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THE DYNAMICAL IONOSPHERE
 THE
DYNAMICAL
IONOSPHERE
A Systems Approach to Ionospheric
Irregularity

Edited by

MASSIMO MATERASSI
Researcher, Institute for Complex Systems of the National Research Council (ISC-CNR), Florence, Italy

BIAGIO FORTE
Research Fellow, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath,
Bath, United Kingdom

ANTHEA J. COSTER
Assistant Director and Principal Research Scientist, MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford,
MA, United States

SUSAN SKONE
Associate Professor, The University of CalgaryjHBI Department of Geomatics Engineering, Calgary, AB, Canada
Elsevier
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 Contributors
Managlathayil Ali Abdu National Institute
for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de
Pesquisas Espaciais-INPE), Sao Jose dos Campos,
Brazil
Lucilla Alfonsi Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e
Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy
Asti Bhatt Center for Geospace Studies, SRI Interna-
tional, Menlo Park, CA, United States
Brett Carter SPACE Research Center, RMIT Univer-
sity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Christopher J. Coleman The University of Ade-
laide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Giuseppe Consolini INAF-Institute for Space
Astrophysics and Planetology, Rome, Italy
Anthea J. Coster MIT Haystack Observatory, West-
ford, MA, United States
Philip J. Erickson Atmospheric and Geospace Sci-
ences Group, MIT Haystack Observatory, West-
ford, MA, United States
Biagio Forte Department of Electronic and Electri-
cal Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, United
Kingdom
D.L. Hysell Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cor-
nell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
Dennis L. Knepp NorthWest Research Associates,
Monterey, CA, United States
Giovanni Lapenta Departement Wiskunde, KULeu-
ven, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
ix
Naomi Maruyama CIRES, Univ. of Colorado Boul-
der and NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center,
Boulder, CO, United States
Massimo Materassi Institute for Complex Systems
of the National Research Council (ISC-CNR),
Florence, Italy
Michael Mendillo Department of Astronomy, Bos-
ton University, Boston, MA, United States
Paola De Michelis Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e
Vulcanologia, Roma, Italy
Bruno Nava The Abdus Salam International Centre
for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
Mirko Piersanti National Institute of Nuclear Phys-
ics, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
Sandro M. Radicella The Abdus Salam Interna-
tional Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
Joshua Semeter Department of Electrical and Com-
puter Engineering and Center for Space Physics,
Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
Andrew Silberfarb SRI International, Menlo Park,
CA, United States
Susan Skone The University of Calgary|HBI
Department of Geomatics Engineering, Calgary,
AB, Canada
Luca Spogli Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulca-
nologia, Rome, Italy
Roberta Tozzi Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vul-
canologia, Roma, Italy
 Preface
A new book on ionospheric physics can
appear “not timely,” if not “unnecessary,” until
one puts this enterprise in the contemporaneous
“historical” and “cultural” context.
We live in a time characterized by a growing
interest in what one may refer to as “large sys-
tems,” i.e., portions of the universe, the state of
which is described by large amounts of param-
eters. Remarkable examples of that may be
found in several fields: the state of human popu-
lation in terms of biological, medical, financial,
or other personal data; social networks; genetic
mappings; environmental, zoological, and botan-
ical large data, weather and climate data; and data
describing markets, the economy, and the wealth
of nations.
This is historically determined by different
factors.
