Auroras, the natural lights seen in Earth's sky near the poles, are shaped by both Earth's and the solar wind's magnetic fields, as well as charged solar particles. This study examines how auroras change when the solar wind's magnetic field is dawn-dusk oriented. Daytime observations are challenging due to sunlight, so we developed a method to further separate auroras from background light. In summer, auroras shift east or west with/against the solar wind's magnetic field.

During geomagnetic storms, the sun drives auroral plasma turbulence that disrupts GPS signals. This turbulence spans sizes from hundreds of kilometers to meters, but most instruments see only a narrow slice. We combined radar and GPS receiver data to build a continuous turbulence spectrum across four orders of magnitude in scale, validated by satellite conjunctions. The spectrum suggests the ionosphere directly mirrors magnetospheric energy input, providing a baseline for space weather models.

A new lidar for calcium ion (Ca⁺) observations has been operated in Yanqing, Beijing, China. Cloud-like Ca⁺ are observed to occur at altitudes of 120–300 km, and these clouds are composed of striped structures. These Ca⁺ are found to descend into Es layer and the main metal layer, and increase their ion density. According to the stripe-like structures and their influence on the metal ion layers, we believe that these metal ions observed by the lidar in Beijing come from meteoroids trails

This study provides observational evidence that the solar zenith angle (SZA) influences the vertical structure of diurnal tides in the MLT region. Diurnal tides are strongest at low and mid-latitudes (10–50° N/S) and weaker near the Equator and at polar latitudes. The results further suggest that background zonal winds influence tidal propagation and structure through filtering and momentum drag.

With an ongoing mass loss the Antarctic Ice Sheet contributes to global-mean sea level rise at a rate of 0.4 mm/a. Thus, it plays a key role in global climate and provides a natural laboratory to study processes that interlink cryosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere and ocean. We discuss how GNSS and seismic networks in Antarctica were used to significantly advance our understanding of these processes, and how they should be maintained and extended to answer key science questions in the future.