IMPACT OF METEOROLOGICAL STORMS ON THE E-REGION OF THE IONOSPHERE IN 2017–2018

The paper presents the results of observations of the sporadic Es layer during the period of meteorological disturbances in Kaliningrad in October 2017 and 2018 under quiet geomagnetic conditions. During the meteorological storms (October 29–30, 2017 and October 23–24, 2018), significant changes occurred in the dynamics of the Es-layer critical frequency. Observations of atmospheric and ionospheric disturbances in the Kaliningrad region show that the delay between the ionospheric response and the moment of maximum disturbances in atmospheric parameters is about 3 hours. These phenomena at the heights of the E-region might have been caused by propagation of acoustic-gravity waves generated by convective processes in the lower atmosphere during periods of a meteorological storm. Intensification of turbulent processes in the lower thermosphere leads to an increase in the atmospheric density and, accordingly, to higher recombination rates. This leads to a rapid decrease in the concentration of ions and, consequently, to a decrease in the critical frequency of the sporadic layer below the sensitivity threshold of ionosondes.