Development of TNU-SuperSID Teaching Module for Observing the Effects of Solar Activities on the Lower Ionosphere

Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Science and Technology, Tay Nguyen university has collaborated with Stanford Solar Center of Stanford university on Space Weather monitor project. We have developed the TNU-SuperSID teaching module which has three main parts： antenna, preamplifier and data logger. This module can detect the variation of Very Low Frequency （VLF, 3 - 30 kHz） signals during sunrise and sunset transition, and sudden ionospheric disturbance due to solar flares. In other word, the behavior of the Earth＇s lower ionosphere corresponding the solar activities is understood by using VLF technique. Our project helps undergraduate students who are learning the astrophysics and space physics to enhance their knowledge in space science and their technical skills with real experiments. Through the participant in this project, students can also be gained their skills such as communication, working in team, processing data, etc.

Prediction of solar activities:Sunspot numbers and solar magnetic synoptic maps

The evolution of solar magnetic fields is significant for understanding and predicting solar activities.And our knowledge of solar magnetic fields largely depends on the photospheric magnetic field.In this paper,based on the spherical harmonic expansion of the photospheric magnetic field observed by Wilcox Solar Observatory,we analyze the time series of spherical harmonic coefficients and predict Sunspot Number as well as synoptic maps for Solar Cycle 25.We find that solar maximum years have complex short-period disturbances,and the time series of coefficient g_(7)~0 is nearly in-phase with Sunspot Number,which may be related to solar meridional circulation.Utilizing Long Short-Term Memory networks(LSTM),our prediction suggests that the maximum of Solar Cycle 25 is likely to occur in June 2024 with an error of 8 months,the peak sunspot number may be 166.9±22.6,and the next solar minimum may occur around January 2031.By incorporating Empirical Mode Decomposition,we enhance our forecast of synoptic maps truncated to Order 5,validating their relative reliability.This prediction not only addresses a gap in forecasting the global distribution of the solar magnetic field but also holds potential reference value for forthcoming solar observation plans.

Semiannual oscillation,annual oscillation,quasibiennial oscillation,and solar cycle variation of the OH airglow emission in the mesopause region

The vertically integrated emission rate,centroid altitude,peak emission rate,and peak height of the hydroxyl(OH)airglow were calculated from Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics(TIMED)/Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry(SABER)observations to study the seasonal and interannual variations in the intensity and location of the OH emission.The emission rate is inversely proportional to the height of the emission,with the semiannual oscillation dominating at low latitudes and the annual oscillation dominating at higher latitudes.The OH emission is modulated by the quasibiennial oscillation at the equator,and the quasibiennial oscillation signal is weak at other latitudes.We represented the vertical transport of atomic oxygen by using atomic oxygen concentrations obtained from a global atmospheric model,the Specified Dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere eXtension simulations.Compared with the amplitudes of the migrating diurnal tide(DW1)calculated from temperature data observed by TIMED/SABER,we found that both the vertical transport of atomic oxygen and DW1 amplitudes in the equatorial region exhibit semiannual oscillation and quasibiennial oscillation,which have a strong correlation with the variations in the amplitude and phase of semiannual oscillation and quasibiennial oscillation in OH emission.It is likely that the DW1 affects the vertical transport of atomic oxygen that is involved in the reaction to produce O3,thus affecting the OH emission.We analyzed the relationship between OH emission and solar activity by using the solar radio flux at 10.7 cm as a proxy for solar activity.The results showed that the OH emission is well correlated with solar activity,and the modulation of OH emission by solar activity has a significant latitudinal variation.The small correlation between emission height and solar activity indicates that solar activity modulates OH emission mainly through chemical rather than dynamic processes.

