Modeling the UT Effect of Zone-Averaged Disturbances in the Parameters of the Upper Atmosphere for a Geomagnetic Storm in March 2015

The Global Self-Consistent Model of the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, and Protonosphere (GSM TIP) was used earlier to interpret ionospheric effects of the March 2015 geomagnetic storm. Positive aftereffects were identified and analyzed. Subsequent analysis of results from numerical modeling showed that positive aftereffects take different forms in different longitudinal sectors. This work presents results from studying the dependence of disturbances in the parameters of the upper atmosphere on the time (UT) of the start of a geomagnetic storm. It is shown that differences between mid-latitude effects during the main phase of a storm in N_mF2 and in storms with different starting times are due to differences in disturbances of the wind and the composition of the thermosphere. These differences become apparent 12 h after the start of a geomagnetic storm. The time at which mid-latitude aftereffects start to form, their amplitude, and their latitudinal extent depend on the time (UT) a geomagnetic storm starts.