Spectral Analysis of ionospheric density variations measured with the large radio telescope in the Low-Latitude region
arXiv:2307.05687 · doi:10.1029/2023GL103305
Abstract
The low-latitude ionosphere is a dynamic region with a wide range of disturbances in temporal and spatial scales. The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) situated in the low-latitude region has demonstrated its ability to detect various ionospheric phenomena. It can detect total electron content (TEC) variation with precision of 1 mTECU and also can measure TEC gradient with an accuracy of about . This paper describes the spectral analysis of previously calculated TEC gradient measurements and validates them by comparing their properties using two bands. The analysis tracked individual waves associated with medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) and smaller waves down to wavelengths of 10 km. The ionosphere is found to have unanticipated changes during sunrise hours, with waves changed propagation direction as the sun approached the zenith. Equatorial spread\, disturbances during sunrise hours is observed, along with smaller structures moving in the same direction.
17 pages, 2 figures, 2 Tables, accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters