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Monitoring of Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) with 0–50 kHz Frequency Receiver over Aliero, Nigeria

Received: 3 September 2021     Accepted: 18 September 2021     Published: 12 October 2021
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Abstract

Solar flares are known to produce fast Corona Mass Ejections (CMEs) that can lead to the occurrence of different classes of geomagnetic storms. Severe geomagnetic storms can generate disturbances in the magnetosphere and the ionosphere that can affect communication channels; by disrupting Satellite and navigation systems, such as GPS, Galileo, Compass and GLONASS. During intense Solar flares, enhancement in the ionospheric electron density usually occurs, leading to the absorption of the High Frequency (HF) signals by the ionosphere. Enhancement in the Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio waves (3 – 30 kHz) usually takes place during solar flares. This phenomenon is called Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID). These SIDs serves as an opportunity for the tracking of solar flares using VLF. In this study, the diurnal variation of the VLF signals transmitted from six locations selected from USA, Australia and Japan were used to monitor SIDs. The signals were received using the 0-50 kHz frequency receiver (Super SID Monitor) installed at the Kebbi State University of Science and Technology (KSUST), Aliero, Nigeria (latitude: 12.31°N and Longitude: 4.50°E). The diurnal variation of the VLF signals alongside some magnetic indices (Dst, kp, and ap), solar wind speed and density as well as the solar flux index (f10.7) for the month of February, 2020 was investigated. Results from this study reveal that; the VLF amplitudes appeared to be stronger when the lowest level of the geomagnetic activity was recorded across all stations on the quietest day of the month. During this day, the intensity of the signals received vary across the stations, ranging from 2*104 to 4*107dB. During the disturbed period, decrease in the Disturbance Storm Time (Dst) index was observed to have two minimum excursion with values of -31 and -33 nT, thus indicating a weak geomagnetic storm (-30-50) event. Consequently a gradual increase in the solar wind speed with a peak value of 520 km/s, significant decrease in the VLF amplitude ranging from 50 – 7*105dB was observed during the weak geomagnetic storm, on 19 February, 2020. It is also evident from this study that the intensity/strength of the VLF signal and its pattern of propagation are greatly affected by the geomagnetic storm. In spite of the changes in the VLF amplitude observed, there was no trace of solar flares during the weak geomagnetic storm. This therefore suggests that not all classes of geomagnetic storms are connected to solar flares.

Published in International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11
Page(s) 37-44
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Solar Flares, Ionosphere, Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance, Geomagnetic Storms, Space Weather

References
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[12] Joshua, B. W., Adeniyi, J. O, Amory Mazaudier, C., & Adebiyi, 5. J. (2021) On the pre-magnetic storm signatures in NmF2 in some equatorial, low and mid-latitude stations, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 126, c2021JA029459, https://dol.org/10.1029/2021JA029459.
[13] Kamide, Y., Baumjohann W., Daglis I. A., Gonzalez W. D., Grande M., Joselyn J. A., McPherron R. L., Philips J. L., Reeves E. G. D., Rostoker G., Sharma A. S., Singer H. J., Tsurutani B. T., and Vasyliunas V. M., (1998) current understanding of magnetic storms: Storm-substorm relationships. Journal of Geophysical Research. Vol. 103, No. A8, Pp. 17,705-17,728.
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[15] Adeniyi J. O (1986) Magnetic storm effects on the morphology of the equatorial F2 – layer. Journal of atmospheric and terrestrial physics, 48, (8): 695–702.
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[17] Knipp, D. J., Fraser, B. J., Shea, M. A., and Smart, D. F. (2018). On the little-known consequences of the 4 August 1972 ultra-fast coronal mass ejecta: Facts, commentary, and call to action. Space Weather, 16, 1635–1643. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018SW002024.
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    Joshua Benjamin Wisdom, Suleiman Muhammed Yushau, Gwani Muhammad, Umar Muhammad Kangiwa, Abbas Mustapha, et al. (2021). Monitoring of Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) with 0–50 kHz Frequency Receiver over Aliero, Nigeria. International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science, 9(3), 37-44. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11

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    ACS Style

    Joshua Benjamin Wisdom; Suleiman Muhammed Yushau; Gwani Muhammad; Umar Muhammad Kangiwa; Abbas Mustapha, et al. Monitoring of Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) with 0–50 kHz Frequency Receiver over Aliero, Nigeria. Int. J. Astrophys. Space Sci. 2021, 9(3), 37-44. doi: 10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11

