Electron density at F1-layer heights in the last solar minimum (2007–2009)

摘要

We present the results of the analysis of annual variations in daily electron density (N) at heights 140–160 km for the last solar minimum (2007–2009) obtained from digisonde measurements at the ionospheric station Irkutsk (52 °N, 104 °E). New coefficients of the known semi-empirical model (SEM) describing the connection between N and thermospheric characteristics are calculated to identify regularities of these variations. We have revealed that a characteristic feature of the annual N variations during the solar minimum is a change in their phase by 180° in a relatively narrow altitude interval (170–180 km). These results and the new SEM coefficients are original and important for atmospheric and ionospheric physics.