Auroral activity observed from unusual latitudes in China and its underlying significance
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PUBLIC SUMMARY
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Spectacular auroras were spotted at unusual latitudes in China during a severe geomagnetic storm.
CN-DARN reveals the link of auroral intensification to dawnside subauroral polarization (SAPS) streams.
CN-DARN observed high-speed ionospheric irregularities driven by dawnside SAPS invading China’s airspace.
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ABSTRACT
Auroras have been observed at unusual latitudes of China over the past couple of years, which may be a direct result of the north magnetic pole’s drift and intense solar activity. However, the specific impact on the Asian space environment remains unknown. Here, we present auroral activities recorded in southern Inner Mongolia (~37.2° N in magnetic latitude) and the resulting ionospheric environmental changes detected by the Chinese Dual Auroral Radar Network (CN-DARN) during a recent severe geomagnetic storm. Leveraging the wide spatial coverage and continuous high time resolution monitoring capabilities of the CN-DARN, comprehensive analysis of ground-based and space-based multi-source data reveals that CN-DARN has captured the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of dawnside subauroral polarization streams (SAPS). The study identifies a direct link between auroral intensification and dawnside SAPS acceleration for the first time, establishing a mechanistic connection between auroral activity and ionospheric convection dynamics in subauroral region. Moreover, the observations show that the ionospheric irregularities with high velocity of 1,000 m/s induced by the dawnside SAPS have propagated to Mohe (~ 48.6° N in magnetic latitude), the northernmost region of China. The research also reveals that intense auroral particle precipitation caused severe degradation of high-frequency (HF) communications in the Asian region. This study represents the first comprehensive investigation of auroral activity observed at unusual latitudes of China, unraveling the impact of auroral activities on the ionospheric environment of Asian mid-to-high latitudes. It also showcases the critical capabilities of the Chinese Meridian Project in addressing space environmental challenges of Asia.-
Keywords:
- auroral activity /
- unusual latitude /
- ionospheric disturbance
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REFERENCES
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Cite this article:
Zhang J., Deng X., Xu J., et al. (2026). Auroral activity observed from unusual latitudes in China and its underlying significance. The Innovation Geoscience 4:100197. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2026.100197
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Zhang J., Deng X., Xu J., et al. (2026). Auroral activity observed from unusual latitudes in China and its underlying significance. The Innovation Geoscience 4:100197. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2026.100197
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Figure 1.
The fields-of-view (FOVs) of the six CN-DARN radars and the variation of the geomagnetic coordinates for the Siziwang Observatory of Space Weather (SOSW)
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Figure 2.
Solar wind conditions and geomagnetic indices during 10-11 October 2024
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Figure 3.
The auroral images captured from the Siziwang Observatory of Space Weather in Inner Mongolia, China
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Figure 4.
Ionospheric total electron content (TEC) retrieved from global GNSS receivers at (A)
1640 UT, (B)1720 UT, and (C) 1845 UT -
Figure 5.
Range-time-intensity (RTI) plots of the ionospheric irregularities LOS velocity observed from CN-DARN radars
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Figure 6.
One-minute plots of the LOS velocity of ionospheric irregularities observed by four CN-DARN radars versus magnetic latitude and magnetic local time for (A) 1858 UT, (B) 1944 UT, (C) 2036 UT, and (D)
2116 UT. -
Figure 7.
Two snapshots of the Northern Hemisphere ionospheric convection maps on October 10, 2024
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Figure 8.
Auroral radio absorption detected by Siziwang West radar on October 10, 2024
