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We report thermospheric exospheric temperature and composition responses on the 15 January 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption. The temperature and composition profiles are inversed from three ionosonde (MHJ45, EG931, FF051) observed electron density profiles (∼150–200 km) using our new method (Li, Ren, et al., 2023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022ja030988). The retrieved exospheric temperatures all showed obvious eruption‐induced perturbations, with maximum disturbance magnitude of ∼200 K at MHJ45 and ∼100 K at EG931 and FF051. The temperature variations were related to eruption‐excited thermospheric waves and their propagation with different speeds. While column ∑O/N2 had no evident changes similar to temperatures, which were basically consistent with GOLD observations. In comparison, higher thermospheric O/N2 has larger eruption‐related changes, maybe due to the exponential increase of thermospheric wave amplitudes with height. The application of our inversion method, combined with continuous observations and global coverage of ionosonde data, provide a possibility to further investigate thermospheric responses to different geophysical conditions. Plain Language Summary Extreme volcanic eruptions and resulted tsunami at 04:14:45 UT on 15 January 2022 generated a series of atmospheric waves, which can propagate out globally and up into the thermosphere. The ionosphere responses on this eruption, relative to thermosphere, have been reported a lot due to the large amounts of ionospheric observations. Here, we used the new method proposed by Li, Ren, et al. (2023), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022ja030988 to inverse daytime thermospheric parameters (neutral temperature and composition) from ionospheric electron density profiles (∼150–200 km). We selected ionosonde data at three stations (MHJ45, EG931, FF051) to verify the thermospheric responses during this eruption. The retrieved temperature at three stations showed the obvious eruption‐induced perturbations, but ∑O/N2 not, which were basically consistent with GOLD observations. However, O/N2 in higher thermosphere had larger eruption‐related changes. The comparison with GOLD observations and observed F2 layer peak electron densities verified the credibility of our inversion method again. Thus, the application of the method to the continuous and high‐covering ionosonde data provides a possibility to further investigate thermospheric responses to different geophysical conditions. Key Points Inversed exospheric temperatures showed obvious eruption‐induced perturbations on the 15 January 2022 Tonga eruption ∑O/N2 had no evident eruption‐induced changes similar to the temperature, neither in our inversion data nor in GOLD observations Ionosonde can expand the understanding of thermospheric responses to different geophysical conditions by our inversion method

A severe meteorological storm system on the frontal border of cyclone Fabienne passing above central Europe was observed on 23–24 September 2018. Large meteorological systems are considered to be important sources of the wave-like variability visible/detectable through the atmosphere and even up to ionospheric heights. Significant departures from regular courses of atmospheric and ionospheric parameters were detected in all analyzed datasets through atmospheric heights. Above Europe, stratospheric temperature and wind significantly changed in coincidence with fast frontal transition (100–110 km h−1). Zonal wind at 1 and 0.1 hPa changes from the usual westward before the storm to eastward after the storm. With this change are connected changes in temperature where at 1 hPa the analyzed area is colder and at 0.1 hPa warmer. Within ionospheric parameters, we have detected significant wave-like activity occurring shortly after the cold front crossed the observational point. During the storm event, both by Digisonde DPS-4D and continuous Doppler sounding equipment, we have observed strong horizontal plasma flow shears and time-limited increase plasma flow in both the northern and western components of ionospheric drift. The vertical component of plasma flow during the storm event is smaller with respect to the corresponding values on preceding days. The analyzed event of an exceptionally fast cold front of cyclone Fabienne fell into the recovery phase of a minor–moderate geomagnetic storm observed as a negative ionospheric storm at European mid-latitudes. Hence, ionospheric observations consist both of disturbances induced by moderate geomagnetic storms and effects originating in convective activity in the troposphere. Nevertheless, taking into account a significant change in the global circulation pattern in the stratosphere, we conclude that most of the observed wave-like oscillations in the ionosphere during the night of 23–24 September can be directly attributed to the propagation of atmospheric waves launched on the frontal border (cold front) of cyclone Fabienne. The frontal system acted as an effective source of atmospheric waves propagating upward up to the ionosphere.

