Thesis advisor: Michael J. Naughton / Thesis advisor: Keith M. Groves / The low-latitude ionosphere is characterized by large-scale instabilities in the post-sunset hours due to the distinct geometry of the earth’s magnetic field lines at the equator. The magnetic field lines are horizontal at the equator contributing to the high vertical drift velocity of the plasma bubbles growing from the bottomside of the ionospheric F-region. The phenomenon, commonly known as equatorial spread F, is an important problem in aeronomy as it can cause radio wave scintillation effects representing the most critical impacts of space weather on man-made technologies, such as satellite communications and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Here, we present results from an artificial ionospheric modification experiment as well as from naturally occurring instabilities in the equatorial ionosphere. An artificial plasma cloud was created in the bottomside of the ionospheric F-layer during the Metal Oxide Space Cloud (MOSC) experiment in May 2013 to study the interactions of artificial ionization with the background plasma under the hypothesis that the artificial plasma might suppress the occurrence of natural instabilities. While the suppression hypothesis remains open to debate, the propagation results confirm that the injection of artificial ionization in the lower F–region causes dramatic changes to the ambient HF propagation environment. We also calculate various parameters needed to evaluate the growth rate of Rayleigh- Taylor instability created in the F-region bottomside of the ionosphere from the thirteen days of High-Frequency (HF) radar data during the MOSC campaign. These parameters have been used to calculate the growth rate to predict the diurnal variability of the spread F occurrence. The growth rate has also been calculated from model ionospheric profiles optimized by ray-tracing techniques to match actual delays as observed in the oblique HF links. The calculated growth rate provides a close prediction of spread F development as seen in its correlation with the ground scintillation observations. With regard to natural processes, data from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) / the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Communications/Navigations Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite mission has been analyzed to investigate the characteristics of equatorial ionospheric irregularities from in situ observations. We present a comprehensive investigation on the variation of apex-altitude distribution of equatorial ionospheric irregularities with solar activity supported by modeling, simulation and comparisons with ground- and space-based in situ density observations. We also analyze Physics Based Model (PBMOD) ionospheric model results to determine if a physics-based model can reproduce the observed dependence of bubble height on solar activity. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

Radio signals propagating through the ionised upper atmosphere (the ionosphere) in low latitude regions of the world can experience amplitude scintillation. This could threaten safety-critical applications of satellite navigation such as aviation. The research presented here studied the effects of amplitude scintillation on a Septentrio PolaRxS geodetic receiver and a Garmin 480 aviation receiver by means of a Spirent GNSS constellation simulator. Different types of fade profiles showed that an abrupt drop in signal strength caused a loss of lock on the signal more often than a profile with a slow, gradual fade. A performance comparison of the two receivers demonstrated that the aviation receiver was more vulnerable than the geodetic receiver. An unexpected loss of lock at a specific fade duration and depth was seen with the Garmin receiver and was not explained. A single fade with a long fade duration was more likely to cause a loss of signal lock compared to rapid multiple fades. Scintillation on signals from low elevation satellites can significantly degrade the precision and integrity of the navigation solution in an aviation receiver; especially if the satellites are within the best geometrical set. RAIM was observed to be no longer available during the critical landing approach phase of the scenario, in the case when all satellites in view were affected by the scintillation-induced signal perturbations. A technique was also developed to simulate L5 scintillation based on real scintillation events of L1, in the absence of real captured data for L5. This was done to enable future investigations on aviation receiver performance when both L1 and L5 frequencies experience scintillation. Analysis indicated that L5 signal can be more vulnerable to the scintillation compared to the L1 signal, which may have important implications for aviation safety.

