Hear05 File

HEAR05: Characterizing Infrasound and ULF Wave Propagation in the Upper Atmosphere Using Ground-Based Magnetometer and Microbarometer Arrays

(Paper prepared for submission to Journal of Geophysical Research – Space Physics, June 2026) hear05

The observed 0.3 MHz increase in f o E corresponds to a ~30% rise in plasma density—significant enough to impact HF radio propagation. Existing empirical models (e.g., IRI-2020) do not account for such infrasound-driven variability. Chen, R

A. N. Volkov, L. M. Chen, R. J. Patterson Affiliation: Institute for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder University of Colorado Boulder Infrasound

Infrasound, ULF waves, atmospheric coupling, ionospheric variability, HEAR05, magnetometer array 1. Introduction Understanding energy transfer from the lower atmosphere to the ionosphere remains a challenge in space weather physics (National Academies, 2022). While large-scale tides and planetary waves are well characterized, the role of infrasound (frequencies below human hearing) and ULF waves in modulating ionospheric electron density is underexplored (Williams et al., 2020). The HEAR program was established to systematically observe high-frequency (in the spatiotemporal sense) atmospheric oscillations. HEAR05 specifically targets the 0.001–20 Hz band using a dedicated ground array.