Analysis of ionospheric electron parameters versus geomagnetic index Dst from RO data of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC

The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC mission has provided ample ionospheric electron density profiles retrieved from the global positioning system radio occultation technique. Currently, there can be more than 2,000 electron density profiles acquired per day covering the global ionosphere from altitude 90 to 800 km. Utilizing the advantage of such a complete coverage, we statistically analyze how the ionospheric electron parameters NmF2, hmF2, and TEC respond to the geomagnetic index Dst for different magnetic latitudes and magnetic local time (MLT) and on quiet and storm times. A data set of 24 months is used for this study, in which most of the results focus on the low-latitude dayside regions. The results indicate that, in general, NmF2, hmF2, and TEC decrease as Dst increases at all seasons. Only during the sudden commencement phase (SSC) of storm events, NmF2 and TEC appear to increase as Dst increases.