Longitudinal signatures in global electron total content associated with stratospheric warmings

Significant changes in the ionosphere associated with stratospheric warming events have been clearly demonstrated in the analysis of global total electron content (TEC) maps that utilize measurements from networks of ground-based GPS receivers. In the American longitude sector, studies of the equatorial region show increases in the TEC of 50-150% over the background during the morning sector and decreases of approximately 50% in the afternoon sector. We have extended this study to include all longitude sectors with the addition of COSMIC and JASON TEC to allow for better global TEC coverage, especially over the oceans.