First, in a world economically and politically
“globalized,” everything appears as in a “uni-
versal village” within which action-reaction
chains propagate very rapidly and ostensibly,
attracting the attention of stakeholders, politi-
cians, and people in general.
Second, the unprecedented fast development
of information technologies and supercom-
puters allows for lively processing of huge
amounts of information, which renders it rea-
sonably useful to collect very big data.
Last but not least, we have the development
of Complexity Science, a “synergetic discipline”
putting together many fields of investigation
and thought, in which the organizing effects of
interactions are investigated to understand the
functioning of composite systems.
In a formula, we can refer to all this by stating
that we are in “the outbreak of Large Systems’ Age”
xi
(LSA). In physical science, the gifts of LSA are
new powerful data processing tools and
machines; the main request is to develop (or redis-
cover and recover) the mathematical tools deal-
ing with large systems: complex system
dynamics, advanced statistics, and out-of-
equilibrium thermodynamics.
Ionospheric physics will definitely benefit
from the outbreak of LSA. On the one hand,
we have been exploring the ionosphere from
some decades now, collecting a huge amount
of all kinds of possible data, and these could
be processed by the new computing tools; on
the other hand, the future ionospheric cam-
paigns will be designed taking into account
the new possibilities of the LSA technology
(big data technology, neural networks, machine
learning). It hence appears to be possible to
refresh and strengthen ionospheric science with
new external contributions, i.e., with what is
taught theoretically by dynamical system and
complexity science, and with the enormous
opportunity of highly performing big data
bases, particularly suited for large systems as
population, healthcare, and geophysics. This
new contribution to ionospheric physics is
unprecedented, and as we are going to have
new ways to interrogate ionospheric data, we
must have a clear mind about what questions
should be asked.
To focus on this, here an attempt is done to
revisit the Earth’s ionosphere as a complex, dynam-
ical system, as complexity, i.e., “what comes out
of the organizing role of interactions,” appears
to be the best way to understand the Earth’s
ionosphere dynamics. One must start from
considering the ionosphere as a dynamical
xii Preface
system, with a very high number of degrees of
freedom, and governed by physical laws con-
centrated in few simple equations of motion,
but leading to complex behaviors. According
to this point of view, we list the phenomenol-
ogy that points toward this vision, and collect
some new experimental and theoretical results
obtained thanks to it.
The structure of this book in some way tries to
reflect a zoom-in approach to the ionospheric
complex dynamics: one starts from the complex-
ity of large time- and space-scale behavior of the
Earth’s ionosphere, regarded as part of the Sun-
Earth dynamics. This global complexity is the
effect of non-linear couplings among the differ-
ent sub-systems forming the Heliosphere: the
near-planet space, the interplanetary medium,
the Sun itself. After treating some interesting
aspects of global dynamics, the most challeng-
ing traits of local dynamics are discussed: the
so-called ionospheric irregularities, basically
due to plasma instabilities and turbulence.
Which consequences should be drawn, as the
global and the local dynamics of the Earth’s ion-
osphere are accepted to be “complex”? New the-
oretical data analysis and experimental tools
should be introduced, and reviewing something
in this field is the aim of our book.
This zoom-in approach, which consists of
global complexity, local irregularity, and new
ionospheric science, organizes the present book
into four parts.
In Part I, entitled “The Earth’s Ionosphere, An
Overview,” the ionosphere of our planet is
described in a didactic way, yet addressing the
subject with an emphasis on the aspects of phe-