ENSO Index Variations and Links with Solar and Volcanic Activity

In this paper, we investigated the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI), for simplicity called in this paper an El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index in 1950-2023 by applying the wavelet spectral transform and the IBM SPSS correlations analysis. ONI follows the three months’ current measurements of the average temperature of the sea surface in the East-Central tropical part of the Pacific Ocean nearby the international line of the date change over the average sea surface temperature over the past 30 years. The ENSO index is found to have a strong (>87%) correlation with the Global Land-Ocean Temperature (GLOT). The scatter plots of the ENSO-GLOT correlation with the linear and cubic fits have shown that the ENSO index is better fit by the cubic polynomial increasing proportionally to a cubic power of the GLOT variations. The wavelet analysis allowed us to detect the two key periods in the ENSO (ONI) index: 4 - 5 years and 12 years. The smaller period of 4.5 years can be linked to the motion of tectonic plates while the larger period of 12 years is shown to have a noticeable correlation of 25% with frequencies of the underwater (submarine) volcanic eruptions in the areas with ENSO occurrences. Not withholding any local terrestrial factors considered to contribute to the ENSO occurrences, we investigated the possibility of the volcanic eruptions causing ENSO to be also induced by the tidal forces of Jupiter and Sun showing the correlation of the underwater volcanic eruption frequency with the Jupiter-Earth distances to be 12% and with the Sun-Earth distances, induced by the solar inertial motion, in January, when the Earth is turned to the Sun with the southern hemisphere where the ENSO occurs, to become 15%. Hence, the underwater volcanic eruptions induced by tidal forces of Jupiter and Sun can be the essential additional factors imposing this 12 year period of the ENSO (ONI) index variations.

The Dependence between Solar Flare Emergence and the Average Background Solar X-Ray Flux Emission

Solar flares, sudden bursts of intense electromagnetic radiation from the Sun, can significantly disrupt technological infrastructure, including communication and navigation satellites. To mitigate these risks, accurate forecasting of solar activity is crucial. This study investigates the potential of the Sun’s background X-ray flux as a tool for predicting solar flares. We analyzed data collected by solar telescopes and satellites between the years 2013 and 2023, focusing on the duration, frequency, and intensity of solar flares. We compared these characteristics with the background X-ray flux at the time of each flare event. Our analysis employed statistical methods to identify potential correlations between these solar phenomena. The key finding of this study reveals a significant positive correlation between solar flare activity and the Sun’s background X-ray flux. This suggests that these phenomena are interconnected within the framework of overall solar activity. We observed a clear trend: periods with increased occurrences of solar flares coincided with elevated background flux levels. This finding has the potential to improve solar activity forecasting. By monitoring background flux variations, we may be able to develop a more effective early warning system for potentially disruptive solar flares. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between solar flares and the Sun’s overall radiative output. These findings indicate that lower-resolution X-ray sensors can be a valuable tool for identifying periods of increased solar activity by allowing us to monitor background flux variations. A more affordable approach to solar activity monitoring is advised.

Comparative analysis of extreme ultraviolet solar radiation proxies during minimum activity levels

Four extreme ultraviolet(EUV)solar radiation proxies(Magnesium II core-to-wing ratio(MgII),Lymanαflux(Fα),10.7-cm solar radio flux(F10.7),and sunspot number(Rz))were analyzed during the last four consecutive solar activity minima to investigate how they differ during minimum periods and how well they represent solar EUV radiation.Their variability within each minimum and between minima was compared by considering monthly means.A comparison was also made of their role in filtering the effect of solar activity from the critical frequency of the ionospheric F2 layer,foF2,which at mid to low latitudes depends mainly on EUV solar radiation.The last two solar cycles showed unusually low EUV radiation levels according to the four proxies.Regarding the connection between the EUV“true”variation and that of solar proxies,according to the foF2 filtering analysis,MgII and Fαbehaved in a more stable and suitable way,whereas Rz and F10.7 could be overestimating EUV levels during the last two minima,implying they would both underestimate the inter-minima difference of EUV when compared with the first two minima.

Periodicities in Solar Activity, Solar Radiation and Their Links with Terrestrial Environment

