During a mighty solar storm on Mother's Day, scientists found that a mysterious ionospheric phenomenon, sporadic layers, became unusually active, especially during the recovery of the storm.
These thin, metal -rich spots seemed to wrap from the poles to the equator, which put new light on a region of the earth's atmosphere that has been overlooked for a long time.
Geomagnetic storm sport ionized layers in ionosphere
Scientists from the University of Kyushu uncovered a surprising effect high above the surface of the earth during a mighty geomagnetic storm that took place on Mother's Day. Publication of their results in Geophysical research lettersThe team reported on unusual behavior in a lesser-known part of the atmosphere, which is known as a sporadic e-layer and is about 90 to 120 kilometers above sea level.
In this region of the ionosphere, mysterious spots houses ionized metal particles that are known as sporadic clouds. These clouds are thin, only 1 to 5 kilometers thick, but incredibly dense. They suddenly appear and then disappear just as quickly. During the recovery phase of the solar storm, these clouds increased dramatically.
The researchers found that the phenomenon focused on Southeast Asia, Australia, the South Pacific and the Eastern Pacific. It was even more fascinating that they found that these clouds seemed to travel around the globe, first appeared near the polar regions and gradually appeared in lower widths. This pattern indicates a large -scale atmospheric wave that was triggered by the storm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcnjzlknxwe
This visualization shows that the magnetosphere of the earth is hit by a geomagnetic storm. The magician model simulates real events that have taken place throughout the entire May 10th to 11th, 2024.
- White Orbit Trails: All satellites that circle the earth during the storm
- Orange tracks: proposed organs for six GDC spaceships
- Orange-to-purple lines: magnetic field lines around the earth
- Blue trails: solar wind speed tracer
- Green clouds: electrical field power intensity
Credit: NASA Scientific visualization studio and NASA Drive Science Center for Geospace Storms
A new look at an overlooked ionosphare layer
“When examining the geomagnetic storm for Mother's Day, many researchers examined what happened in the F-layer of the ionosphere. It is around 150-500 km above sea level and is the place where the greatest ionization occurs,” explains Professor Huixin Liu from the scientific faculty of the University of Kyushu, which was headed by the study. “The sporadic layer was not very examined during the storm because it was not affected by solar towers. But we wanted to see whether something as powerful as the geomagnetic storm of the Mother's Day did something on the E layer was very interesting.”
To investigate, the team collected a large amount of data. They used 37-based radars, which were called ionosondens, together with the measurements of the cosmic 2-2 satellite network that circles the earth. This combination gave them one of the most detailed global cards that were ever created from sporadic activities during and after a large sunstorm.
Notes from the Poles: persecution of the shift movement
“This large amount of data was crucial to recognize and follow the existence of sporadic it where they have formed over time,” continues Liu. “In our analysis we found that after the main phase of the solar storm, while we call the recreation phase, sporadic it was formed. Sporadic It was first demonstrated in the regions with a higher latitude.
Understanding the activity of the E layer is of crucial importance, since the potential to disturb radio communication in the HF and VHF bands is of crucial importance. The research team hopes that their new findings for better insights into the Es -shift activity and how such unique phenomena are generated in the ionosphere.
Potential forecast: reduction of future communication disorders
“We now know that the sporadic it improves it during the recovery phase of a solar storm.” We also plan to examine the data of other solar storms again to see if we can understand these phenomena better. “
Reference: “Sporadic-e-shift reactions on Super Geomagnetic Storm 10–12 May 2024” by Lihui Qiu and Huixin Liu, April 23, 2025, Geophysical research letters.
DOI: 10.1029/2025GL115154
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