The Mother's day storm from 10–13 May 2024 is one of the most extreme space weather events recorded in recent decades and triggered a strong ionospheric response with various impacts on communication and navigation systems. In this study the impact on the aviation sector, and more specifically air traffic management, is investigated with Automatic Dependent Surveillance‐Broadcast (ADS‐B) data from the OpenSky network. For that purpose, the event is presented with solar radiation and wind observations to describe the space weather conditions. Further, the spatial and temporal variations of the ionospheric response over Europe are analyzed with total electron content (TEC) maps and the performance of positioning via Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is examined with 100 reference stations. These analyses show well‐known space weather impacts including TEC perturbations, sudden ionospheric disturbances, signal‐loss and degraded GNSS performance. Consequently, these effects are also expected for the GNSS positions transmitted via ADS‐B, and the analysis confirms that a higher frequency of such anomalies occurs along flight tracks during the event (increase of up to 2.55%). These anomalies may manifest as data gaps or as position errors of various types, which in turn could decrease the visibility and awareness of participants in shared air spaces. The correlation between space weather and anomalies in ADS‐B, as also shown in preceding studies, is thus further substantiated and motivates for follow‐up research that combines application‐specific data like ADS‐B with commonly used ionospheric observations.

The magnetosphere and ionosphere have a crucial interaction during severe geomagnetic storms. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) provides high-quality ionospheric observations with high temporal and spatial resolution, is generally preferred to investigate the ionospheric variation. In this study, the storm-time ionospheric response of the June 2015 severe storm (Dstmin = −208 nT) was investigated by the Total Electron Content (TEC) data of the Global Ionosphere Maps (GIMs), COSMIC radio occultation (RO) and a chain of International GNSS Service (IGS) stations. GIMs were used to show the global TEC variation during the storm. COSMIC RO data were also utilized to investigate the TEC variation and electron density profiles in an anomaly area with a limited time interval. GNSS TEC data of the 16 IGS stations were utilized to investigate the ionospheric variability on different latitudes of hemispheres. The results showed that intense positive phases formed in high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) and the western longitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (NH), especially over the North Atlantic Ocean until the main phase of the storm. Besides, negative phases were observed in high latitudes and eastern longitudes of the NH. During the recovery phase of the storm, positive phases were seen in the low latitudes of the SH and the ionospheric conditions calmed down in the entire SH after the depletion of these phases. Negative phases were also observed almost wholly covered in the NH, which denser in the European-African sector. As a particular result, the electron density profiles of COSMIC RO showed that the ionospheric phases of the June 2015 storm not only related to TEC values but also the altitude of maximum electron density.

The ionosphere effective height (IEH) is a very important parameter in total electron content (TEC) measurements under the widely used single-layer model assumption. To overcome the requirement of a large amount of simultaneous vertical and slant ionospheric observations or dense “coinciding” pierce points data, a new approach comparing the converted vertical TEC (VTEC) value using mapping function based on a given IEH with the “ground truth” VTEC value provided by the combined International GNSS Service Global Ionospheric Maps is proposed for the determination of the optimal IEH. The optimal IEH in the Chinese region is determined using three different methods based on GNSS data. Based on the ionosonde data from three different locations in China, the altitude variation of the peak electron density (hmF2) is found to have clear diurnal, seasonal and latitudinal dependences, and the diurnal variation of hmF2 varies from approximately 210 to 520 km in Hainan. The determination of the optimal IEH employing the inverse method suggested by Birch et al. (Radio Sci 37, 2002. doi:10.1029/2000rs002601) did not yield a consistent altitude in the Chinese region. Tests of the method minimizing the mapping function errors suggested by Nava et al. (Adv Space Res 39:1292–1297, 2007) indicate that the optimal IEH ranges from 400 to 600 km, and the height of 450 km is the most frequent IEH at both high and low solar activities. It is also confirmed that the IEH of 450–550 km is preferred for the Chinese region instead of the commonly adopted 350–450 km using the determination method of the optimal IEH proposed in this paper.