Solar magnetic activity is expressed via variations of sunspots and active regions varying on different timescales. The most accepted is an 11-year period supposedly induced by the electromagnetic solar dynamo mechanism. There are also some shorter or longer timescales detected: the biennial cycle (2 - 2.7 years), Gleisberg cycle (80 - 100 years), and Hallstatt’s cycle (2100 - 2300 years). Recently, using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the observed solar background magnetic field (SBMF), another period of 330 - 380 years, or Grand Solar Cycle (GSC), was derived from the summary curve of two eigenvectors of SBMF. In this paper, a spectral analysis of the averaged sunspot numbers, solar irradiance, and the summary curve of eigenvectors of SBMF was carried out using Morlet wavelet and Fourier transforms. We detect a 10.7-year cycle from the sunspots and modulus summary curve of eigenvectors as well a 22-year-cycle and the grand solar cycle of 342 - 350-years from the summary curve of eigenvectors. The Gleissberg centennial cycle is only detected on the full set of averaged sunspot numbers for 400 years or by adding a quadruple component to the summary curve of eigenvectors. Another period of 2200 - 2300 years is detected in the Holocene data of solar irradiance measured from the abundance of 14C isotope. This period was also confirmed with the period of about 2000 - 2100 years derived from a baseline of the solar background magnetic field, supposedly, caused by the solar inertial motion (SIM) induced by the gravitation of large planets. The implication of these findings for different deposition of solar radiation into the northern and southern hemispheres of the Earth caused by the combined effects of the solar activity and solar inertial motion on the terrestrial atmosphere is also discussed.

Terrestrial Temperature, Sea Levels and Ice Area Links with Solar Activity and Solar Orbital Motion

This paper explores the links between terrestrial temperature, sea levels and ice areas in both hemispheres with solar activity indices expressed through averaged sunspot numbers together with the summary curve of eigenvectors of the solar background magnetic field (SBMF) and with changes of Sun-Earth distances caused by solar inertial motion resulting from the gravitation of large planets in the solar system. Using the wavelet analysis of the GLB and HadCRUTS datasets two periods: 21.4 and 36 years in GLB, set and the period of about 19.6 years in the HadCRUTS are discovered. The 21.4-year period is associated with variations in solar activity defined by the summary curve of the largest eigenvectors of the SBMF. A dominant 21.4-year period is also reported in the variations of the sea level, which is linked with the period of 21.4 years detected in the GLB temperature and the summary curve of the SBMF variations. The wavelet analysis of ice and snow areas shows that in the Southern hemisphere, it does not show any links to solar activity periods while in the Northern hemisphere, the ice area reveals a period of 10.7 years equal to a usual solar activity cycle. The TSI in March-August of every year is found to grow with every year following closely the temperature curve, because the Sun moves closer to the Earth orbit owing to gravitation of large planets (solar inertial motion, SIM), while the variations of solar radiation during a whole year have more steady distribution without a sharp TSI increase during the last two centuries. The additional TSI contribution caused by SIM is likely to secure the additional energy input and exchange between the ocean and atmosphere.

Investigation of a Possible Link between Solar Activity and Climate Change in Saudi Arabia: Rainfall Patterns

In this study, annual, quarterly, and monthly mean precipitation data in Saudi Arabia were correlated with sunspot number (SSN) and galactic cosmic ray (CR) flux over 35 years (1985-2019). The results show that the strength, magnitude, proportion and statistical significance of the relationship between precipitation and the two variables varied by season and month. We find that mean annual precipitation in Saudi Arabia, from May to November, and summer and autumn are correlated with cosmic rays and inversely correlated with SSN. Correlations of varying intensities and scales were found during the remaining months and during winter and spring. The relationships between the rainfall and SSN and CR for each solar cycle were investigated and showed that for all three cycles, the annual rainfall over Saudi Arabia has a positive correlation with CR. Different results were obtained when the seasonal rainfall data correlated with the SSNs and CRs during each cycle. The results obtained, in terms of their strength and magnitude, are affected by terrestrial and extra-terrestrial factors. These factors have been briefly presented and discussed. These findings represent a step towards understanding the possible role of solar activity in climate change for future meteorological phenomenon forecasting, even if the physical mechanism is still poorly quantified.

Distributions and Structure of the Solar Wind during Solar Cycles 23 and 24

To observe the level of interaction between the solar wind and the geomagnetic activity, we analyzed the distribution of the solar wind speeds according to the different classes of geomagnetic activity and the different phases of solar activity. We found that, the magnetic quiet activity reccord 80% of the solar wind speeds V s observed 88% of solar wind speeds V > 450 km/s. The shock activity observes 82% of the solar wind speeds V > 450 km/s. About 70% of the solar wind speeds V > 450 km/s, are observed in the corotating activity class. The cloud shock activity and fluctuating activity classes observed respectively 37% and 55% of the wind speeds V > 450 km/s. Furthermore, slow solar winds are mainly observed at the minimum phase of each solar cycle;but exceptionally the solar maximum phase of solar cycle 24, records a significant rate of slow solar wind. Shock winds are mainly observed around the solar maximum and recurrent winds are mainly observed at the descending phase of the solar cycle. Corotating stable winds and moderate shock winds dominate respectively at the descending phase and at the maximum phase.

