Variability and magnetic storm effects in equatorial electron density profile Original Research Article

The variability of electron density at fixed heights in the bottom-side ionosphere is investigated at an equatorial ionospheric station in the African continent. Data used are for the representative months of each of the seasons of the years at two solar activity periods and for all 24 hours of the day. The index used is the standard deviation from the average profile of ten non-storm days of the months, obtained with the ARP technique. The morphology of the variability is described and the departure of magnetic storm dayʹs profiles from the average profile for non-storm conditions is investigated for specific storms.