations. The comparative analysis suggests that IVN is a more likely node for Es layer occurrence than VICmax. Subsequently, we examined the height–time distributions of IVN and Es layers, as well as their respective descent rates at different latitudes. These results demonstrated a notable agreement in height variations between IVN and Es layers. The collective results presented in this paper provide strong support that the ion vertical velocity null plays a crucial role in determining the height of Es layers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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Graphical abstract

12 pages, 4113 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Driving Source of Change for Ionosphere before Large Earthquake -Vertical Ground Motion-

by Chia-Hung Chen, Koichiro Oyama, Hau-Kun Jhuang and Uma Das

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(18), 4556; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15184556 - 16 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 871

Abstract

This paper discusses the relationship between the vertical ground motion and ionospheric disturbances before the Kumamoto earthquake on 16 April 2016, in Kyushu, Japan, using the vertical ground motion measured by slant gauges widely distributed in Kyushu, and the NmF2 observed by ionosondes in Japan and another region. We provide evidence that vertical ground motion excites internal gravity waves (IGWs) that disturb changes in the ionospheric plasma density. From the spectral analysis results of the vertical ground motion data, the summation of various period (frequency) components analyzed from the original data of the slant gauge shows a possible correlation with the change of NmF2 before the earthquake. On the other hand, the influence of the geomagnetic disturbance on vertical ground motion seems to exist. However, we cannot confirm that vertical ground motion is influenced by the geomagnetic disturbance (Kp index) and that the earthquake is triggered by the geomagnetic disturbance. There are two conditions for the vertical ground motion to disturb variations in the ionospheric plasma density: (1) The effective vertical ground motion period should be shorter than 5 h. In addition, (2) vertical ground motion should continue to exist so that wave energy can be continuously injected into the atmosphere. A possible mechanism with which to modify the ionosphere is discussed. The results of this study can provide a basis for the future ionospheric precursors of earthquakes by using the vertical ground motion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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10 pages, 822 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Numerical Solution of the Atmospheric Perturbations Triggered by Persistent Lithospheric Vibrations

by Kai Lin, Zhiqiang Mao, Ziniu Xu, Lei Dong, Xuemin Zhang, Yongxin Gao and Chieh-Hung Chen

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(13), 3336; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15133336 - 29 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 832

Abstract

Recently, atmospheric perturbations residing over around epicenters of forthcoming earthquakes were remotely sensed by the multiple instruments of the MVP-LAI (Monitoring of Vibrations and Perturbations in Lithosphere, Atmosphere and Ionosphere) system. In this study, we found another way and proposed a theory for the evolution of the perturbations in the atmosphere from the aspect of numerical simulation. We started from the fundamental hydromechanics equations for the perturbations based on the atmospheric dynamics in the cylindrical symmetric coordinate to solve their analytical solution. The solution shows that a persistent vibration at the bottom of the cylindrical symmetric coordinate tends to decay exponentially with along altitude. In other words, a persistent ground vibration in a wide area can rapidly evolve into small-scale perturbations in the atmosphere. The preliminary theoretical model in this study shows the kernel concept for the coupling of geospheres. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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9 pages, 1224 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Monitoring Seismo-TEC Perturbations Utilizing the Beidou Geostationary Satellites

by Fei Wang, Xuemin Zhang, Lei Dong, Jing Liu, Zhiqiang Mao, Kai Lin and Chieh-Hung Chen

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(10), 2608; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15102608 - 17 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1058

Abstract

Electromagnetic signals transmitted from the Beidou geostationary satellites can be utilized to monitor changes in ionospheric total electron contents (TECs) at motionless ionospheric pierce points (IPPs) over the Earth’s surface 24 h a day. The TEC perturbations at close IPPs detected via distinct horizontal azimuths and elevation angles can be examined by utilizing different measuring geometries formed by the selected geostationary satellites and ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations. The M6.9 Menyuan earthquake occurred in northwest China on 7 January 2022. We collected TEC perturbations associated with the Menyuan earthquake at those motionless IPPs to examine the capability of the TEC measurements utilizing distinct horizontal azimuths and elevation angles. The experimental results show that the TEC perturbations associated with the earthquake traveled away from the area around the epicenter with velocities of ~800 m/s and ~1000 m/s in the ionosphere. The traveling TEC perturbations were consistently observed in different geometries. Such novel results show that the pronounced TEC perturbations can be obtained once the satellite hanging high over the Earth’s surface in front of the traveling TEC perturbations is selected. This study shows that geostationary satellites provide an excellent opportunity to conduct experiments on the advantage of the TEC observation technology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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16 pages, 10668 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceCommunication

Ionospheric Response to the 6 February 2023 Turkey–Syria Earthquake

by Artem Vesnin, Yury Yasyukevich, Natalia Perevalova and Erman Şentürk

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(9), 2336; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15092336 - 28 Apr 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3061

Abstract

Two strong earthquakes occurred in Turkey on 6 February 2023, at 01:17:34 (nighttime, Mw = 7.8) and at 10:24:50 UT (daytime, Mw = 7.5). The seismo-ionospheric impact is an important part of the near-Earth environment state. This paper provides the first results on the ionospheric effects associated with the aforementioned earthquakes. We used data from global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers and ionosondes. We found that both earthquakes generated circle disturbance in the ionosphere, detected by GNSS data. The amplitude of the ionospheric response caused by daytime M7.5 earthquake exceeded by five times that caused by nighttime M7.8 earthquake: 0.5 TECU/min and 0.1 TECU/min, respectively, according to the ROTI data. The velocities of the earthquake-related ionospheric waves were ~2000 m/s, as measured by ROTI, for the M7.5 earthquake. TEC variations with 2–10 min periods showed velocities from 1500 to 900 m/s as disturbances evolved. Ionospheric disturbances occurred around epicenters and propagated to the south by means of 2–10 min TEC variations. ROTI data showed a more symmetric distribution with irregularities observed both to the South and to the North from 10:24:50 UT epicenter. The ionospheric effects were recorded over 750 km from the epicenters. Ionosonde located 420/490 km from the epicenters did not catch ionospheric effects. The results show significant asymmetry in the propagation of coseismic ionospheric disturbances. We observed coseismic ionospheric disturbances associated with Rayleigh mode and acoustic modes, but we did not observe disturbances associated with acoustic gravity mode. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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12 pages, 5070 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Ionospheric Changes over the Western Pacific Ocean near and after the End of Annular Solar Eclipse on 21 June 2020

by Jin Wang, Tao Yu, Yu Liang, Xiangxiang Yan, Chunliang Xia and Yifan Qi

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(5), 1389; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051389 - 01 Mar 2023

Viewed by 1173

Abstract

The center path of the 21 June 2020 solar eclipse, which passed through Guam (13.62°N, 144.86°E, 94.6% obscuration), United States, at the end of its journey, provides a peculiar opportunity to study the ionospheric changes as the moon shadow moves into the nightside. In this study, remote-sensing observations of the ionosphere taken from the ionosonde, and total electron content from the International GNSS Service over Guam were analyzed to examine the related ionospheric changes. Independent in situ observations of electron density (N_e), electron (T_e) and ion temperatures (T_i) from DMSP-F17 at ~850 km, and N_e and T_e from Swarm-B at ~540 km were also studied. With a significant enhancement of the critical frequency and downward movement of F₂-layer, the ionosphere was compressed as the moon shadow swept over Guam near its sunset hours. Neutral wind observations from the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) showed the westward reversed wind occurring in the F-region near sunset. The westward wind disturbance and downward press over the Western Pacific suggest changes in the electrodynamics in the ionosphere and thermosphere near sunset at the end of the solar eclipse, which further contributes to ~85% decrease of N_e and 157% enhancement of T_e at ~540 km near midnight. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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12 pages, 4344 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Detection of Vertical Changes in the Ionospheric Electron Density Structures by the Radio Occultation Technique Onboard the FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC2 Mission over the Eruption of the Tonga Underwater Volcano on 15 January 2022

by Yang-Yi Sun, Chieh-Hung Chen and Chi-Yen Lin

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(17), 4266; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14174266 - 30 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1577

Abstract

A large near-surface perturbation such as the eruption of the Tonga underwater volcano on 15 January 2022 can generate disturbances in the Earth’s atmosphere and ionosphere. It is quite challenging to detect and investigate the disturbances in the vertical direction due to the lack of ground-based instruments, especially in the ocean area. To examine the vertical disturbances due to the Tonga eruption, this study utilizes the radio occultation (RO) technique onboard the satellites of the FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC2 (F7/C2) mission to sound the ionospheric electron density (Ne) profiles in the Central Pacific Ocean area around the eruption. The ionospheric Ne profiles show that the eruption almost annihilated the typical Chapman-layer structure over the eruption in the nighttime on 15 January. The Hilbert–Huang transform was applied to expose the vertical changes in the Ne structures as functions of wavelength and altitude. The analysis shows not only the occurrence of the small-scale disturbances with a wavelength of ~20 km from 100 km to 500 km altitudes, but also the significant attenuation of the structures with a wavelength >50 km, which has never been reported before. The time series of the total electron content from the ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System receiver near the eruption also verifies the significant long-lasting disturbances due to the eruption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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Other

