Sudden Ionospheric Disturbances (SID) Monitor
To be able to monitor the occurrence and effects of solar flares, we have installed a Super SID Monitor, developed by the Stanford Solar Center. The SID (Sudden Ionospheric Disturbances) monitor measures the effects on the Earth's ionosphere caused by solar flares by tracking changes in VLF (very low frequency) transmissions as they bounce off the Earth's ionosphere. When energy from a solar flare (or other disturbance) reaches the Earth, the ionosphere gets disturbed and substantial changes occur in its characteristics (e.g. plasma density). Hence the term “Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance” to describe the changes we are monitoring.
