Ionospheric responses to the July 15-16, 2000 magnetic storm around Geographic Longitude 121°E

This study presents observed behavior of ionospheric responses using vertical total electron contents (VTEC) and NmF2. The data were collected from global positioning system (GPS) networks and ionosondes around the geographic longitude of 121°E from mid- to low-latitudes for the severe magnetic storm on 15 July 2000. The results show that the severe magnetic storm caused significant density depletion and a G-condition occurrence in the western Pacific region on 15-16 July 2000. The G-condition is observed on the ionograms at Chung-Li station around 2330 UT on July 15. Furthermore, the variation of the F-peak height (HmF2) at Cebu indicates that a zonal electric field produced an upward drift and enhanced the fountain effect from 1000 UT on July 15. The observation of a G-condition indicates that a storm-induced neutral-wind circulation was the main cause of compositional change; i.e., an increase in the N₂/O ratio and its associated loss coefficients that produced a negative storm phase along the chain of geographic longitude 121°E.