Introduction to the Chinese Hα Solar Explorer(CHASE)Mission

The Chinese HαSolar Explorer(CHASE)mission,dubbed as“Xihe”——Goddess of the Sun,was launched on 14 October 2021 as the first solar space mission of China National Space Administration(CNSA).The CHASE mission aims to test an ultra-high precision and stability platform,and to acquire solar HαSpectroscopic observations with high temporal and spectral resolutions.Since its launch,the in-orbit performance of the scientific payload——HαImaging Spectrograph(HIS)has been excellent.The first set of data has been calibrated and analyzed recently.The CHASE science data are expected to advance our understanding of the plasma dynamics in the solar lower atmosphere,and to investigate the Sun as a star for stellar physics.

Astronomic background of global huge earthquakes at beginning of 21st century

Since the beginning of the 21st century,major earthquakes have frequently occurred worldwide.To explore the impact of astronomical factors on earthquakes,in this study,the statistical analysis method of correlation is used to systematically analyze the effects of astronomical factors,such as solar activity,Earth’s rotation,lunar declination angle,celestial tidal force,and other phenomena on M≥8 global earthquakes at the beginning of the 21st century.With regard to solar activity,this study focuses on the analysis of the 11-year and century cycles of solar activity.The causal relationship of the Earth’s rotation is not obvious in this work and previous works;in contrast,the valley period of the solar activity century cycle may be an important astronomical factor leading to the frequent occurrence of global earthquakes at the beginning of the 21st century.This topic warrants further study.

Solar Activity and Climate Change Hazards

This paper discusses that the global worming caused by the green-house gases effect will be equal or less than that of the global cooling resulting from the solar activities. In this respect, we refer to the MDM （Modern Dalton Minimum） which stated that starting from 2005 to the next 40 years; the earth＇s surface temperature will become cooler than nowadays. However, the degree of cooling, previously mentioned in old Dalton Minimum （c. 210 year ago）, will be minimized by building-up of green-house gases effect during MDM period. Regarding to the periodicities of solar activities, it is clear that we have a new solar cycle of around 210 years now.

Investigation of Relation between Solar Activity and Earthquakes with Deep Learning Method

Solar activity (SA) has been hypothesized to be a trigger of earthquakes, although it is not as intuitively associated as other potential triggers such as tidal stress, rainfall, and the building of artificial water reservoirs. Here, we investigate the relation between SA and global earthquake numbers (GEN) by using a deep learning method to test the hypothesis. We use the daily data of GEN and SA (1996/01/01-2019/12/31) to construct a temporal convolution network (TCN). From the computational results, we confirm that the TCN captures the relation between SA and earthquakes with magnitudes from 4.0 to 4.9. We also find that the TCN achieves better fitting and prediction performance compared with previous work.

Modulation of the Arctic Oscillation and the East Asian Winter Climate Relationships by the 11-year Solar Cycle

The modulation of the relationship between the Arctic Oscillation （AO） and the East Asian winter climate by the 11-year solar cycle was investigated. During winters with high solar activity （HS）, robust warming appeared in northern Asia in a positive AO phase. This result corresponded to an enhanced anticyclonic flow at 850 hPa over northeastern Asia and a weakened East Asian trough （EAT） at 500 hPa. However, during winters with low solar activity （LS）, both the surface warming and the intensities of the anticyclonic flow and the EAT were much less in the presence of a positive AO phase. The possible atmospheric processes for this 11-year solar-cycle modulation may be attributed to the indirect influence that solar activity induces in the structural changes of AO. During HS winters, the sea level pressure oscillation associated with the AO became stronger, with the significant influence of AO extending to East Asia. In the meantime, the AO-related zonal-mean zonal winds tended to extend more into the stratosphere during HS winters, which implies a stronger coupling to the stratosphere. These trends may have led to an enhanced AO phase difference; thus the associated East Asian climate anomalies became larger and more significant. The situation tended to reverse during LS winters. Further analyses revealed that the relationship between the winter AO and surface-climate anomalies in the following spring is also modulated by the 11-year solar cycle, with significant signals appearing only during HS phases. Solar-cycle variation should be taken into consideration when the AO is used to predict winter and spring climate anomalies over East Asia.

