EGU24-6223, updated on 08 Mar 2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-6223
EGU General Assembly 2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Statistics of Small-Scale Ionospheric Waves in European Mid-Latitudes Observed Using LOFAR

Ben Boyde1, Alan Wood2, Gareth Dorrian2, Francesco de Gasperin3, Frits Sweijen4, Maaijke Mevius5, and Kasia Beser5
Ben Boyde et al.
  • 1SERENE, University of Birmingham, UK (bxb157@student.bham.ac.uk)
  • 2SERENE, University of Birmingham, UK
  • 3Institute of Radio Astronomy (IRA-INAF), Italy
  • 4Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, the Netherlands
  • 5ASTRON - The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, the Netherlands

The LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is a radio telescope centred in the Netherlands. The observed impact of the ionosphere on signals from astronomical radio sources can be used to derive differential Total Electron Content (dTEC) between the lines of sight from different LOFAR stations. The dTEC derived in calibration has extremely high precision (~1 mTECu) and is available at high temporal (~4s) and spatial (baselines from ~100 m to ~100 km) resolutions. These measurements provide a new means of studying ionospheric disturbances in the mid-latitudes.

A method for identifying wave signatures in the dTEC data has been developed and shown to be capable of identifying waves with amplitudes as low as a few mTECu (Boyde et al., 2023). This method has been used to analyse over 2,500 hours of observations made as part of an astronomical survey. The statistical characteristics of the identified waves and their dependence on time of day, season, and geomagnetic activity are discussed, such as variations in dominant propagation direction. These observations extend the range of ionospheric waves that can be identified to shorter wavelengths and lower amplitudes beyond what is currently detectable using GNSS derived TEC. This method complements established techniques for detecting ionospheric waves.

Ben Boyde, Alan George Wood, Gareth Dorrian, et al. Wavelet Analysis of Differential TEC Measurements Obtained Using LOFAR, Radio Science (Under Review), 2023, doi: 10.22541/essoar.169754969.93126117/v1

How to cite: Boyde, B., Wood, A., Dorrian, G., de Gasperin, F., Sweijen, F., Mevius, M., and Beser, K.: Statistics of Small-Scale Ionospheric Waves in European Mid-Latitudes Observed Using LOFAR, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-6223, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-6223, 2024.