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Ann. Geophys., 23, 379-384, 2005
www.ann-geophys.net/23/379/2005/
© European Geosciences Union 2005
The climatology of ionospheric plasma bubbles and irregularities over Brazil
F. D. Chu1,2, J. Y. Liu1,3, H. Takahashi4, J. H. A. Sobral4, M. J. Taylor5, and A. F. Medeiros6
1Institute of Space Science, National Central University, Taiwan
2National Standard Time and Frequency Laboratory, Telecommunication Laboratories, Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd., Taiwan
3Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research, National Central University, Taiwan
4Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais-NIPE, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil
5Space Dynamics Laboratory and Physics Department, Utah State University, USA
6Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Brazil
Abstract. In this paper, we examine ionospheric plasma depletions (or
bubbles) and irregularities observed by photometers and a ground-based
receiver of the global positioning system (GPS) both located in Brazil,
South America. A simultaneous observation reveals that when the ionospheric
plasma becomes depleted, the GPS total electron content decreases and the
associated phase fluctuations grow. Statistical results show that the plasma
bubbles and the significant GPS phase fluctuations generally occur during
October-March. The solar activity variation is not obvious in either
observation except during the equinoctial months. The GPS phase fluctuations
suggest that the most pronounced ionospheric irregularities appear between 20:00 and
01:00 LT, which generally agree with previous ionospheric bubble
observations.
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