Spread-F occurrences and relationships with foF2 and h'F at low- and mid-latitudes in China

• Published in: Earth, planets, and space Vol. 70; no. 1
• Main Authors: Wang, Ning, Guo, Lixin, Zhao, Zhenwei, Ding, Zonghua, Lin, Leke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 16.04.2018
• Subjects: Ionosphere; Natural history; Observations; Radio waves; China
• ISSN: 1343-8832; 1880-5981
• DOI: 10.1186/s40623-018-0821-9

Ionospheric irregularities are an important phenomenon in scientific studies and applications of radio-wave propagation. Spread-F echoes in ionograms are a type of high-frequency band irregularities that include frequency spread-F (FSF), range spread-F (RSF), and mixed spread-F (MSF) events. In this study, we obtained spread-F data from four ionosondes at low- and mid-latitudes near the 120°E chain in China during the 23rd solar cycle. We used these data to investigate spread-F occurrence percentages and variations with local time, season, latitude, and solar activity. The four ionosondes were located at Haikou (HK) (20°N, 110.34°E), Guangzhou (GZ) (23.14°N, 113.36°E), Beijing (BJ) (40.11°N, 116.28°E), and Changchun (CC) (43.84°N, 125.28°E). We also present possible correlations between spread-Fs and other ionospheric parameters, such as the critical frequency of the F2-layer (foF2) and the virtual height of the bottom-side F-layer (h'F). In particular, we investigated the possible threshold of the foF2 affecting the FSF and the relationship between the h'F and the RSF. The main conclusions are as follows: (a) the FSF occurrence percentages were anti-correlated with solar activity at all four sites; meanwhile, RSF occurrence rates increased with the increase in solar activity at HK, but not at the other three sites; (b) FSF occurrence rates were larger at the mid-latitudes than expected, while FSFs occurred more often after midnight; (c) the highest FSF occurrence rates mostly appeared during the summer months, while RSFs occurred mostly in the equinoctial months of 2000-2002 at HK and GZ; (d) a lower foF2 was suitable for FSF events; nevertheless, h'F and RSF occurrences satisfied the parabolic relationship; (e) the foF2 thresholds for FSFs were 15, 14, 7.6, and 7.8 MHz at HK, GZ, BJ, and CC, respectively. The h'Fs occurring between 240 and 290 km were more favorable for RSF occurrences. These results are important for understanding ionospheric irregularity variations in eastern Asia and for improving space weather modeling and forecasting capabilities.