Ionospheric TEC Response to the Partial Solar Eclipse Over the Malaysian Region

Abstract

This paper presents the study of ionospheric behavior during the partial solar eclipse on 9th March 2016 over the Malaysian region. The partial solar eclipse event occurred during quiet solar and magnetic activities with maximum Kp index and geomagnetic Dst indices of 2 and −23 nT respectively. Ionospheric total electron content (TEC) was obtained from three GPS Ionospheric Scintillation and TEC Monitors, installed at the Langkawi National Observatory, Langkawi, LGKW (06°19′N, 99°51′E), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM (02°55′N, 101°46′E) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, UNIMAS (01°28′N, 110°25′E) stations. The selected stations have a coverage of between 68 and 87% over Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. This study compared the vertical TEC (VTEC) level during the partial solar eclipse period and the VTEC on the day before, the day after and the mean VTEC of quiet days. Results at these three stations show a clear occurrence of VTEC depletion in the range between 6 and 19% during the partial solar eclipse. The findings shows that depletion of VTEC during the partial solar eclipse was due to the reduction of ionization.