Effect of High-Intensity Electron and Proton Fluxes on a Low-Latitude Ionosphere

Abstract: Satellite experiments at low latitudes have shown that energetic (tens of keV) electrons and protons can penetrate from the Earth’s radiation belt near the equator into the ionosphere. The effect of the fluxes of these particles on the upper atmosphere and ionosphere remains understudied. In this study, local variations in the concentration of ionospheric ions in the regions of injection of electrons and protons with energies higher than 30 keV into the low-latitude ionosphere are studied using the magnetic storm of July 22, 2009, as an example. The relationship between an increase in the concentration in the F layer in the morning sector and additional ionization by fast electrons is shown. The ionospheric inhomogeneities observed in the night sector in the form of strong concentration fluctuations are caused by the action of protons. The solar-cyclic and annual variations in the frequency of the penetration of electrons and protons from the Earth’s radiation belt into the low-latitude ionosphere for the period from 1998 to 2019 are analyzed.