CEDAR: Effects of the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse on the Earth's Ionosphere

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

The effects of the solar eclipse in 2017 on the ionosphere will be studied using a combination of GPS receivers, the SuperDARN radar system, HF-band amateur radio, and plasma modeling. The large array of information to be used will include data accumulated by amateur radio operators, and involve graduate students and the Virginia Tech amateur radio club as well as the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). Analysis of this information is expected to constrain models and enrich our understanding of ionospheric behavior. The long path length over US soil of the 2017 eclipse affords an exceptional opportunity to focus significant diagnostic capabilities on the ionospheric effects of eclipses. Details of E and F-region variability will be exposed, and the natural laboratory provided by the eclipse will be used to study geophysical plasma diffusion, convective motion, and production of irregularities and waves. In coordination with more quantitative data from other sources, the amateur radio data will be used to constrain models in order to reconstruct the temporal evolution of the plasma density and the spatial extent of eclipse effects on the ionosphere.