TITLE:
Total Electron Content Diurnal and Seasonal Variations and Response to Solar Events at Koudougou Station in Burkina Faso
AUTHORS:
Yacouba Sawadogo, M’Bi Kaboré, Somaïla Koala, Arouna Mandé, Jean Louis Zerbo
KEYWORDS:
Total Electron Content (TEC), Recurrent Activity, Quiet Activity, Seasonal Variation
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.14 No.9,
September
7,
2023
ABSTRACT: In this paper, we studied the
seasonal behavior of the total electron content (TEC) during a part of solar
cycle 24 ascending, maximum and decreasing phases at Koudougou station
(Latitude: 12°15'09"N Longitude: 2°21'45"W). Response of TEC to solar recurrent events is presented. The highest values of the TEC in 2014, 2015 and
2016 were recorded on March and October, while in 2013 they were recorded on
April and November, corresponding to equinox months. This observation shows
that TEC values at the equinoxes are higher than those of solstices.
Moreover, the monthly TEC varies in phase with the sunspots number showing a
linear dependence of the TEC on solar activity. The ionospheric electron
contents are generally very low both before noon and during the night, but
quite high at noon and after noon. This pattern of TEC variation is due to the
fluctuation of incident solar radiation on the Earth’s equatorial ionosphere.
During quiet periods, the number of free electrons generated is lower than that
generated during recurrent periods, which shows a positive contribution of
recurrent activity to the level of the TEC. Investigations have also highlighted
a winter anomaly and equinoctial asymmetry in TEC behavior at Koudougou
station.