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    AMA Style

    Joshua Benjamin Wisdom, Suleiman Muhammed Yushau, Gwani Muhammad, Umar Muhammad Kangiwa, Abbas Mustapha, et al. Monitoring of Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) with 0–50 kHz Frequency Receiver over Aliero, Nigeria. Int J Astrophys Space Sci. 2021;9(3):37-44. doi: 10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11,
      author = {Joshua Benjamin Wisdom and Suleiman Muhammed Yushau and Gwani Muhammad and Umar Muhammad Kangiwa and Abbas Mustapha and Oladipo Mumin Olatunji},
      title = {Monitoring of Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) with 0–50 kHz Frequency Receiver over Aliero, Nigeria},
      journal = {International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science},
      volume = {9},
      number = {3},
      pages = {37-44},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijass.20210903.11},
      abstract = {Solar flares are known to produce fast Corona Mass Ejections (CMEs) that can lead to the occurrence of different classes of geomagnetic storms. Severe geomagnetic storms can generate disturbances in the magnetosphere and the ionosphere that can affect communication channels; by disrupting Satellite and navigation systems, such as GPS, Galileo, Compass and GLONASS. During intense Solar flares, enhancement in the ionospheric electron density usually occurs, leading to the absorption of the High Frequency (HF) signals by the ionosphere. Enhancement in the Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio waves (3 – 30 kHz) usually takes place during solar flares. This phenomenon is called Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID). These SIDs serves as an opportunity for the tracking of solar flares using VLF. In this study, the diurnal variation of the VLF signals transmitted from six locations selected from USA, Australia and Japan were used to monitor SIDs. The signals were received using the 0-50 kHz frequency receiver (Super SID Monitor) installed at the Kebbi State University of Science and Technology (KSUST), Aliero, Nigeria (latitude: 12.31°N and Longitude: 4.50°E). The diurnal variation of the VLF signals alongside some magnetic indices (Dst, kp, and ap), solar wind speed and density as well as the solar flux index (f10.7) for the month of February, 2020 was investigated. Results from this study reveal that; the VLF amplitudes appeared to be stronger when the lowest level of the geomagnetic activity was recorded across all stations on the quietest day of the month. During this day, the intensity of the signals received vary across the stations, ranging from 2*104 to 4*107dB. During the disturbed period, decrease in the Disturbance Storm Time (Dst) index was observed to have two minimum excursion with values of -31 and -33 nT, thus indicating a weak geomagnetic storm (-30-50) event. Consequently a gradual increase in the solar wind speed with a peak value of 520 km/s, significant decrease in the VLF amplitude ranging from 50 – 7*105dB was observed during the weak geomagnetic storm, on 19 February, 2020. It is also evident from this study that the intensity/strength of the VLF signal and its pattern of propagation are greatly affected by the geomagnetic storm. In spite of the changes in the VLF amplitude observed, there was no trace of solar flares during the weak geomagnetic storm. This therefore suggests that not all classes of geomagnetic storms are connected to solar flares.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Monitoring of Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) with 0–50 kHz Frequency Receiver over Aliero, Nigeria
    AU  - Joshua Benjamin Wisdom
    AU  - Suleiman Muhammed Yushau
    AU  - Gwani Muhammad
    AU  - Umar Muhammad Kangiwa
    AU  - Abbas Mustapha
    AU  - Oladipo Mumin Olatunji
    Y1  - 2021/10/12
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11
    T2  - International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science
    JF  - International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science
    JO  - International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science
    SP  - 37
    EP  - 44
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-7022
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijass.20210903.11
    AB  - Solar flares are known to produce fast Corona Mass Ejections (CMEs) that can lead to the occurrence of different classes of geomagnetic storms. Severe geomagnetic storms can generate disturbances in the magnetosphere and the ionosphere that can affect communication channels; by disrupting Satellite and navigation systems, such as GPS, Galileo, Compass and GLONASS. During intense Solar flares, enhancement in the ionospheric electron density usually occurs, leading to the absorption of the High Frequency (HF) signals by the ionosphere. Enhancement in the Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio waves (3 – 30 kHz) usually takes place during solar flares. This phenomenon is called Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID). These SIDs serves as an opportunity for the tracking of solar flares using VLF. In this study, the diurnal variation of the VLF signals transmitted from six locations selected from USA, Australia and Japan were used to monitor SIDs. The signals were received using the 0-50 kHz frequency receiver (Super SID Monitor) installed at the Kebbi State University of Science and Technology (KSUST), Aliero, Nigeria (latitude: 12.31°N and Longitude: 4.50°E). The diurnal variation of the VLF signals alongside some magnetic indices (Dst, kp, and ap), solar wind speed and density as well as the solar flux index (f10.7) for the month of February, 2020 was investigated. Results from this study reveal that; the VLF amplitudes appeared to be stronger when the lowest level of the geomagnetic activity was recorded across all stations on the quietest day of the month. During this day, the intensity of the signals received vary across the stations, ranging from 2*104 to 4*107dB. During the disturbed period, decrease in the Disturbance Storm Time (Dst) index was observed to have two minimum excursion with values of -31 and -33 nT, thus indicating a weak geomagnetic storm (-30-50) event. Consequently a gradual increase in the solar wind speed with a peak value of 520 km/s, significant decrease in the VLF amplitude ranging from 50 – 7*105dB was observed during the weak geomagnetic storm, on 19 February, 2020. It is also evident from this study that the intensity/strength of the VLF signal and its pattern of propagation are greatly affected by the geomagnetic storm. In spite of the changes in the VLF amplitude observed, there was no trace of solar flares during the weak geomagnetic storm. This therefore suggests that not all classes of geomagnetic storms are connected to solar flares.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Physics, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Nigeria

  • Department of Physics, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Nigeria

  • Department of Physics, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Nigeria

  • Department of Physics, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Nigeria

  • Department of Physics, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Nigeria

  • Department of Physics and Electronics, Koladaisi University, Ibadan, Nigeria

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