Multi‐Frequency SuperDARN HF Radar Observations of the Ionospheric Response to the October 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse

Abstract An annular solar eclipse was visible on 14 October 2023 from 15:00–21:00 UT as its path traveled across North, Central, and South America. In this letter, we present the first multi‐frequency Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) observations of the bottomside ionospheric response to a solar eclipse using a novel experimental mode designed for the October 2023 annular eclipse. We compare our results from the mid‐latitude Christmas Valley East radar with measurements of the vertical electron density profile from the nearby Boulder Digisonde, finding the changes in 1‐ and 2‐hop ground scatter skip distance are well correlated with the ‐layer density response, which lags the peak obscuration by 30 min. Changes in the line‐of‐sight Doppler shifts are better aligned with the time derivative of eclipse obscuration.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2024-12-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl112450
Primary Topic
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Multi‐Frequency SuperDARN HF Radar Observations of the Ionospheric Response to the October 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse

David R. Themens, B. Kunduri, Simon Shepherd, E. G. Thomas
Geophysical Research Letters
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
article

Multi‐Frequency SuperDARN HF Radar Observations of the Ionospheric Response to the October 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse

David R. Themens, B. Kunduri, Simon Shepherd, E. G. Thomas
article en

Abstract

Abstract An annular solar eclipse was visible on 14 October 2023 from 15:00–21:00 UT as its path traveled across North, Central, and South America. In this letter, we present the first multi‐frequency Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) observations of the bottomside ionospheric response to a solar eclipse using a novel experimental mode designed for the October 2023 annular eclipse. We compare our results from the mid‐latitude Christmas Valley East radar with measurements of the vertical electron density profile from the nearby Boulder Digisonde, finding the changes in 1‐ and 2‐hop ground scatter skip distance are well correlated with the ‐layer density response, which lags the peak obscuration by 30 min. Changes in the line‐of‐sight Doppler shifts are better aligned with the time derivative of eclipse obscuration.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 51(24)
Dartmouth College (US), University of Birmingham (GB), Virginia Tech (US)
National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Met Office, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Research Laboratory
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 83%
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
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