Effect of intense geomagnetic storms on low-latitude TEC during the ascending phase of the solar cycle 24

The results presented in this paper are obtained from low-latitude ionospheric total electron content (TEC) variation during the chosen geomagnetic storm events happening during the solar cycle 24. We include the four intense geomagnetic storms that occurred on 26 September 2011, 15 July 2012, 19 February 2014 and 20 December 2015, depending upon the availability of TEC data. For this, we have used the TEC data from low-latitude station Varanasi (geographic latitude 25°, 16′N, geographic longitude 82°, 59′E and geomagnetic latitude 16°, 24′N) and an equatorial station Bengaluru (geographic latitude 13°, 02′N, geographic longitude 77°, 34′E and geomagnetic latitude 04°, 68′N). The storm-induced TEC changes at chosen stations have been discussed in terms of local time, storm wind effect, neutral wind, composition changes and variation in the dawn–dusk component of the interplanetary electric field (IEF Ey).