Magnetotail earthward fast flow bursts can transport most magnetic flux and energy into the inner magnetosphere. These fast flow bursts are generally an order of magnitude higher than the typical convection speeds that are azimuthally localised (1–3 RE) and are flanked by plasma vortices, which map to ionospheric plasma vortices of the same sense of rotation. This study uses a multipoint analysis of conjugate magnetospheric and ionospheric observations to investigate the magnetospheric and ionospheric responses to fast flow bursts that are associated with both substorms and pseudobreakups. We study in detail what properties control the differences in the magnetosphere–ionosphere responses between substorm fast flow bursts and pseudobreakup events, and how these differences lead to different ionospheric responses. The fast flow bursts and pseudobreakup events were observed by the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interaction during Substorms (THEMIS), while the primary ionospheric observations were made by all-sky cameras and magnetometer-based equivalent ionospheric currents. These events were selected when the satellites were at least 6 RE from the Earth in radial distance and a magnetic local time (MLT) region of ± 5 h from local midnight. The results show that the magnetosphere and ionosphere responses to substorm fast flow bursts are much stronger and more structured compared to pseudobreakups, which are more likely to be localised, transient and weak in the magnetosphere. The magnetic flux in the tail is much stronger for strong substorms and much weaker for pseudobreakup events. The Blobe decreases significantly for substorm fast flow bursts compared to pseudobreakup events. The curvature force density for pseudobreakups are much smaller than substorm fast flow events, indicating that the pseudobreakups may not be able to penetrate deep into the inner magnetosphere. This association can help us study the properties and activity of the magnetospheric earthward flow vortices from ground data.

Based on the multi-data of the global ionospheric map (GIM), ionospheric total electron content (TEC) inversed from GPS observations, the critical frequency of the F2 layer (fOF2) from the ionosonde, electron density (Ne), electron temperature (Te), and He+ and O+ densities detected by the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES), the temporal and spatial characteristics of ionospheric multi-parameter perturbations were analyzed around the Maerkang Ms6.0 earthquake swarm on 9 June 2022. The results showed that the seismo-ionospheric disturbances were observed during 2–4 June around the epicenter under quiet solar-geomagnetic conditions. All parameters we studied were characterized by synchronous changes and negative anomalies, with a better consistency between ionospheric ground-based and satellite observations. The negative ionospheric anomalies for all parameters appeared 5–7 days before the Maerkang Ms6.0 earthquake swarm can be considered as significant signals of upcoming main shock. The seismo-ionospheric coupling mechanism may be a combination of two coupling channels: an overlapped DC electric field and an acoustic gravity wave, as described by the lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling (LAIC). In addition, in order to make the investigations still more convincing, we completed a statistical analysis for the ionospheric anomalies of earthquakes over Ms6.0 in the study area (20°~40° N, 92°~112° E) from 1 January 2019 to 1 July 2022. The nine seismic events reveal that most strong earthquakes are preceded by obvious synchronous anomalies from ground-based and satellite ionospheric observations. The anomalous disturbances generally appear 1–15 days before the earthquakes, and the continuity and reliability of ground-based ionospheric anomaly detection are relatively high. Based on the integrated ionospheric satellite–ground observations, a cross-validation analysis can effectively improve the confidence level of anomaly identification and reduce the frequency of false anomalies.

