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The Effect of Solar Flares on HF Radio Communications over Turkey

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Abstract

This study investigates the effect of solar flares on absorption of high frequency (HF) radio signals over Turkey. For this purpose, the highest affected frequency (HAF) values by 1 dB absorption due to solar X‑ray flux over Turkey were analyzed for different phases of solar flare, different local times (LT), different solar flare classes and different days. The HAF and ΔHAF values were calculated from an empirical model using X-ray flux data with 1-min resolution measured by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-15 (GOES-15) and solar zenith angle data. The increase in X-ray flux density during the ascending phase of the solar flare causes a sudden and large increase in HAF values. During this phase of flare, the HAF has a logarithmic relationship with X-ray flux values. The HAF reaches its maximum values at the solar flare peak. During the descending phase of solar flare, the HAF values gradually decrease as X-ray flux density decrease. The local time has a significant effect on HF absorption. The greatest increase in ΔHAF values occurs around noon. Comparisons between solar flare classes show that the ΔHAF values increases significantly as the solar flare density increases. For different days of year, the value of ΔHAF increases with decreasing solar zenith angles and the mean ΔHAF has a linear relationship with the values of mean solar zenith angle. The results of this study are important because it is the first attempt to examine the effect of solar flares on HF absorption over Turkey.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) team to providing solar flare and X-ray flux data at their web site. This research was supported by Mersin University Scientific Research Projects Support System (BAP-Project No: 2020-1-AP4-4084).

Funding

This work was supported by ongoing institutional funding. No additional grants to carry out or direct this particular research were obtained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Mersin University, 33110, Mersin, Turkey

    Leyla Bulut Yıldız

  2. Department of Medical Services and Techniques, Vocational School of Technical Sciences, Mersin University, 33110, Mersin, Turkey

    Erdinç Timoçin

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  1. Leyla Bulut Yıldız
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  2. Erdinç Timoçin
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Correspondence to Erdinç Timoçin.

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Yıldız, L.B., Timoçin, E. The Effect of Solar Flares on HF Radio Communications over Turkey. Geomagn. Aeron. 63, 642–651 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793222600746

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