A study on the response of the thermosphere-ionosphere system to solar flare

Sudden local radiation enhancements on the solar disk are known as solar flares. This radiation surge affects Earth's atmosphere, disrupting critical technologies such as communication, positioning and navigation. The Ionosphere-Thermosphere System is an extremely hot and conductive region situated in the upper atmosphere. The structure and state of this region can be deduced by the Total Electron Content (TEC) data, which are the product of the phase delays between signals of positioning satellites. This study process the TEC data to investigate the variability and disturbances in the Ionosphere-Thermosphere system during an X1.3 solar flare. The sample solar flare was chosen under conditions of low geomagnetic activity and a relatively quiet interplanetary environment to isolate the effects of the solar flare. The results concludes that the solar flare induced periodic disturbances in the Ionosphere-Thermosphere system, but the amplitudes and lifetimes of these disturbances were influenced by the geomagnetic field. To support these findings and further investigate the effects of the flare, a global circulation model was employed to simulate the impacts of the solar flare. The simulation results broadly elucidate the changes induced by the solar flare in the Ionosphere-Thermosphere system.