Survey of ionospheric F2 region variability from the lower atmosphere: drivers and responses - Part 2

Phil Erickson, W1PJE, will follow with a condensed summary of recent community research on the types of physical processes that produce F2 layer ionospheric variations from waves, heating, and other sources in the lower neutral atmosphere (space weather “from below”). Examples will include acoustic waves, gravity waves, planetary waves, TADs (traveling atmospheric disturbances), and their influence on TIDs (travelling ionospheric disturbances). Numerical estimates of the various forcing terms provide a useful gauge of the relative importance and impact of these processes. Phil will close by specifically focusing on estimates of the magnitude of electron density variations in the F2 region of the ionosphere due to earthquake effects. In particular, ionospheric density observations from sources such as the global satellite navigation system (GNSS) allow a quantitative, numerate discussion of earthquake drivers in both time and space dimensions as compared to other known lower atmosphere ionospheric variability drivers.  Phil will conclude with a discussion of the implications for earthquake associated HF propagation effects in the face of observed day-to-day ionospheric density variability.