Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Lastovicka, J..
The winter anomaly in the winter of 1982/83 is compared with the winter anomalies of earlier winters (1960-82) from the point of view of amplitude and timing of the winter anomaly, and geomagnetic and dynamic activity influences. Some evidence of a negative influence of sudden stratospheric warnings on the winter anomaly is given.
About 1% of all sudden ionospheric disturbances (SIDs) observed at the Panska Ves Observatory (Czechoslovakia), were found to be not of solar-XUV origin. Among them, the very rare SWF events (observed at L = 2.4) of corpuscular origin are the most interesting. The IMF sector structure effects in the midlatitude lower ionosphere are minor in comparison with effects of solar flares, geomagnetic storms, etc. There are two basic types of effects. The first type is a disturbance, best developed in geomagnetic activity, and observed in the night-time ionosphere. It can be interpreted as a response to sector structure related changes of geomagnetic (= magnetospheric) activity. The other type is best developed in the tropospheric vorticity area index and is also observed in the day-time ionosphere in winter. This effect is quietening in the ionosphere as well as troposphere. While the occurrence of the former type is persistent in time, the latter is severely diminished in some periods. All the stratosphere, the 10-mb level temperature and height above Berlin-Tempelhof do not display any observable IMF section structure effect.
Present knowledge of D region phenomena is briefly reviewed and the status of current methods of predicting their effects on radio propagation considered. The ELF, VLF and LF navigational and timing systems depend on the stability of the lower part of the D layer where these waves are reflected, whereas MF and HF waves are absorbed as they penetrate the region, in most cases mainly in the upper part of the layer. Possible methods of improving predictions, warnings, and real time operations are considered with particular stress on those which can be implemented in the near future.