In this study,we analyze the impact of the May 2024 geomagnetic storm on the thermospheric mass density by using TianMu-1 constellation satellite(TM02,TM06,TM07,TM11,TM15)observations.These observations reveal intense...In this study,we analyze the impact of the May 2024 geomagnetic storm on the thermospheric mass density by using TianMu-1 constellation satellite(TM02,TM06,TM07,TM11,TM15)observations.These observations reveal intense large-scale traveling atmospheric disturbances(TADs)originating at high latitudes and propagating equatorward.Observations by TM02 captured the evolution of a TAD structure:An initial amplitude of~3.89×10^(-12)kg/m^(3)at hundred-kilometer scale subsequently intensified to 4.78×10^(-12)kg/m^(3),with the spatial extent expanding to the thousand-kilometer level.Significant hemispheric asymmetry was observed:the absolute density was higher predominantly in the northern hemisphere(TM02,TM06,TM07,TM11),whereas the difference in the relative density consistently showed greater enhancements in the southern hemisphere across all satellites,with the maximum north-south density differences exceeding 195%-640%above 60°latitude.In conjunction with SuperDARN(Super Dual Auroral Radar Network)observations,this striking hemispheric asymmetry can likely be attributed to disparities in plasma convection patterns between the two hemispheres.Furthermore,density perturbation characteristics exhibited strong local time(LT)dependence:Near noon(~10.7 LT,TM02 descending),the northern hemisphere onset preceded the southern onset.Conversely,near dusk(~17.6 LT,TM15 descending),the southern onset led the northern onset by approximately 3 hours.Ascending orbits(TM02,TM06,TM07,TM15)typically yielded larger global density enhancements compared with smaller southern-confined enhancements during descending orbits.Satellite TM11 showed comparable perturbations in both ascending and descending orbits.By leveraging its unique orbital architecture,the TianMu-1 constellation enables global near-simultaneous multi-LT sampling,providing a robust data foundation for both scientific research and engineering applications.展开更多
Low Earth Orbit satellite on-board accelerometers play an important role in improving our understanding of thermosphere density;however,the accelerometer-derived densities are subject to accelerometer calibration erro...Low Earth Orbit satellite on-board accelerometers play an important role in improving our understanding of thermosphere density;however,the accelerometer-derived densities are subject to accelerometer calibration errors.In this study,two different dynamic calibration schemes,the accelerometer parameter-incorporated orbit fitting and precise orbit determination(POD),are investigated with the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment(GRACE)satellite accelerometers for thermosphere density derivation during years 2004–2007(inclusive).We show that the GRACE accelerometer parametrization can be optimized by fixing scale coefficients and estimating biases every 60 min so that the orbit fitting and POD precision can be improved from 10 cm to 2 cm in the absence of empirical acceleration compensations and as a result the integrity of calibration parameters may be reserved.The orbit-fitting scheme demonstrates similar calibration precision with respect to POD.Their bias estimates in the along-track and cross-track components exhibit an offset within 0.1%and a standard deviation(STD)less than 0.3%.Correspondingly,a bias of 2.20%and a STD of 5.75%exists between their thermosphere density estimates.The orbit-fitting and POD-derived thermosphere densities are validated through the comparison against the results published by other institution.The comparison shows that either of them can achieve a precision level at 6%.To derive thermosphere density from the rapid-increasing amount of on-board accelerometer data sets,it is suggested to take full advantage of the orbit-fitting scheme due to its high efficiency as well as high precision.展开更多
In this article, the energy balance method is used to retrieve thermospheric mass density from CHAMP satellite precise orbit determination(POD) data during 2007–2009. The retrieved thermospheric mass densities are co...In this article, the energy balance method is used to retrieve thermospheric mass density from CHAMP satellite precise orbit determination(POD) data during 2007–2009. The retrieved thermospheric mass densities are compared with those from accelerometer data and an empirical model. The main conclusions are as follows:(1) Thermospheric mass density can be retrieved from POD data by the energy balance and semi-major axis decay methods, whose results are consistent.(2) The accuracy of the retrieved densities depends on the integration time period, and the optimal period for CHAMP density retrieval from POD data is about 20 minutes.(3) The energy balance method can be used to calibrate accelerometer data.(4) The accuracy of retrieving thermospheric density from POD data varies with satellite altitude and local time.展开更多
