Occurrences of Regional Strong <i>E</i><sub>s</sub> Irregularities and Corresponding Scintillations Characterized Using a High‐Temporal‐Resolution GNSS Network
Wenjie Sun, Lianhuan Hu, Yuyan Yang, Xiukuan Zhao, Sipeng Yang, Haiyong Xie, Yi Li, Libo Liu, Baiqi Ning, Guozhu Li
Abstract
Abstract Strong sporadic E ( E s ) irregularities over China are investigated based on high‐temporal‐resolution total electron content (TEC) derived from two crossed chains of Beidou geostationary satellite (BD‐GEO) TEC receivers along 110°E and 23°N, respectively. The high resolution rate of TEC index (HR‐ROTI) calculated at an interval of 30 s, is proposed to characterize small‐scale strong E s irregularity structures. Based on the HR‐ROTI measurements and the typical drift velocity of E s 60 m/s, the scale sizes of strong E s irregularity structures were revealed to be mainly ∼7 km. The structures were mostly quasi‐periodically separated with distances of 7–16 km. Through a further statistical analysis of strong E s irregularity structures along the two chains, it was found that the E s irregularity structures predominantly occur during local summer at middle and low latitudes, with the occurrence rate peaking at ∼30°N. On average approximately 2–5 small‐scale strong E s irregularity structures may be embedded in one larger‐scale structure. Unlike the equatorial and low‐latitude F‐region irregularities which cause scintillations under most conditions, the strong E s irregularity characterized by HR‐ROTI caused scintillation with relatively low occurrence rates of 37% and 12% at middle and low latitudes, respectively.