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Ann. Geophys., 26, 1173-1179, 2008
www.ann-geophys.net/26/1173/2008/
© European Geosciences Union 2008
Geomagnetic and ionospheric data analysis over Antarctica: a contribution to the long term trends investigation
L. Alfonsi, G. De Franceschi, and A. De Santis
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata, 605, 00143 Rome, Italy
Abstract. The analysis of the foF2 ionosonde data acquired at mid and high latitudes
reveals a general decreasing of the F2 plasma frequency over more than two
solar cycles, showing steeper trends over the high latitude stations and, in
particular, over Antarctica. A careful analysis of the foF2 hourly data,
opportunely catalogued in different levels of magneto-ionospheric
conditions, highlights the role of the geomagnetic activity in the secular
change of the ionosphere and confirms the latitudinal dependence of the
trends. These results suggest interesting relations with some recent
findings on the rapid decrease of some important physical and statistical
quantities related to the geomagnetic field over the whole globe and mainly
in Antarctica. In this paper we discuss the possibility of a connection
between the ionospheric trends and a possible imminent geomagnetic reversal
or excursion.
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