Electron Content Measurements during Magnetic Storms at Kurukshetra

Abstract

Total electron content (<i>N_t</i>) measurements obtained by recording the beacon transmissions from Explorer-22 satellite at the University of Kurukshetra (29.9°N, 76.8°E) are reported for some magnetically active periods. The <i>N_t </i> values, along with <i>f0</i>F<i>2 </i> values from a nearby ionosonde, are compared with the magnetic activity. A novel feature of these results is that <i>N_t </i> shows varying degrees of enhancement, and depression of <i>N_t </i> below normal is not observed during any phase of the storm. The results also indicate that the response time of the ionosphere for sudden commencement type storms is shorter than that for gradual type storms.