Statistical Analysis of the Ionospheric Response to Geomagnetic Storms Based on the Data from Global Ionospheric Maps

This study is aimed at statistically analyzing the ionospheric response to geomagnetic storms based on the data from the global ionospheric maps (GIMs). The global electron content and average zonal values of the total electron content for five latitudinal zones (equatorial zone, mid-latitude zones of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and high-latitude zones of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres) are selected as the ionospheric characteristics that are calculated from the global characteristics by using GIMs. The results of the statistical analysis are discussed in terms of the concept of an ionospheric/thermospheric storm, within which ionospheric disturbances are a consequence of the changes in the thermospheric parameters (neutral composition of the thermosphere and wind). The contradictions in the concept of a thermospheric/ionospheric storm are discussed from the standpoint of the methodological aspects of the statistical analysis and effects that are beyond this concept.