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12 pages, 2438 KiB

Open AccessTechnical Note

An Investigation on the Ionospheric Response to the Volcanic Explosion of Hunga Ha’apai, 2022, Based on the Observations from the Meridian Project: The Plasma Drift Variations

by Shican Qiu, Mengxi Shi, Xinye Wang, Zhanming Zhang, Willie Soon and Victor Manuel Velasco Herrera

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(17), 4181; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15174181 - 25 Aug 2023

Viewed by 974

Abstract

The Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption (20.536°S, 175.382°W in Tonga) reached its maximum outbreak on 15 January 2022, at 04:15 UT, leading to huge oceanic fluctuations and atmospheric disturbances. This study focuses on the response of the ionosphere to the eruption of Tonga volcano, based on observations from a low-latitude station of the Meridian Project at Fuke, Hainan (19.310°N, 109.080°E). We identified the anomalies in the plasma drift caused by the volcanic eruption and discussed the possible mechanisms. The following results were obtained: (1) The anomalies of ionospheric plasma drift were observed at Fuke Station, during the main eruption; (2) A sudden increase and inversion of the plasma drift velocity occurred on January 15, and a large fluctuation of the drift velocity occurred afterwards; (3) By comparing the anomalous propagation velocity with the background drift, it was confirmed that the anomaly was the response of the low latitude ionosphere to the Tonga volcano eruption. Furthermore, we analyzed a possible mechanism for the effect of volcanic eruptions on ionospheric plasma drift. A large number of charged particles could be brought out by the explosion to generate an atmospheric electric field, which may cause the ionospheric plasma to change its original motion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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13 pages, 23254 KiB

Open AccessTechnical Note

The Ionospheric Three-Dimensional Electron Density Variations Induced by the 21 August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse by Using Global Ionospheric Specification

by Chi-Yen Lin, Jann-Yenq Liu, Charles Chien-Hung Lin and Min-Yang Chou

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(15), 3887; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15153887 - 05 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 882

Abstract

Global Ionospheric Specification (GIS) is based on the Gauss–Markov Kalman filter to assimilate the slant total electron content (TEC) observed from ground-based GPS receivers and space-based radio occultation instrumentations in order to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) ionospheric electron density structure, and it can remotely sense and monitor the weather condition in space. In this study, five minutes of high temporal resolution GIS is implemented in order to reconstruct the 3D electron density structure on the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse and analyze the variations induced by the moon’s shadow. To obtain more information of the ionosphere, from the extend 2200 GPS stations on the continental United States, are added for assimilation. The results show the ionosphere peak height (hmF2) uplift was 30–50 km altitude in latitude 25–40°N, and that the electron density depletion at higher altitudes (400 km) has a more noticeable time delay than at low altitudes (200 km), especially in low-latitude regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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13 pages, 5234 KiB

Open AccessTechnical Note

Continental-Scale Investigation of Underlying Electrical Conductivity Structure in Mainland China Using Geomagnetic Data

by Zhiqiang Mao, Chieh-Hung Chen, Aisa Yisimayili, Bin Chen, Jiehao Yuan, Yongxin Gao, Yang-Yi Sun and Kai Lin

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(5), 1375; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051375 - 28 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1249

Abstract

The magnetotelluric method has been used to fully study regional electrical conductivity structures in different areas in mainland China; however, there is a lack of overall understanding of the electrical structure distribution. A novel insight for the study of continental-scale underlying conductivity structures was proposed in this work via geomagnetic data recorded by permanent stations. To study the underlying electrical structure distribution in mainland China, we mapped the conductors and resistors at a depth range of 4–100 km beneath mainland China using Parkinson vectors through magnetic transfer function. Three-component geomagnetic data within a low artificial disturbance period (local time 23:00–05:00) from 98 stations in 2019 were collected and processed to derive Parkinson vectors in the frequency band of 0.001–0.5 Hz. The distribution of subsurface electrical structures at distinct depths was constructed using corresponding frequency through the skin depth. We compare the consistent results herein with previous magnetotelluric studies, which indicated the reliability of our method. Combining previous multiple geophysical inversion results, we found that large-scale plastic bodies are distributed along the east of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and extend to the west of Yunnan. In central mainland China, the areas are mainly highly resistive, indicating that the structures are overall rigid. In north China, there exist high-low-high-low conductive structures from west to east. The separate high- and low-conductive electrical bodies in the North China Craton provide geophysical evidence that the Craton is composed of multiple blocks. The distributions of the underlying electrical structures in this work can provide an overall perspective for studying tectonic evolution and geodynamics in mainland China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Observation and Simulation of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Space Coupling)

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