The Earth's equatorial ionosphere most often shows the occurrence of large plasma density and velocity fluctuations with a broad range of scale sizes and amplitudes. These night time ionospheric irregularities in the F-region are commonly referred to as equatorial spread F (ESF) or plasma bubbles (EPBs). This dissertation focuses on analysis of ground-based optical and radar measurements to investigate the development and dynamics of ESF, which can significantly disrupt radio communication and GPS navigation systems. OI (630.0 nm) airglow image data were obtained by the Utah State University all-sky CCD camera, primarily during the equinox period, from three different longitudinal sectors under similar solar flux conditions: Christmas Island in the Central Pacific Ocean, Ascension Island in South Atlantic, and Brasilia and Cariri in Brazil. Well-defined magnetic field-aligned depletions were observed from each of these sites enabling detailed measurements of their morphology and dynamics. These data have also been used to investigate day-to-day and longitudinal variations in the evolution and distribution of the plasma bubbles, and their nocturnal zonal drift velocities. In particular, comparative optical measurements at different longitudinal sectors illustrated interesting findings. During the post midnight period, the data from Christmas Island consistently showed nearly constant eastward bubble velocity at a much higher value (~80 m/s) than expected, while data from Ascension Island exhibited a most unusual shear motion of the bubble structure, up to 55 m/s, on one occasion with westward drift at low latitude and eastward at higher latitudes, evident within the field of view of the camera. In addition, long-term radar observations during 1996-2006 from Jicamarca, Peru have been used to study the climatology of post-sunset ESF irregularities. Results showed that the spread F onset times did not change much with solar flux and that their onset heights increased linearly from solar minimum to solar maximum. On average, radar plume onset occurred earlier with increasing solar flux, and plume onset and peak altitudes increased with solar activity. The F-region upward drift velocities that precede spread F onset increased from solar minimum to solar maximum, and were approximately proportional to the maximum prereversal drift peak velocities.

Submitted by Emanuel Varela Cardoso (emanuel.varela@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-10-17T19:57:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LEIDE PRICILA DA SILVA – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGFísica) 2015.pdf: 15628100 bytes, checksum: 6c279dc226419936cd83d14dd259bcab (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-17T19:57:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LEIDE PRICILA DA SILVA – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGFísica) 2015.pdf: 15628100 bytes, checksum: 6c279dc226419936cd83d14dd259bcab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-07 / Capes / Foi investigado o acoplamento vertical em baixas latitudes no sistema atmosfera ionosfera na região MLT equatorial impulsionado pela onda de 3-4 dias. Neste trabalho, se identifi cou eventos da onda 3-4 dias durante o per odo de janeiro a dezembro de 2005 nos ventos neutros obtidos por medições de radar localizados em São João do Cariri-PB, Brasil. A variação de 3-4 dias nas correntes elétricas ionosféricas na região E registrado por perturbações no campo geomagnético, foi estudada através de 4 magnetômetros localizados na região equatorial. Os resultados mostraram que as oscilações ocorridas nos ventos zonais em fevereiro-março, maio-junho, agosto e outubro-novembro, são compatíveis com a propagação de ondas ultra-rápido Kelvin. A estrutura de fase vertical foi descendente, compatível com a energia da onda ascendente, e comprimentos de onda verticais de cerca de 45 km foram encontrados nos primeiro, segundo e quarto eventos, o terceiro evento apresenta comprimento de onda vertical de 62 km. Os resultados mostraram eventos quase simultâneos da onda de 3-4 dias no campo geomagnético e nos ventos MLT, cuja propagação é para leste, que pode ser interpretado como devido à onda ultra-rápida de Kelvin, exceto para o terceiro acontecimento que mostrou propagação para oeste. O parâmetro que parece ser afetado é o dínamo campo elétrico. / Vertical coupling in the low latitude atmosphere-ionosphere system driven by the 3-4 day wave in the equatorial MLT region was investigated. In this work a 3-4 day wave event during the period from January to December of 2005 identi ed in the neutral winds by radar measurements located at São João do Cariri-PB, Brazil. The 3-4 day variation in the ionospheric electric currents in the E region registered by perturbations in the geomagnetic eld, was detected in the data from 4 magnetometer located in the equatorial region. The results showed that only the oscillations that occurred in the zonal winds in February-March, May-June, August, and October-November, are compatible with the ultra-fast Kelvin wave propagation. The vertical phase structure was descendent, compatible with ascending wave energy, and vertical wavelengths of about 45 km were found for in the rst, second and fourth events, the third event 62 km. The results showed quasi-simultaneous 3-4 day oscillation in the geomagnetic eld and in the MLT winds, in which the of propagation is eastward, it can be interpreted as due to ultra-fast Kelvin wave, except for the third event that showed westward propagation. The parameter that appears to be a a ected is the dynamo electric eld.

