Context

• Recently scientists have discovered the ionospheric mystery in Antarctica's cold, dark winters and bright sunny summers.

Key Points

• A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG), an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has investigated long-term seasonal ionospheric observations at the Indian Antarctica station Bharti between 2010 and 2022. It also involves observing the movements of the Sun over its 11-year cycle. 
• Observations found that although Bharati station did not receive sunlight throughout the day during the winter months (polar nights), a diurnal pattern of peak ionospheric density in the afternoon was observed.
• Day-to-night ionospheric density variations were observed regardless of 24-hour sunlight in summer and complete darkness in winter.
• Scientists attributed the extreme ionisation to molecular precipitation and the transport of convective plasma from high latitudes.
• Furthermore, during the summer months where there is 24 hours of sunlight during polar days, the maximum ionospheric density was approximately twice that of polar nights over the Indian region.
• This study has been published in the Journal of Polar Science.

Benefits

• Such long-term studies can help in understanding and mitigating the impacts of the ionosphere on satellite-based navigation and communication systems.

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR EXAM

Ionosphere

• The ionosphere is a part of the Earth's upper atmosphere that is partially ionised and extends from 100 to 1000 km.
• The ionosphere in the polar regions is highly dynamic and serves as a major energy source for space weather phenomena and related processes in magnetosphere-ionosphere systems because the magnetic field lines are perpendicular in this region.