Effects of the solar eclipse on June 21, 2020 in low-latitude ionosphere total electron content

Heading: 
Space Physics
1Chernogor, LF, Luo, Y, 1Mylovanov, YB, Dorokhov, VL
1V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Kinemat. fiz. nebesnyh tel (Online) 2025, 41(6):16-42
https://doi.org/10.15407/kfnt2025.06.016
Language: Ukrainian
Abstract: 

Solar eclipses (SEs) are accompanied by both regular and a number of irregular effects, as well as individual effects inherent in this SE. The following questions remain unanswered: can there be effects prior to the SE? How long do they last after the end of the SE? Do they appear on the night side of the planet? What effects occur in the magnetically conjugate region? What is the role of dynamic processes and geophysical fields in the interaction of subsystems in the Earth-atmosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere system during the SE? These questions need to be addressed. The aim of this paper is to present the results of observations of temporal variations of total electron content (TEC) in the ionosphere over China, obtained using Global Navigation Satellite System during the SE and reference days. The low-latitude ionosphere has certain features that could not fail to manifest themselves in the effects of the SE. Estimation of the ionospheric response to the annular SE was performed using recordings of GPS satellite signals obtained on dual-frequency receivers. The error of the TEC calculation technique used in the study does not exceed 0.1 TECU. To obtain acceptable results, the mutual motions of the TEC measurement point, lunar shadow, and Earth’s rotation were taken into account. The ionospheric effect of the SE, which consisted in a significant reduction in TEC, was confidently observed at all 5 stations and for all 7 satellites. It was found that the deficit of TEC clearly followed the maximum magnitude value of the SE. The maximum deficit of TEC reached 6...7 TECU at a magnitude of Mmax ≈ 0.976...0.986. In this case, the relative reduction of TEC was 35...37 %. The time delay of the maximum reduction of TEC relative to the maximum magnitude of the SE was close to 15 min. This result is in good agreement with the known data. The moments of the beginning and end of the TEC reduction, in general, did not coincide with the changes in the SE magnitude. The duration of the ionospheric effect was usually longer than the duration of the eclipse. There was no clear dependence of the ionospheric effect on latitude and longitude. No increase in the wave activity during the SE was detected. The effects of the annular SE, which took place in the low-latitude ionosphere near the summer solstice, had a number of features.
Keywords: deficit of total electron content, low-latitude ionosphere, solar eclipse, temporal variations of total electron content, total electron content

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