The possible influence of solar activity on Indian summer monsoon rainfall

The Indian summer monsoon rainfall （ISMR） plays an important role in the climate system of South Asia. Recently, studies about ISMR variations have been going into more depth. In this present paper, we mainly use the Scargle periodogram and wavelet transform methods to study the periodicity of ISMR changes between 1871 and 2004 and review the possible influence of solar activity on the rainfall. Analysis results show complicated ISMR variations have periodicities with remarkable time-variable characteristics. Investigating a possible connection between the rainfall and solar variations, we believe that solar activity affects the ISMR variations to some extent.

A logistic model for magnetic energy storage in solar active regions

Previous statistical analyses of a large number of SOHO/MDI full disk longitudinal magnetograms provided a result that demonstrated how responses of solar flares to photospheric magnetic properties can be fitted with sigmoid functions. A logistic model reveals that these fitted sigmoid functions might be related to the free energy storage process in solar active regions. Although this suggested model is rather simple, the free energy level of active regions can be estimated and the probability of a solar flare with importance over a threshold can be forecast within a given time window.

Response of the Intensity of Subtropical High in the Northern Hemisphere to Solar Activity

Using the intensity data of each northern subtropical high measured by monthly 500 hPa height charts for the recent 38 years (1954-1991), we calculate their correlations with the monthly sunspot number and monthly solar radio flux at 10.7 cm wave length, respectively. Through strict test, we further confirm a series of high correlations. Next, using a method called the non-integer (year) wave, the significant response of each subtropical high's intensity to solar activity at its main period of 10.9-year length is found. Special attention is paid to that of the eastern Pacific high, the possible mechanism of such sensible response is also analysed.

Comparison of Diurnal,Seasonal and Solar Cycle Variations of High-latitude,Mid-latitude and Low-latitude Ionosphere

Comparison of regular(diurnal,seasonal and solar cycle)variations of high-latitude,mid-latitude and low-latitude ionospheric characteristics has been provided on basis of local empirical models of the peak electron density and the peak height.The local empirical models were derived from the hand-scaled ionogram data recorded by DPS-4 digisondes located at Norilsk(69°N,88°E),Irkutsk(52°N,104°E)and Hainan(19°N,109°E)for a 6-year period from December,2002 to December,2008.The technique used to build the local empirical model is described.The primary focus is diurnal-seasonal behavior under low solar activity and its change with increasing solar activity.Both common and specific features of the high-latitude(Norilsk),mid-latitude(Irkutsk)and low-latitude(Hainan)regular variations were revealed using their local empirical models.

Interdecadal and decadal variation of temperature over North Pole area and the relation with solar activity

Obvious tendency and periodicity of the air temperature can be detected over the North Pole area.They are reflected as follows： a.the air temperature at the earth surface and in the middle layer of the stratosphere tends to be increased either in winter or in summer.The air temperature has increased 1.3 °C for about 50 years at a speed about 0.025 °C/year in January,and 0.013 °C/year in July.The air temperature in the middle layer of the stratosphere （10 hPa） in January has increased 10 °C.The temperature rising speed in July is 0.14 °C/year.Generally speaking,the temperature rising speed is quicker in winter than in summer and quicker in the upper layer than at the earth surface.b.The air temperature at the top layer of the troposphere （100 hPa） over the North Pole area tends to be increased either in winter or in summer.The air temperature in January has decreased 5.0 °C for about 50 years at a temperature decreasing speed about 0.094 °C/year,and at a temperature decreasing speed about 0.032 °C/year in July.The speed of the temperature decreasing is greater in winter than in summer.c.Periodicity.The air temperature respectively at different altitudes over the North Pole possesses interdecadal variation with a period of 22 years.In July the amplitude of the variation with a period of 22 years decreases rapidly from the high altitude to the low.This means that the 22–year’s period is more obvious at the high altitude than at the low altitude.At the earth surface layer in North Pole there also is obvious decadal variation with a period of 11 years.The analysis indicates that the 22-years’ period temperature variation is associated with the periodic variation of the solar magnetic field.The 11-year period temperature variation is corresponding to 11 year’ period of the variation of the sunspot number.