Mid-latitude ionospheric scintillation anomaly in the Far East

Abstract. A long-term (over 3 years) study has been undertaken to obtain a comprehensive evaluation of VHF ionospheric scintillation morphology in East Asia (at Kokobunji in Japan), using amplitude records from Transit satellites. It is now evident that summer day and night scintillation enhancement in this mid-latitude region is a long-term evidence of a well-known Asian ionospheric disturbance anomaly. The scintillation activity is particularly strong during summer nights (21:00–24:00 LT) and on occasion, all satellite passes recorded on consecutive days are associated with pronounced scintillation activity. A second sub-maximum is observed in the summer pre-noon period (09:00–12:00 LT). The scintillation regions extend latitudinally for a distance of 400–600 km in the F-region and 100–200 km in the E-region, mostly equatorwards of Kokobunji. For comparison similar scintillation data obtained for one year at the same longitudinal sector but in southern mid-latitudes (Brisbane in Australia) were compared with the simultaneous northern scintillation data. The scintillation activity at Brisbane was much less pronounced in the southern summer but was of the same low level during other seasons as that for Kokobunji. This consistent scintillation anomaly, as yet, has not been included in the global scintillation models, which are essential for radio-satellite communications.

Key words. Ionosphere (mid-latitude ionosphere; ionospheric irregularities)