The electrodynamics of the Earth's low-latitude ionosphere is dependent on the ionospheric conductivity and the thermospheric neutral density, temperature, and winds present. This two-part study focused on the gravity wave seeding mechanism of equatorial plasma depletions in the ionosphere and the associated equatorial spread F, as well as the differences between a two-dimensional flux tube integrated electrodynamics model and a three-dimensional model for the same time period. The gravity wave seeding study was based on a parameterization of a gravity wave perturbation using a background empirical thermosphere and a physics-based ionosphere for the case of 12 UT on 26 September 2002. The electrodynamics study utilized a two-dimensional flux tube integrated model in center dipole coordinates, which is derived in this work. This case study examined the relative influence of the zonal wind, meridional wind, vertical wind, temperature, and density perturbations of the gravity wave. It further looked at the angle of the wave front to the field line flux tube, the most influential height of the perturbation, and the difference between planar and thunderstorm source gravity waves with cylindrical symmetry. The results indicate that, of the five perturbation components studied, the zonal wind is the most important mechanism to seed the Rayleigh-Taylor instability needed to develop plasma plumes. It also shows that the bottomside of the F-region is the most important region to perturb, but a substantial E-region influence is also seen. Furthermore, a wave front with a small angle from the field line is necessary, but the shape of the wave front is not critical in the gravity wave is well developed before nightfall. Preliminary results from the three-dimensional model indicate that the equipotential field line assumption of the two-dimensional model is not valid below 100 km and possibly higher. Future work with this model should attempt to examine more of the differences with the two-dimensional model in the electric fields and currents produced as well as with the plasma drifts that lead to plume development.

Atmospheric planetary waves play a role in introducing variability to the low-latitude ionosphere. To better understand this coupling, this study investigates times when oscillations seen in both atmospheric planetary waves and ionospheric data-sets have similar periodicity. The planetary wave data-set used are temperature observations made by Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER). These highlight periods during which 2-Day westward propagating wave-number 3 waves are evident in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The ionospheric data-set is Total Electron Content (TEC), which is used to identify periods during which the ionosphere appears to respond to the planetary waves. Data from KP and F10.7 indices are used to determine events that may be of external origin. A 17-year time-span from 2002 to 2018 is used for this analysis so that both times of solar minimum and maximum can be studied. To extract the periods of this collection of data a Morlet Wavelet analysis is used, along with thresholding to indicate events when similar periods are seen in each data-set. Trends are then determined, which can lead to verification of previous assumptions and new discoveries. / Master of Science / The thermosphere and ionosphere are impacted by many sources. The sun and the magnetosphere externally impact this system. Planetary waves, which originate in the lower atmosphere, internally impact this system. This interaction leads to periodic signatures in the ionosphere that reflect periodic signatures seen in the lower atmosphere, the sun and the magnetosphere. This study identifies these times of similar oscillations in the neutral atmosphere, the ionosphere, and the sun, in order to characterize these interactions. Events are cataloged through wavelet analysis and thresholding techniques. Using a time-span of 17 years, trends are identified using histograms and percentages. From these trends, the characteristics of this coupling can be concluded. This study is meant to confirm the theory and provide new insights that will hopefully lead to further investigation through modeling. The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of the role that planetary waves have on the interaction of the atmosphere and the ionosphere.