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Atmosphere
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Effect of Solar Activities to the Earth's Atmosphere
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Effect of Solar Activities to the Earth's Atmosphere

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Upper Atmosphere".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 27 September 2024 | Viewed by 4062

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alla Suvorova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia
Interests: solar-terrestrial coupling; geomagnetic activity; ionospheric disturbances
Dr. Alexei Dmitriev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Space Science & Engineering, National Central University, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan
Interests: space weather; solar-terrestrial physics; solar wind–magnetosphere–ionosphere–upper atmosphere coupling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Solar activity has a strong influence on Earth's atmosphere. The Sun can affect the atmosphere in many ways, including solar flares, variations in solar X-ray and ultraviolet irradiance, release of intense fluxes of solar energetic particles, and coronal mass ejections resulting in auroral phenomena and geomagnetic storms. The contribution of these factors to the overall response of the atmosphere to solar activity requires further comprehensive studies. The occurrence of all these phenomena increases with solar activity. A solar maximum phase of the 25th solar cycle has begun in 2023 with several strong solar events, which have caused major geomagnetic storms. During some of them, anomalous phenomena occurred such as rare mid-latitude aurora.

Studying the response of Earth’s atmosphere to solar activity is of great practical importance. Increased solar radiation and occurrence of geomagnetic storms may cause disturbances in the density of atmospheric gases that result in a greater drag effect, which reduces the lifetime of satellites. Hard electromagnetic radiation produced by solar flares may disturb the ionosphere and, thus, interfere with radio signals, resulting in the degradation of communication quality. More and more accurate knowledge is needed for the stable operation of satellites, telecommunications, etc.

The Special Issue is open to research on the influence of solar activity on the Earth’s atmosphere and the elucidation of various aspects of the mechanism and consequences of its influence.

Additionally, studies of atmospheric and ionospheric phenomena associated with geomagnetic storms at the beginning of the solar maximum of the current 25th solar cycle are welcome.

Dr. Alla Suvorova
Dr. Alexei Dmitriev
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. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2400 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

  • solar activity
  • solar flares
  • solar energetic particles
  • solar irradiance
  • solar‒terrestrial coupling
  • geomagnetic activity
  • ionospheric disturbances
  • atmospheric perturbations

