Ionospheric monitoring with the Chilean GPS eyeball during the South American total solar eclipse on 2nd July 2019

The impact of the 2 July 2019 total solar eclipse on the ionosphere is investigated using vertical total electron content (VTEC) derived from GPS signals at 24 Chilean stations located north and south of the path of totality. The eclipse crossed the Coquimbo region at ~16:38–16:40 CLT (~20:38–20:40 UTC) with maximum at ~16:39 CLT (~20:39 UTC). TEC showed peculiar spatial features: at stations in totality, variations were small (~0.39 TECu); stations south of totality exhibited significant decreases (maximum magnitude ~2.24 TECu), while stations north of totality showed significant increases (maximum magnitude ~3.89 TECu). Wavelet analysis of VTEC revealed strong atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) with periods ~30–60 min, particularly at stations north of totality. Results suggest an interplay between eclipse-driven changes in ionospheric production/loss and AGW-induced plasma density perturbations underlying the observed TEC patterns.

Ajeet K. Maurya, Mahesh N. Shrivastava, Kondapalli Niranjan Kumar