Response of the electron density profiles to geomagnetic disturbances in January 2005

The ionospheric response to geomagnetic storms is usually investigated by considering the variability of the critical frequency of the F2-layer (foF2) or the total electron content (TEC) because these two parameters are directly measured by the ionosonde stations and the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). In the present paper, however, the reaction is explored by using the vertical profiles of the electron density, N(h), reconstructed by manually scaled ionosonde measurements at the station Sofia (42.4°N, 23.2°E). The mid-latitude ionosheric response to three geomagnetic storms that occurred in January 2005 is presented as this period has been selected because no major sudden stratospheric warming occurred during this month, and the winter 2005 is given in the literature as an example of a “normal” year. Hence the observed ionospheric response to the considered geomagnetic storms can be attributed mainly to the external forcing. Besides the traditional parameters foF2 and TEC, a particular attention is paid to the variability of the peak electron density height (hmF2). This study reveals for the first time that the main contribution to the response of the midlatitude ionosphere to moderate/intense winter geomagnetic storms is associated with significant enhancements of short-period quasi-diurnal oscillations with period of 6–7 hours observed in both foF2 and hmF2. An explanation of the main mechanisms responsible for the distortion of the diurnal ionospheric variability during these storms is offered. This result is especially important for the ground-based HF radio communications.