Influence of the Earth's diurnal rotation on dynamic parameters of large-scale disturbance of Total Electron Content (TEC) was investigated. For this purpose TEC data from the international GPS network were used. We have examined TEC disturbance generated in the northern hemisphere during strong magnetic storm on October 29, 2003. This disturbance is characterized as a large-scale wave of a solitary type with the annular front shape whose center is located near the geomagnetic pole. It was shown that the velocity and travel direction of the disturbance had a strongly pronounced longitudinal dependence. The least velocity (700 m/s) was detected in the night hemisphere, where TEC value was minimum. The greatest velocity (1600 m/s) was detected in the day hemisphere, where TEC value was maximum. In general the disturbance traveled equatorward. But we found out "swirling" effect of disturbance travel in the direction opposite to the Earth's rotation. The zonal projection of the disturbance velocity directed westward causes this "swirling" effect. In the morning and evening sectors the zonal projection was exceeded the meridional one. In the night and day sectors disturbance traveled in the meridional direction nearly. Comparison with the Global Ionospheric Maps (GIM) data showed that zonal transfer of disturbance is probably caused by the movement of the ionization maximum due to the Earth's diurnal rotation.

Date Published: 14 February 2008
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 6936, Fourteenth International Symposium on Atmospheric and Ocean Optics/Atmospheric Physics, 69361B (14 February 2008); doi: 10.1117/12.783526

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6936:
Fourteenth International Symposium on Atmospheric and Ocean Optics/Atmospheric Physics
Gennadii G. Matvienko; Victor A. Banakh, Editor(s)