nomenology pointing toward a more dynamical,
complexity science-oriented description of the
ionosphere. In particular, after a general intro-
duction (Chapter 1), Michal Mendillo focuses
his attention on two challenging aspects of the
ionospheric phenomenology: the “Day-to-Day
Variability of the Ionosphere” (Chapter 2) and
the “Ionospheric Conjugate Point Science:
Hemispheric Coupling” (Chapter 3). He then
discusses the “Status” and the “Future Direc-
tions” of ionospheric science in Chapter 4. In
Chapter 5, Phil Erickson gives an introduction
to the “Natural Complexity in Action” describ-
ing the “Mid-Latitude Ionospheric Features,”
while Sandro Maria Radicella and Bruno Nava
give a panoramic view of “Empirical Iono-
spheric Models” in Chapter 6. The first part of
the book is closed by some recap about the
need to adopt a complex-dynamical description
of the Earth’s ionosphere, given in Chapter 7
(“Wrap Up”).
Part II of the book is entitled “Global Com-
plexity,” and describes the complexity of the
Sun-Earth system on the large scale. Indeed,
the helio-geospatial system involves complex
dynamics, which are manifested on the plane-
tary scale, or even larger scales.
Giovanni Lapenta gives a general and didac-
tic view of the “Complex Dynamics of the Sun-
Earth Interaction” in Chapter 8, while Chapter 9
is dedicated to the dynamics of geomagnetic
storms and sub-storms, in Naomi Maruyama’s
“Storms and Sub-Storms.” The part is closed
by Chapter 10, in which Mirko Piersanti and
Brett Carter describe the highly dynamical and
technology-relevant phenomenon of “Geomag-
netically Induced Currents.”
In Part III, the small-scale effects of the iono-
spheric complex dynamics are discussed as
“Local Irregularities.”
First, David Lee Heysell guides us “From
Instabilities to Irregularities” in his Chapter 11,
in which the dynamic system approach is
applied to ionospheric plasma instabilities; next,
the “Equatorial F Region Irregularities” in par-
ticular are discussed by Mangalathayil Ali Abdu
Sr. in Chapter 12. “Scintillation Theory,” predict-
ing the effects of local irregularities on trans-
ionospheric signals, is described by Dennis L.
Knepp (Chapter 13).
Part IV of the book, “The Future Era of Iono-
spheric Science,” is dedicated to the conse-
quence that we think one should draw on
accepting the complex dynamical nature of the
 Preface
Earth’s ionospheric system: the idea is basically
to reorient the experimental and the theoretical
physics of the ionosphere borrowing ideas, lan-
guages, and techniques from dynamical system
theory and complexity science. This part con-
tains examples of present research results that
we regard as already pointing toward this
development.
Massimo Materassi discusses the origin of
ionospheric complexity according to his point
of view in Chapter 14 (“The Complex Iono-
sphere”), and describes how path integrals
may be used for ionospheric turbulence; Joshua
Semeter talks about “New High Resolution
Techniques to Probe the Ionosphere” in
Chapter 15, and what they can bring to iono-
spheric science. Ionospheric complex dynamics
invokes the use of “Advanced Statistical Tools
in Near-Earth Space Science,” which Giuseppe
Consolini and Massimo Materassi describe in
Chapter 16, while the opportunity of
xiii
interrogating big data bases for ionospheric
studies is proposed by Asti Bhatta in
Chapter 17, “Big Data Mining and Networking
Applied to the Earth’s Ionosphere.” Massimo
Materassi, Lucilla Alfonsi, Luca Spogli, and
Biagio Forte describe some novel aspects of
“Scintillation Modeling” in Chapter 18; still
about small-scale structures, the discussion in
Chapter 19 by Paola De Michelis and Roberta
Tozzi sketches techniques for “Multiscale Anal-
ysis of the Turbulent Ionospheric Medium.”
The final chapter, “The Future Ionospheric
Physics” (Chapter 20), contains a synthesis of
what the Editors consider to be the near future
challenges of ionospheric physics, in view of
what has been discussed throughout the book.
Massimo Materassi
Anthea J. Coster
Biagio Forte
Susan Skone
 C H A P T E R