High-frequency Doppler (HFD) sounding is one of the major remote sensing techniques used for monitoring the ionosphere. Conventional systems for HFDs mainly utilize analog circuits. However, existing analog systems have become difficult to maintain as the number of people capable of working with analog circuits has declined. To solve this problem, we developed an alternate HFD receiver system based on digital signal processing. The software-defined radio (SDR) technique enables the receiver to be set up without the knowledge of analog circuit devices. This approach also downsizes the system and reduces costs. A highly stabilized radio system for both the transmitter and receiver is necessary for stable long-term observations of various phenomena in the ionosphere. The global positioning system disciplined oscillator with an accuracy of 10-11 compensates for the frequency stability required by the new receiving system. In the new system, four frequencies are received and signal-processed simultaneously. The dynamic range of the new system is wider (> 130 dB) than that of the conventional system used in HFD observations conducted by the University of Electro-Communications in Japan. The signal-to-noise ratio significantly improved by 20 dB. The new digital system enables radio waves to be received with much smaller amplitudes at four different frequencies. The new digital receivers have been installed at some of the stations in the HFD observation network in Japan and have already captured various ionospheric phenomena, including medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances and sudden commencement induced electric field fluctuations, which indicates the feasibility of SDR for actual ionospheric observations. The new digital receiver is simple, inexpensive, and small in size, which makes it easy to deploy new receiving stations in Japan and elsewhere. These advantages of the new system will help drive the construction of a wide HFD observation network.

The Dungey cycle is a fundamental process governing large-scale plasma dynamics in the near-Earth space, traditionally examined through Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations and ionospheric observations. However, MHD models often oversimplify the complexities of driving dynamics and kinetic processes, while observational data tend to lack sufficient coverage. In this study, we utilize a hybrid-Vlasov simulation to investigate the Dungey cycle, and introduce a novel method for quantifying reconnection voltages in different Magnetic Local Time (MLT) sectors. This method is validated by comparing it with the ionospheric open flux change rate in the simulation. Our analysis identifies discrete azimuthal convection channels of closed field lines, clearly initiated by dayside reconnection and propagating to the nightside. These channels are prominent even during intervals of intense nightside reconnection. Notably, we observe that the effective length of dayside reconnection fluctuates, even under steady solar wind conditions. Our results reveal significant deviations from MHD theory, which predicts that plasma flows within the magnetosphere should follow flux tube entropy isocontours. Instead, we demonstrate that plasma flows near reconnection sites and at the terminators deviate from isentropic behavior, suggesting the presence of non-adiabatic processes in these regions. This study validates the representation of the Dungey cycle in the Vlasiator 3D simulation and enhances our understanding of global plasma convection. Future work should focus on identifying the kinetic processes that explain the deviations in the plasma convection with flux tube entropy isocontours between MHD theory and kinetic approach.

We report our analysis of multi‐diagnostic ionospheric observations over Indonesia following the 15 January 2022 Tonga volcano eruption. Observation data from the Indonesian global navigation satellite system (GNSS) CORS network, ionosondes, and GNSS ionospheric scintillation and TEC monitor receivers, in conjunction with the Himawari‐8 satellite imagery, were used in the analysis. The Lamb waves from the eruption, traveling at ∼ ${\\sim} $310 m/s, reached eastern part of Indonesia (∼ ${\\sim} $5,000 km from Tonga) approximately 4 hr after the eruption. The Lamb waves traversed the Indonesian region for 4 hr and 40 min, around sunset period. As a result, some unseasonal equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) occurred over this longitude sector, with an interesting initial development pattern. There was a directional split in the zonal drift velocity of these EPBs, where some EPBs drifted eastward with a velocity of 138.0 ± $\\pm $ 6.9 m/s and others westward with a velocity of 39.6 ± $\\pm $ 2.0 m/s. At the same time, traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) from the Tonga eruption also propagated over the Indonesian region with a velocity of 434.6 ± $\\pm $ 21.7 m/s. In the total electron content (TEC) data, interactions between EPBs and TIDs were observed over the region. There were enhancements in the rate‐of‐TEC index (ROTI) and S4 ${\\mathrm{S}}_{4}$ scintillation index, indicating the presence of ionospheric density irregularities. A turbulent ionospheric F‐layer, due to these EPBs and TIDs, caused either spread‐F echoes or a loss of F‐region traces in the ionograms. An intensification of sporadic‐E layer, lasting for a few hours, was also observed in the ionograms.