In this paper, globally-averaged, thermospheric total mass density, derived from the orbits of -5000 objects at 250, 400, and 550 km that were tracked from 1967 to 2006, has been used to quantitatively study the annua...In this paper, globally-averaged, thermospheric total mass density, derived from the orbits of -5000 objects at 250, 400, and 550 km that were tracked from 1967 to 2006, has been used to quantitatively study the annual asymmetry of thermospheric mass density and its mechanism(s). The results show that thermospheric mass density had a significant annual asymmetry, which changed from year to year. The annual asymmetry at the three altitudes varied synchronously and its absolute value increased with altitudes. The results suggest that there is an annual asymmetry in solar EUV radiation that is caused by the difference in the Sun-Earth distance between the two solstices and the random variation of solar activity within a year. This change in radiation results in an annual change in the thermospheric temperature and thus the scale height of the neutral gas, and is the main cause of the annual asymmetry of thermospheric mass density. The annual asymmetry of mass density increases with altitude because of the accumulating effect of the changes in neutral temperature and scale height in the vertical direction.展开更多
In this work,the daily height variations of SZ-5(Shenzhou-5) cabin from 22 October to 28 November in 2003 are analyzed,which includes the period of the Halloween Storm and the Great November Storm.The significant orbi...In this work,the daily height variations of SZ-5(Shenzhou-5) cabin from 22 October to 28 November in 2003 are analyzed,which includes the period of the Halloween Storm and the Great November Storm.The significant orbital decays have been observed at the end of October and in late November due to the great solar flares and the severe geomagnetic storms.According to the equation of the air-drag-force on a spacecraft and the SZ-5 orbital decay information,the relative daily average thermospheric density changes during the three 2003 super-storms are derived and the results are compared with the Naval Research Laboratory Mass Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter Radar Extended Model(NRLMSISE-00).The results show that the daily average thermospheric density(at the altitude of SZ-5,about 350 km) in storm time enhances to approximately 200% as much as that in the quiet time but the empirical model may somewhat underestimate the average thermospheric density changes and the daily contributions of geomagnetic storms to the density enhancements during these severe space weather events.展开更多
基金the National Space Science Center (NSSC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for full support of this research workfunded by the Tian Mu-1 Constellation Atmospheric Density Detector (Grant No. E3C1162110)
文摘In this study,we analyze the impact of the May 2024 geomagnetic storm on the thermospheric mass density by using TianMu-1 constellation satellite(TM02,TM06,TM07,TM11,TM15)observations.These observations reveal intense large-scale traveling atmospheric disturbances(TADs)originating at high latitudes and propagating equatorward.Observations by TM02 captured the evolution of a TAD structure:An initial amplitude of~3.89×10^(-12)kg/m^(3)at hundred-kilometer scale subsequently intensified to 4.78×10^(-12)kg/m^(3),with the spatial extent expanding to the thousand-kilometer level.Significant hemispheric asymmetry was observed:the absolute density was higher predominantly in the northern hemisphere(TM02,TM06,TM07,TM11),whereas the difference in the relative density consistently showed greater enhancements in the southern hemisphere across all satellites,with the maximum north-south density differences exceeding 195%-640%above 60°latitude.In conjunction with SuperDARN(Super Dual Auroral Radar Network)observations,this striking hemispheric asymmetry can likely be attributed to disparities in plasma convection patterns between the two hemispheres.Furthermore,density perturbation characteristics exhibited strong local time(LT)dependence:Near noon(~10.7 LT,TM02 descending),the northern hemisphere onset preceded the southern onset.Conversely,near dusk(~17.6 LT,TM15 descending),the southern onset led the northern onset by approximately 3 hours.Ascending orbits(TM02,TM06,TM07,TM15)typically yielded larger global density enhancements compared with smaller southern-confined enhancements during descending orbits.Satellite TM11 showed comparable perturbations in both ascending and descending orbits.By leveraging its unique orbital architecture,the TianMu-1 constellation enables global near-simultaneous multi-LT sampling,providing a robust data foundation for both scientific research and engineering applications.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation[grant numbers 42004020,42074032,41931075 and 42030109]National Defense Key Laboratory of Aerospace Flight Dynamics technology(grant number 6142210190101)+2 种基金China Postdoctoral Science Foundation[grant number 2021M692460]the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities[grant number 2042021kf0060]Wuhan Science and Technology Bureau[grant number 2019010701011391].
