dc.description.abstract | Solar eclipses are a good case study of transient ionospheric changes. An annular solar eclipse was observed in Taiwan on May 21, 2012. This was the first such event in 60 years, with the previous two occurring on December 14, 1955 and April 19, 1958. During those earlier events, there were no scientific instruments for observations and experimentation. However, a wide variety of instruments was used to observe the 2012 event. The effects of the May 21, 2012 eclipse were observed using total electron content (TEC) obtained from ground-based GPS receivers, electron profiles from Formosa-3/COSMIC (F3/C), Doppler shift from the High Frequency Doppler System, ionograms from the National Communications Commission (NCC) ionosonde, tropospheric and stratospheric temperature and pressure profiles from radiosondes, Voltage amplitude of very low frequency (VLF) radio waves, ionospheric echos of very high frequency (VHF) radar, and magnetic fields from a network of Taiwan magnetometers. With the exception of the radiosondes, VHF radar and F3/C, all of the other instruments record clear ionospheric solar eclipse effects. | en_US |