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Scientists from the Institute of Experimental Physics of the SAS, in cooperation with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, have completed the two-year project QUID-REGIS (QUiet Ionospheric Disturbances REsearch based on Ground-based mesospheric and Ionospheric data with Swarm data). The project was funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), and its results provide new insights into the dynamics of the interface between space and the Earth's atmosphere.

"The project aimed to improve understanding of how atmospheric dynamics influence the ionosphere, which plays a key role in satellite navigation and radio communication. The project combined data from the Swarm mission satellites with extensive ground-based measurement databases, enabling a detailed analysis of processes that have so far been only minimally explored," said Šimon Mackovjak from the Department of Space Physics at the Institute of Physics and Technology of the SAS, who led the Slovak contribution to the project.

One outcome is a new scientific article published in Earth and Space Science that presents a unique dataset of so-called quiet periods in space weather for the years 2000 to 2023. This dataset was developed to simplify ionospheric analysis, as the ionosphere remains highly variable even when space weather activity is minimal due to processes originating on Earth. The analysis showed that even during the longest identified quiet period, from August 18 to 26, 2019, the ionosphere remained dynamic.

"It is precisely during the 'quietest' periods of space weather that we can study variability at the space–atmosphere interface caused by processes on Earth. This helps us understand how terrestrial processes can influence satellites in low Earth orbit," explained the space physicist.

Further results, presented in another scientific article, showed that intense terrestrial events, such as the Kamchatka earthquake in 2025, can propagate into the uppermost layers of the atmosphere and affect ionospheric plasma at distances exceeding 8,000 km. This observation was made possible through measurements over eastern Slovakia and the Czech Republic using a unique instrument capable of recording Doppler shifts up to 340 km.

In addition to its scientific outcomes, the QUID-REGIS project strengthened international collaboration among the participating institutions. It reinforced the Institute of Experimental Physics of the SAS in Košice's position within the European space research landscape.

A video animation was created to illustrate the phenomena under study better.

Prepared by: Šimon Mackovjak, Institute of Experimental Physics SAS