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Abstract Low Earth orbit (LEO) radio occultation|radio occultations (RO) constellations can provide global electron density profiles (EDPs) to better specify and forecast the ionosphere‐thermosphere (I‐T) system. To inform future RO constellation design, this study uses comprehensive Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) to assess the ionospheric specification impact of assimilating synthetic EDPs into a coupled I‐T model. These OSSEs use 10 different sets of RO constellation configurations containing 6 or 12 LEO satellites with base orbit parameter combinations of 520 or 800 km altitude, and 24° or 72° inclination. The OSSEs are performed using the Ensemble Adjustment Kalman Filter implemented in the data assimilation (DA) Research Testbed and the Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIEGCM). A different I‐T model is used for the nature run, the Whole Atmosphere Model‐Ionosphere Plasmasphere Electrodynamics (WAM‐IPE), to simulate the period of interest is the St. Patrick's Day storm on March 13–18, 2015. Errors from models and EDP retrieval are realistically accounted for in this study through distinct I‐T models and by retrieving synthetic EDPs through an extension Abel inversion algorithm. OSSE assessment, using multiple metrics, finds that greater EDP spatial coverage leading to improved specification at altitudes 300 km and above, with the 520 km altitude constellations performing best due to yielding the highest observation counts. A potential performance limit is suggested with two 6‐satellite constellations. Lastly, close examination of Abel inversion error impacts highlights major EDP limitations at altitudes below 200 km and dayside equatorial regions with large horizontal gradients and low electron density magnitudes.

Abstract The NASA global‐scale observations of the limb and disk (GOLD) mission is a measurement opportunity to scan the far ultraviolet airglow at ∼134–162 nm over the American Hemisphere since October 2018. The FORMOSAT‐7/COSMIC‐2 (F7/C2) satellite mission has provided thousands of daily radio occultation soundings in the low‐ and mid‐latitude regions since July 2019. The nighttime OI–135.6 nm emission is mainly through radiative recombination, and the radiance is used to derive the peak electron density. Comparison with corresponding F7/C2 observations demonstrates good correlation in low‐latitudes, while is overestimated near mid‐latitudes in winter, induced by the photoelectrons emanating from magnetically conjugate Hemisphere. The machine learning technique Bagged Trees is implemented to develop an intensity to peak density model training from GOLD and F7/C2 observations. The validation demonstrates that Bagged Trees peak‐density has less influence from conjugate photoelectrons and indicates the power of machine learning techniques for geophysics data processing.

Abstract A giant ionospheric hole was simultaneously detected in the in situ measurements of FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 (F7/C2), Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), Swarm missions, and ground-based total electron content (TEC) by global navigation satellite system receivers, and F7/C2 Global Ionosphere Specification (GIS) data near Tonga, following the explosive volcano eruption on 15 January 2022. The TEC maps displayed the huge depletions that developed near Tonga after the eruption and gradually evolved. The ICON IVM, F7/C2 IVM and Swarm-LP detected large depletions not only near Tonga, but also in the EIA trough region. The GIS observations clearly show the ionospheric hole that extends spatially near Tonga, especially strongly south/southward. The simultaneous observations showed that the ionosphere hole near Tonga combined with the EIA trough and finally evolved into a giant ionosphere hole around 07 UT. The ionospheric hole, which occurred at 05 UT near Tonga, extended over a wide area of 160°-200°E and 25°S-20°N and lasted for about 11 h. The F7/C2 and ICON satellites overpasses showed large ion density depletions by the hole at orbit altitudes, accompanied by enhancements in ion temperature and field-aligned and perpendicular ion drift. Such a long-lasting giant ionospheric hole by a seismic event has not been reported earlier, creating a unique ionospheric environment near Tonga after the eruption. The strong successive impulses by multiple volcano eruptions, together with O/N2 decrease in the summer hemisphere, interhemispheric wind, and water vapor injection into high altitudes apparently yielded such a giant ionospheric hole, 4–6 times larger than that observed during the Tohoku earthquake. Graphical Abstract

Key points 1. F7/C2 IVM shows similar patterns of diurnal, seasonal and latitude/longitude variations of ion density to ICON IVM but with stronger magnitudes. 2. Distinct latitudinal and longitudinal variations of plasma distributions along seasons were observed during 2019-2020. 3. Simultaneous observations by the multi-satellite constellation of F7/C2 and ICON and all-sky imager provide opportunity to monitor evolutions of EPBs.

Key Points FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC and FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 uniformly observe 3D electron density. FORMOSAT-3 and FORMOSAT-7 enable ionospheric weather forecasting. FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 TGRS and IVM have a better understanding of the electrodynamics of ionospheric plasma.

Global Ionospheric Specification (GIS) is based on the Gauss–Markov Kalman filter to assimilate the slant total electron content (TEC) observed from ground-based GPS receivers and space-based radio occultation instrumentations in order to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) ionospheric electron density structure, and it can remotely sense and monitor the weather condition in space. In this study, five minutes of high temporal resolution GIS is implemented in order to reconstruct the 3D electron density structure on the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse and analyze the variations induced by the moon’s shadow. To obtain more information of the ionosphere, from the extend 2200 GPS stations on the continental United States, are added for assimilation. The results show the ionosphere peak height (hmF2) uplift was 30–50 km altitude in latitude 25–40°N, and that the electron density depletion at higher altitudes (400 km) has a more noticeable time delay than at low altitudes (200 km), especially in low-latitude regions.

A total solar eclipse passed over the continental United States from the west to the east coast on 21 August 2017. Measurements made by more than 2200 groundbased GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers observed a significant decrease in ionospheric total electron content (TEC). Meanwhile, radio occultation soundings from the LEMUR2-LYNSEY-SYMO satellite record a double-peaked feature in the scanned TEC profile. A reproduction of the double-peaked feature on the TEC profile shows that the solar eclipse depresses the electron density and simultaneously tilts the ionosphere. This study, in turn, indicates the combination of the International Reference Ionosphere model and the GNSS TEC is a powerful tool for observing ionospheric space weather.