Work

Geospace response to May 2024 X-class flare and coronal mass ejection

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The space weather events from May 8–12, 2024, including solar flares and a coronal mass ejection , significantly impacted the Earth’s magnetosphere , ionosphere and thermosphere system. These events also affected space technologies such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). On the May 10 post-noon period, a large amount of solar wind energy was transferred to the dayside Earth magnetosphere through the southward Bz-directed interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), initiating a sudden storm commencement (SSC) which reached a minimum DST of −412 nT on May 11. A recovery phase was extended to 12 May. The storm was the strongest since 2002. During the storm’s early recovery phase on May 11, there was a negative ionospheric response of the Total Electron Content (TEC) in all six stations, although more pronounced in the mid-latitude stations than the equatorial stations, leading to an improved GNSS positioning accuracy. This negative TEC response could be explained by changes in the composition of ∑ O / N 2 in the thermosphere . In the Southern Hemisphere , the equatorward flow of the predominant N 2 in the thermospheric circulation occurs before it arrives in the Northern Hemisphere.

Source: Advances in Space Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2025.04.036

Authors: Joseph Omojola, Katelynn Greer, Daniel Moeketsi

Institutions: North-West University, Federal University Lafia, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

Language: English

Topic: Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,780

Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, North-West University