Longitudinal variations of the occurrence of F3 and F4 layers within the southern EIA and their dependence on solar cycle

Abstract This investigation presents for the first time the seasonal and solar cycle variations of the daytime F-layer multiple stratifications (F3 and F4 layers) near the southern crest of the EIA in two different longitudinal sectors of South America. To perform the study, the ionograms recorded from 2007 to 2015 at Sao Jose dos Campos (23.2°S, 45.9°W), Brazil (eastern sector), and at Tucuman (26.9°S, 65.4°W), Argentina (western sector), are considered. Both sites present a frequency of occurrence of the F3 and F4 layers which is directly proportional to the solar activity, and an annual variation with a maximum in spring/summer and a minimum in autumn/winter. The main result that came out from the analysis is that the frequency of occurrence of the F3 and F4 layers is higher in the western sector than in the eastern sector, and this could be attributed to a different gravity waves activity characterizing the two longitudinal sectors.