Balloon measurements of the vertical ionization profile over southern Israel and comparison to mid-latitude observations

Roy Yaniv; Yoav Yair; Colin Price; Keri Nicoll; Giles Harrison; Anton Artamonov; Ilya Usoskin

doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2016.10.003

Balloon measurements of the vertical ionization profile over southern Israel and comparison to mid-latitude observations

Roy Yaniv, Yoav Yair, Colin Price, Keri Nicoll, Giles Harrison, Anton Artamonov, Ilya Usoskin

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Airborne measurements using meteorological balloons were conducted for the first time from southern Israel (geographic 30°35’N, 34°45’E geomagnetic 27°6’N 112°23’E) for measuring the vertical ionization profile during solar cycle 24. The results show the differences (increase of ~30%) in count rates as we proceed from solar maximum toward solar minimum. The observed altitude of maximum ionization (the Regener-Pfotzer maximum) was between 17–20 km, and it agrees well with results from other simultaneous measurements conducted at different latitudes (Reading, UK and Zaragoza-Barcelona, Spain). When compared with predictions of an analytical model, we find a highly significant correlation (R²=0.97) between our observations and the computed ionization profiles. The difference in count rates can be attributed to the height of the tropopause due to the model using a US standard atmosphere that differs from the measured atmospheric parameters above Israel.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	87-92
Number of pages	6
Journal	Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics
Volume	149
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2016.10.003
State	Published - 1 Nov 2016
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Balloon
Galactic Cosmic Rays
Ionization Profile
Solar cycle

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10.1016/j.jastp.2016.10.003

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title = "Balloon measurements of the vertical ionization profile over southern Israel and comparison to mid-latitude observations",

abstract = "Airborne measurements using meteorological balloons were conducted for the first time from southern Israel (geographic 30°35{\textquoteright}N, 34°45{\textquoteright}E geomagnetic 27°6{\textquoteright}N 112°23{\textquoteright}E) for measuring the vertical ionization profile during solar cycle 24. The results show the differences (increase of ~30%) in count rates as we proceed from solar maximum toward solar minimum. The observed altitude of maximum ionization (the Regener-Pfotzer maximum) was between 17–20 km, and it agrees well with results from other simultaneous measurements conducted at different latitudes (Reading, UK and Zaragoza-Barcelona, Spain). When compared with predictions of an analytical model, we find a highly significant correlation (R2=0.97) between our observations and the computed ionization profiles. The difference in count rates can be attributed to the height of the tropopause due to the model using a US standard atmosphere that differs from the measured atmospheric parameters above Israel.",

keywords = "Balloon, Galactic Cosmic Rays, Ionization Profile, Solar cycle",

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doi = "10.1016/j.jastp.2016.10.003",

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AU - Yaniv, Roy

AU - Yair, Yoav

AU - Price, Colin

AU - Nicoll, Keri

AU - Harrison, Giles

AU - Artamonov, Anton

AU - Usoskin, Ilya

PY - 2016/11/1

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N2 - Airborne measurements using meteorological balloons were conducted for the first time from southern Israel (geographic 30°35’N, 34°45’E geomagnetic 27°6’N 112°23’E) for measuring the vertical ionization profile during solar cycle 24. The results show the differences (increase of ~30%) in count rates as we proceed from solar maximum toward solar minimum. The observed altitude of maximum ionization (the Regener-Pfotzer maximum) was between 17–20 km, and it agrees well with results from other simultaneous measurements conducted at different latitudes (Reading, UK and Zaragoza-Barcelona, Spain). When compared with predictions of an analytical model, we find a highly significant correlation (R2=0.97) between our observations and the computed ionization profiles. The difference in count rates can be attributed to the height of the tropopause due to the model using a US standard atmosphere that differs from the measured atmospheric parameters above Israel.

AB - Airborne measurements using meteorological balloons were conducted for the first time from southern Israel (geographic 30°35’N, 34°45’E geomagnetic 27°6’N 112°23’E) for measuring the vertical ionization profile during solar cycle 24. The results show the differences (increase of ~30%) in count rates as we proceed from solar maximum toward solar minimum. The observed altitude of maximum ionization (the Regener-Pfotzer maximum) was between 17–20 km, and it agrees well with results from other simultaneous measurements conducted at different latitudes (Reading, UK and Zaragoza-Barcelona, Spain). When compared with predictions of an analytical model, we find a highly significant correlation (R2=0.97) between our observations and the computed ionization profiles. The difference in count rates can be attributed to the height of the tropopause due to the model using a US standard atmosphere that differs from the measured atmospheric parameters above Israel.

KW - Balloon

KW - Galactic Cosmic Rays

KW - Ionization Profile

KW - Solar cycle

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ER -

Balloon measurements of the vertical ionization profile over southern Israel and comparison to mid-latitude observations

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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