Proposed physical mechanism for upper-lower atmospheric coupling from GPS perspective

Upper-lower atmospheric coupling due to its transport energy that occurs throughout the Sun-Earth system is fundamental science to space physics, aerospace and satellite communication, meteorology and terrestrial climate cycle. Upper-lower atmospheric coupling studies can explain some physical mechanisms of how solar activity influences terrestrial weather/climate changes. To clarify this coupling, the analysis of propagation delays in GPS-transmitted signals in the upper and lower atmosphere during transient events associated with intense geomagnetic storms is conducted within the Antarctic polar cap. From the correlation between the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and tropospheric precipitable water vapor (PWV) variations, the global electric circuit (GEC) is identified as a possible physical mechanism for the coupling process.