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 6269 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Sudden Stratospheric Warming on the Development of Ionospheric Storms: The Alma-Ata Ground-Based Ionosonde Observations
by Galina Gordiyenko, Artur Yakovets, Yuriy Litvinov and Alexey Andreev
Atmosphere 2024, 15(6), 626; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15060626 - 23 May 2024
Viewed by 462
Abstract
This paper examines the response of the ionosphere to the impact of two moderate geomagnetic storms observed on January 17 and 26–27, 2013, under conditions of strong sudden stratospheric warming. The study uses data from ground-based ionosonde measurements at the Alma-Ata ionospheric station [...] Read more.
This paper examines the response of the ionosphere to the impact of two moderate geomagnetic storms observed on January 17 and 26–27, 2013, under conditions of strong sudden stratospheric warming. The study uses data from ground-based ionosonde measurements at the Alma-Ata ionospheric station (43.25 N, 76.92 E) combined with optical observation data (The Spectral Airglow Temperature Imager (SATI)). Ionosonde data showed that the geomagnetic storms under consideration do not generate ionospheric storms but demonstrate some unusual types of diurnal foF2 variations with large (up to 60%) deviations in foF2 from median values observed during the night/morning periods on 13–15 and 20–23 January, which do not have any relation to solar or geomagnetic activity. Wave-like disturbances in ΔfoF2, Δh’F, and daily averaged foF2 values with a quasi-period of 5–8 days and peak-to-peak amplitude from about 1 MHz to 2 MHz (~from 20% to ~40%) and ~40 km are observed during the period 9–28 January, after registration of the occurrence of the major SSW event on 6–7 January. The observed variations in the OH emission rate are found to be quite similar to those observed in the ionospheric parameters that assume a community of processes in the stratosphere/mesosphere/ionosphere system. The study shows that the F region of the ionosphere is influenced by processes in the lower ionosphere, in this case by processes associated with sudden stratospheric warming SSW-2013, which led to modification of the structure of the ionosphere and compensation of processes associated with the development of the ionospheric storms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Solar Activities to the Earth's Atmosphere)
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28 pages, 81499 KiB  
Article
Mid- and High-Latitude Electron Temperature Dependence on Solar Activity in the Topside Ionosphere through the Swarm B Satellite Observations and the International Reference Ionosphere Model
by Alessio Pignalberi, Vladimir Truhlik, Fabio Giannattasio, Igino Coco and Michael Pezzopane
Atmosphere 2024, 15(4), 490; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15040490 - 16 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 898
Abstract
This study focuses on the open question of the electron temperature (Te) variation with solar activity in the topside ionosphere at mid- and high latitudes. It takes advantage of in situ observations taken over a decade (2014–2023) from Langmuir probes [...] Read more.
This study focuses on the open question of the electron temperature (Te) variation with solar activity in the topside ionosphere at mid- and high latitudes. It takes advantage of in situ observations taken over a decade (2014–2023) from Langmuir probes on board the low-Earth-orbit Swarm B satellite and spanning an altitude range of 500–530 km. The study also includes a comparison with Te values modeled using the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model and with Millstone Hill (42.6° N. 71.5° W) incoherent scatter radar observations. The largest Te variation with solar activity was found at high latitudes in the winter season, where Te shows a marked decreasing trend with solar activity in the polar cusp and auroral regions and, more importantly, at sub-auroral latitudes in the nightside sector. Differently, in the summer season, Te increases with solar activity in the polar cusp and auroral regions, while for equinoxes, variations are smaller and less clear. Mid-latitudes generally show negligible Te variations with solar activity, which are mostly within the natural dispersion of Te observations. The comparison between measured and modeled values highlighted that future implementations of the IRI model would benefit from an improved description of the Te dependence on solar activity, especially at high latitudes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Solar Activities to the Earth's Atmosphere)
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26 pages, 12573 KiB  
Article
Seasonal Features of the Ionospheric Total Electron Content Response at Low Latitudes during Three Selected Geomagnetic Storms
by Rumiana Bojilova and Plamen Mukhtarov
Atmosphere 2024, 15(3), 278; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15030278 - 25 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1169
Abstract
In the present paper, the response of the ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) at low latitudes during several geomagnetic storms occurring in different seasons of the year is investigated. In the analysis of the ionospheric response, the following three geomagnetic events were selected: [...] Read more.
In the present paper, the response of the ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) at low latitudes during several geomagnetic storms occurring in different seasons of the year is investigated. In the analysis of the ionospheric response, the following three geomagnetic events were selected: (i) 23–24 April 2023; (ii) 22–24 June 2015 and (iii) 16 December 2006. Global TEC data were used, with geographic coordinates recalculated with Rawer’s modified dip (modip) latitude, which improved the accuracy of the representation of the ionospheric response at low and mid-latitudes. By decomposition of the zonal distribution of the relative deviation of the TEC values from the hourly medians, the spatial distribution of the anomalies, the dependence of the response on the local time and their evolution during the selected events were analyzed. As a result of the study, it was found that the positive response (i.e., an increase in electron density relative to quiet conditions) in low latitudes occurs at the modip latitudes 30° N and 30° S. An innovative result related to the observed responses during the considered events is that they turn out to be relatively stationary. The longitude variation in the observed maxima changes insignificantly during the storms. Depending on the season, there is an asymmetry between the two hemispheres, which can be explained by the differences in the meridional neutral circulation in different seasons. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Solar Activities to the Earth's Atmosphere)
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15 pages, 3013 KiB  
Article
No Response of Surface-Level Atmospheric Electrical Parameters in Israel to Severe Space Weather Events
by Roy Yaniv, Yoav Yair, Colin Price and Yuval Reuveni
Atmosphere 2023, 14(11), 1649; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14111649 - 3 Nov 2023
Viewed by 774
Abstract
We report ground-based measurements of the atmospheric electric field (Ez = −potential gradient (PG)) and current density (Jz) that were conducted at two locations in Israel. One is at the Emilio Segre cosmic ray station located on Mt. Hermon (34.45° N, 2020 m [...] Read more.
We report ground-based measurements of the atmospheric electric field (Ez = −potential gradient (PG)) and current density (Jz) that were conducted at two locations in Israel. One is at the Emilio Segre cosmic ray station located on Mt. Hermon (34.45° N, 2020 m AMSL) in northern Israel near the Syrian-Lebanon border, and the other is at the Wise astronomical observatory in the Negev desert highland plateau of southern Israel (31.18° N, 870 m AMSL). We searched for possible effects of strong, short-term solar events on the potential gradient and the vertical current density, as disruptions to the global electric circuit are often observed following strong solar events. The first case study (St. Patrick’s Day, 17 March 2015) was classified as the strongest event of 2015. The second case study (8 September 2017) was categorized as the strongest event of 2017 and one of the twenty strongest events on record to date. The results show that the electrical parameters measured at ground level at both stations were not affected during the two massive proton events and the ensuing geomagnetic storms. The magnetospheric shielding in lower latitudes is strong enough to shield against the flux of energetic particles from solar events, obscuring any impact that may be noticeable above the local daily variations induced by local meteorological conditions (aerosol concentrations, clouds, high humidity, and wind speed), which were investigated as well. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Solar Activities to the Earth's Atmosphere)
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Review

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15 pages, 583 KiB  
Review
Challenges of Using Historical Aurora Observations for the Reconstruction of Solar Activity before the 19th Century, Especially during and near the Maunder Minimum
by Martin Stangl and Ulrich Foelsche
Atmosphere 2024, 15(8), 941; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15080941 - 6 Aug 2024
Viewed by 187
Abstract
In order to complement gaps in the surveillance of solar activity in historical times, various proxies are used to reconstruct past solar cycles and long-term maxima and minima of solar activity, the most famous being the Maunder Minimum (MM), which is usually defined [...] Read more.
In order to complement gaps in the surveillance of solar activity in historical times, various proxies are used to reconstruct past solar cycles and long-term maxima and minima of solar activity, the most famous being the Maunder Minimum (MM), which is usually defined to span the period between the years 1645 and 1715. We explain the problems within existing data bases and call upon trying to find the original sources of Schröder, since his aurorae catalog spans the whole MM and contradicts what has been deduced from more used compilations. We take a critical look at the proposed source-critical scheme introduced by Neuhäuser and Neuhäuser and show it to be counterproductive because it largely ignores the source situation, i.e., the scientific understanding of the reporters of times long past and their intentions. While historical sunspot and aurora reports can be useful to fine-tune our knowledge of solar activity in times before the onset of systematical surveillances, they should not be used as an index of solar activity, since they cannot be quantitatively expressed due to the non-scientific manner of the reports and ambiguous wording. Reconstructions based on cosmogenic isotopes are significantly preferable for establishing the level of solar activity in the past. The conclusions reached by this review should be regarded as a caution against expecting important conclusions to emerge from low quality data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Solar Activities to the Earth's Atmosphere)
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