文摘Low Earth Orbit satellite on-board accelerometers play an important role in improving our understanding of thermosphere density;however,the accelerometer-derived densities are subject to accelerometer calibration errors.In this study,two different dynamic calibration schemes,the accelerometer parameter-incorporated orbit fitting and precise orbit determination(POD),are investigated with the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment(GRACE)satellite accelerometers for thermosphere density derivation during years 2004–2007(inclusive).We show that the GRACE accelerometer parametrization can be optimized by fixing scale coefficients and estimating biases every 60 min so that the orbit fitting and POD precision can be improved from 10 cm to 2 cm in the absence of empirical acceleration compensations and as a result the integrity of calibration parameters may be reserved.The orbit-fitting scheme demonstrates similar calibration precision with respect to POD.Their bias estimates in the along-track and cross-track components exhibit an offset within 0.1%and a standard deviation(STD)less than 0.3%.Correspondingly,a bias of 2.20%and a STD of 5.75%exists between their thermosphere density estimates.The orbit-fitting and POD-derived thermosphere densities are validated through the comparison against the results published by other institution.The comparison shows that either of them can achieve a precision level at 6%.To derive thermosphere density from the rapid-increasing amount of on-board accelerometer data sets,it is suggested to take full advantage of the orbit-fitting scheme due to its high efficiency as well as high precision.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41325017 & 41274158)
文摘In this article, the energy balance method is used to retrieve thermospheric mass density from CHAMP satellite precise orbit determination(POD) data during 2007–2009. The retrieved thermospheric mass densities are compared with those from accelerometer data and an empirical model. The main conclusions are as follows:(1) Thermospheric mass density can be retrieved from POD data by the energy balance and semi-major axis decay methods, whose results are consistent.(2) The accuracy of the retrieved densities depends on the integration time period, and the optimal period for CHAMP density retrieval from POD data is about 20 minutes.(3) The energy balance method can be used to calibrate accelerometer data.(4) The accuracy of retrieving thermospheric density from POD data varies with satellite altitude and local time.
基金supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KZZD-EW-01-2)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41229001,41331069,41174139)+1 种基金the Specialized Research Fund for State Key Laboratoriessupported by the US National Science Foundation
文摘In this paper, globally-averaged, thermospheric total mass density, derived from the orbits of -5000 objects at 250, 400, and 550 km that were tracked from 1967 to 2006, has been used to quantitatively study the annual asymmetry of thermospheric mass density and its mechanism(s). The results show that thermospheric mass density had a significant annual asymmetry, which changed from year to year. The annual asymmetry at the three altitudes varied synchronously and its absolute value increased with altitudes. The results suggest that there is an annual asymmetry in solar EUV radiation that is caused by the difference in the Sun-Earth distance between the two solstices and the random variation of solar activity within a year. This change in radiation results in an annual change in the thermospheric temperature and thus the scale height of the neutral gas, and is the main cause of the annual asymmetry of thermospheric mass density. The annual asymmetry of mass density increases with altitude because of the accumulating effect of the changes in neutral temperature and scale height in the vertical direction.
基金Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China(41574178,41874187,41774152,41774195)Grant from CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment,University of Science and Technology of China
文摘In this work,the daily height variations of SZ-5(Shenzhou-5) cabin from 22 October to 28 November in 2003 are analyzed,which includes the period of the Halloween Storm and the Great November Storm.The significant orbital decays have been observed at the end of October and in late November due to the great solar flares and the severe geomagnetic storms.According to the equation of the air-drag-force on a spacecraft and the SZ-5 orbital decay information,the relative daily average thermospheric density changes during the three 2003 super-storms are derived and the results are compared with the Naval Research Laboratory Mass Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter Radar Extended Model(NRLMSISE-00).The results show that the daily average thermospheric density(at the altitude of SZ-5,about 350 km) in storm time enhances to approximately 200% as much as that in the quiet time but the empirical model may somewhat underestimate the average thermospheric density changes and the daily contributions of geomagnetic storms to the density enhancements during these severe space weather events.