A ring of traveling ionospheric disturbances around Moscow megapolis

Abstract

According to interferometric data of radio waves from GPS satellites, which are received in Moscow region on the stations of the Moscow Navigation-Geodesic Support Network and the International Geophysical Survey (IGS) network, traveling ionospheric disturbances are detected moving from the Moscow megapolis and forming a ring around it. The empirical velocity distribution functions of this movement, the observed duration, and the direction of propagation of these disturbances are presented. It is shown that the observed traveling ionospheric disturbances may be due to the urban heat island effect.