The High Latitude Ionospheric Response to the Major May 2024 Geomagnetic Storm: A Synoptic View
Abstract The high latitude ionospheric evolution of the May 10‐11, 2024, geomagnetic storm is investigated in terms of Total Electron Content and contextualized with Incoherent Scatter Radar and ionosonde observations. Substantial plasma lifting is observed within the initial Storm Enhanced Density plume with ionospheric peak heights increasing by 150–300 km, reaching levels of up to 630 km. Scintillation is observed within the cusp during the initial expansion phase of the storm, spreading across the auroral oval thereafter. Patch transport into the polar cap produces broad regions of scintillation that are rapidly cleared from the region after a strong Interplanetary Magnetic Field reversal at 2230UT. Strong heating and composition changes result in the complete absence of the F2‐layer on the eleventh, suffocating high latitude convection from dense plasma necessary for Tongue of Ionization and patch formation, ultimately resulting in a suppression of polar cap scintillation on the eleventh.
Authors
- P. T. Jayachandran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6566-708X)
- K. M. Groves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2067-1579)
- Alan Wood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7527-4757)
- Ivan Galkin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7286-8509)
- A. J. Kavanagh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7360-7039)
- Sophie Maguire (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1110-8730)
- Shun‐Rong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1946-3166)
- Benjamin Reid (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7998-1037)
- David R. Themens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2567-8187)
- Sean Elvidge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2846-0730)
- Anthony M. McCaffrey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5039-7358)
- A. J. Coster (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8980-6550)
- Л. П. Гончаренко (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9031-7439)
- Gareth Dorrian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5308-6894)
- Asti Bhatt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8881-5348)
- Lindsay Goodwin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5302-7889)
- Chris Watson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3749-4417)
- R. H. Varney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5976-2638)
Institutions
- Boston College (US)
- University of New Brunswick (CA)
- New Jersey Institute of Technology (US)
- SRI International (US)
- British Antarctic Survey (GB)
- University of Massachusetts Lowell (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Menlo School (US)
- Northeast Radio Observatory Corporation (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Birmingham (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Published
- 2024-09-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl111677
- Citations
- 73
- Primary Topic
- Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 24.20
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- General Dynamics
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Symposium Mammographicum
- Leverhulme Trust
- Sight Research UK
- Office of Nuclear Energy
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Office of Naval Research
- School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego