Determination of the physical mechanisms of energy transfer of tropospheric disturbances to the ionosphere is one of the fundamental problems of atmospheric physics. This article presents the results of observations carried out using two-wavelength lidar sensing at tropospheric altitudes and satellite GPS measurements during a meteorological storm in Kaliningrad (Russia, 54.7° N, 20.5° E) on 1 April 2016. During lidar sensing, it was found that the amplitudes of variations in atmospheric parameters with periods of acoustic (AWs) and internal gravity (IGWs) waves significantly increased. As a result of numerical modeling using the AtmoSym software package, it was shown that there is a noticeable increase in the period of temperature disturbances from 6–12 min to 10–17 min at altitudes from 150 km up to 230 km during the vertical propagation of acoustic waves and internal gravity waves from the troposphere. Nonlinear and dissipative processes in this layer lead to the formation of sources of secondary waves in the thermosphere with periods longer than those of primary ones. In this case, the unsteady nature of the wave source and the short duration of its operation does not lead to significant heating of the thermosphere. Simultaneous satellite observations demonstrate the response of the ionosphere (total electron content (TEC) disturbance) to tropospheric disturbances. Analysis of the time series of the amplitudes of the reflected lidar signal and TEC made it possible to determine that the response time of the ionosphere to tropospheric disturbances is 30–40 min.

The noncoherent radiation in the frequency range 0.8–8.0 (GHz) formed in the D layer of the ionosphere at high solar activity due to transitions between Rydberg states is considered. The emitting layer thickness located 80–110 km above ground surface is estimated. A complicated irregular behavior of the frequency dependence of the radiation intensity for different values of å electron concentration n _e and temperature T _e due to different characteristics of electron scattering on the nitrogen and oxygen molecules is revealed. The dependences of the flux power of UHF radiation from the D layer in the indicated frequency range on the concentration and temperature of free electrons are calculated. It is shown that, at a frequency of ν = 1.44 GHz, the UHF radiation spectrum features a characteristic waist point, the position of which is almost independent of the electron temperature T _e ; i.e., a one-parameter dependence of the power flux on the electron n _e density takes place. In the frequency range of 4.0–8.0 GHz, the radiation spectrum exhibits a family of curves that, for each value of n _e and a wide range of T _e , give rise to a relationship known as the “bottleneck.” It was found that, with increasing frequency, the bottleneck moves upwards along a curve described by a quadratic dependence on the radiation frequency. For a frequency of ∼5 GHz, and a certain range of temperature T _e and electron concentration within 5 · 10³ cm⁻³ < n _e < 2 · 10⁴ cm⁻³, an almost linear dependence of the UHF radiation power on n _e is observed. A comparative analysis of GPS signal delays at frequencies ν _f ⁽¹⁾ = 1.57 and ν _f ⁽²⁾ ≈ 5 GHz for various states of the ionosphere is performed. It is shown that, under the same condition, the use of the second frequency is more advantageous and informative. The ways of further development of the theory and experiment in studying the role of quantum resonant properties in the distortion of global satellite positioning system signals and in solving the fundamental problem of their elimination are discussed.

Determination of the physical mechanisms of energy transfer from tropospheric disturbances to the ionosphere is one of the fundamental problems of atmospheric physics. Both regular events (passage of the solar terminator) and irregular ones (meteorological storms, earthquakes, solar eclipses, etc.) lead to such disturbances. This paper presents the results of observations of tropospheric and ionospheric disturbances during the passage of the solar terminator, solar eclipse, and meteorological storm. Lidar sounding shows that during the development of these events, regions are formed in the troposphere with a noticeable increase in the amplitudes of variations in density, pressure, and temperature with periods corresponding to acoustic and internal gravity waves (AWs and IGWs, respectively). Simultaneous satellite measurements demonstrate the response of the ionosphere to tropospheric disturbances. Based on the observational data for each of the events, the characteristic periods and the time and spatial scales of variations are determined. It is found that the response time of the ionosphere to tropospheric disturbances is 30–40 min. As a result of numerical modeling using the AtmoSym software package, it is shown that nonlinear and dissipative processes in the thermosphere lead to the formation of sources of secondary waves with periods longer than those of the primary AWs and IGWs propagating vertically upward from the troposphere into the thermosphere. The influence of tropospheric disturbances on the operation of global navigation satellite systems is also discussed.

The influence of N₂ and O₂ molecules on spontaneous microwave radiation spectrum was studied over the decimeter range. This radiation appears in the D and E upper earth atmosphere layers during strong magnetic storms. It was shown to be caused by radiation transitions between medium-perturbed orbitally degenerate Rydberg atom and molecule states A** that occur without changes in the principal quantum number, δn = 0. The available experimental data were used to calculate the dependences of orbitally degenerate state populations on the density of medium and electron flux and temperature. Effective radiation bands were constructed for transitions between highly excited quasi-molecule levels A**N₂ and A**O₂. The emission spectrum was shown to be inhomogeneous and contain three frequency regions in which a noticeable decrease in the intensity of radiation occurred. The physical reason for the formation of these regions was a shift of the emission spectra of quasi-molecules containing unexcited N₂ and O₂ molecules. The frequency profiles of radiation intensity within these frequency regions were calculated as depending on the storm level. Radiation profiles were shown to noticeably change as the storm level increased, they strongly increased close to the right region edge corresponding to high transition frequencies. Nonmonotonic behavior of this profile in the middle of the lower region was observed; this was related to emission spectrum inhomogeneity. A sharp increase in radiation intensity as the magnetic storm level increased occurred in the region of frequencies situated close to the right edge of the upper region (50–100 GHz), which was most interesting for biophysical studies of the action of microwave radiation on living organisms during strong geomagnetic disturbances.

Determination of the physical mechanisms of the energy transfer of tropospheric disturbances to the ionosphere is one of the fundamental problems of atmospheric physics. This article presents the observational results of tropospheric and ionospheric disturbances during the passages of the solar terminator and solar eclipse. Lidar observations showed the occurrence of tropospheric regions with noticeably increased amplitudes of density, pressure, and temperature variations with periods corresponding to acoustic and internal gravity waves, which were generated in the troposphere during the development of these events. Simultaneous satellite measurements demonstrate the response of the ionosphere to these tropospheric disturbances. Based on the experimental data, we determine the typical periods and spatial scales of variations. It is shown that the response time of the ionosphere to tropospheric disturbances is 30–40 min.