The diurnal, annual and sunspot-cycle variations of ESFm at Huancayo compared with similar variations of spread-F occurrence at other longitudes and latitudes

Using the tabulations of spread-F data from ionosonde recordings the diurnal, annual and sunspot-cycle variations of this spread-F occurrence have been investigated for the equatorial station, Huancayo. Both Rz max and Rz min periods have been considered. The analyses suggest that some explanation of these variations can be made by involving two regimes, which have been called Regime A and Regime B. The Regime A is present throughout the night but this distribution is more obvious after midnight. This is because in the post-sunset period Regime B, which is associated with significant height rises, is dominant. The Regime A is the same as for similar distributions in mid-latitudes and is inversely related to sunspot activity. It maximizes in December solstice months. The Regime B is directly related to sunspot activity and maximizes in equinoctial months. Changes associated with the upper atmosphere neutral particle density have been found to be important, particularly for Regime A where an inverse relationship exists. The Regime A Rz min annual distributions reported here for Huancayo have been compared with similar distributions at other longitudes and latitudes.