Measuring Daily Ionospheric Variability and the 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipse Ionospheric Impacts Using HamSCI HF Doppler Shift Receivers

This project will study ionospheric variability across the continental United States (CONUS) generated by dawn/dusk transitions and two solar eclipses occurring in 2023 and 2024. Dawn and dusk produce a complex response in observed ionospheric variability that is still not completely understood. A network of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stabilized/synchronized high frequency (HF) receivers known as Grapes will be used for the study. Thirty Grape receivers will be deployed throughout North America to optimize the study of the ionospheric impacts simultaneously received from two locations. Additional stations will be funded by the HamSCI amateur radio community. This project will generate observations to answer the scientific questions: (1) How do dawn and dusk ionospheric variability vary with local time, season, latitude, longitude, frequency, distance, and direction from the transmitter? (2) Is eclipse ionospheric response symmetric with regard to the onset and recovery timing? (3) How similar is the eclipse to the daily dawn and dusk terminator passage? (4) Would multipath HF mode-splitting in the post-eclipse interval be similar to dawn events? (5) Would the response be different for two eclipses?

This project is part of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) program and will be open to volunteers who want to field instruments and contribute to scientific analysis and discussion. This project will also establish a new network of DASI instruments that, due to its low cost and operation by volunteers, has the potential to provide measurements for years to come. This project will support students (undergraduate, MS and Ph.D.).