1
Introduction
Michael Mendillo
Department of Astronomy, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States

An ionosphere is that portion of a planet’s capable of being studied using ground-based

upper atmosphere where solar photons impact
neutral gases to yield a plasma of electrically
charged ions and electrons. The basic physics
and chemistry that govern terrestrial iono-
spheric structure and dynamics have been trea-
ted in a robust series of fundamental reference
books (Ratcliffe, 1960; Rishbeth and Garriott,
1969; Banks and Kockarts, 1973; Rees, 1989;
Hargreaves, 1995; Pr€ olss, 2004; Kelley, 2009;
Knipp, 2011). Extensions of ionospheric theory
to other planets in our solar system are given
in the monographs by Bauer (1973), Mendillo
et al. (2002), Bauer and Lammer (2004), and
Nagy et al. (2008). The most unified treatment
of terrestrial and planetary ionospheric science
is given in the comprehensive textbook by
Schunk and Nagy (2009). Given these excellent
sources of educational material, and a reader-
ship with experience in ionospheric research,
this introductory chapter will not present a
detailed repetition of theory. Rather, the goal
is to set the stage for the innovative treatment
of the Earth’s ionosphere as a complex system,
as presented in the chapters that follow.
Historically, ionospheric theory was
approached as a unique solar-terrestrial phe-
nomenon linking solar photons with the Earth’s
neutral gases to yield a plasma population
instrumentation. Within this framework, the
ionosphere is produced by a flux of solar pho-
tons versus wavelength (called “irradiance”)—
ranging from X-rays (<10 nm) to extreme
ultraviolet (<120 nm). Collectively called
XUV radiation, these photons penetrate to dif-
ferent heights in the upper atmosphere to ionize
the primary gases N2, O2, and O. The strength of
the XUV radiation varies over time scales rang-
ing from minutes (solar flares) to decades (solar
cycle). For a fixed daily value at the subsolar
point, the ionizing radiation varies with latitude
and local time (collectively described by solar
zenith angle).
The fact that the solar irradiance components
reach different altitudes resulted in each of the
textbooks mentioned earlier describing the ver-
tical structure of the ionosphere as a series of
“layers” produced at different photon penetra-
tion heights. Similarly, the latitude structure
was described as a series of zones ordered by
solar zenith angles and magnetic field character-
istics along north-south meridians. Thus, as
shown in Fig. 1, the ionosphere was presented
as having D, E, F1, and F2 layers in altitude, with
each of these layers varying in latitude from the
polar cap to the equator—subdividing the near-
space environment into auroral, subauroral,

The Dynamical Ionosphere 3 # 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814782-5.00001-7
4 1. Introduction

FIG. 1 Layers of the Earth’s ionosphere. From Bauer, S.J., Lammer, H., 2004. Planetary Aeronomy. Springer, New York.

middle, low and equatorial ionospheric regimes.
This view produced a high level of understand-
ing of individual processes acting within the
global ionosphere. Yet, such a compartmentali-
zation of the ionosphere is purely historical
and today seems as a somewhat limiting frame-
work for progress. This ensemble-of-layers
approach arose simply from sequential applica-
tions of the initial formulation of ionospheric
theory within the context of photo-chemical-
equilibrium conditions (Chapman, 1931). So
powerful was the respect for Sydney Chapman’s
pioneering portrayal of the ionosphere that any
observational departure from Chapman Theory
was called an anomaly (e.g., seasonal anomaly,
diurnal anomaly, equatorial anomaly). In real-
ity, the shortfalls were in the physics used,
and not with questionable diagnostic findings.
With the coming of the Space Age, new satel-
lite instruments, much-improved radio and
optical observing methods from the ground,
and advanced computer modeling capabilities
ushered in the modern era of ionospheric
research. The quaint notion of individual electri-
fied layers stacked on top of each other, with lat-
itude zones isolated from each other, has been
replaced by the new paradigm of coupling.
The historical foundation for coupling within
the geospace domain had been set decades ear-
lier via explanations of the causes of aurora. Thus,
magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I) coupling at
high latitudes set the precedent for additional
understanding of space physics system-science.
Today, solar-terrestrial relationships involve far
more than the photon source of the ionosphere.
The chain of events leading to complexity starts
with a coronal mass ejection producing modified
solar wind plasma density, velocity, and magnetic
field characteristics. These, in turn, cause solar
wind-magnetosphere coupling—followed by M-
I coupling. This classic scenario of Sun-Earth
space physics is summarized schematically in
Fig. 2. Yet, there is an additional component of
coupling also shown in Fig. 2 that emerged from

I. The earth’s ionosphere, an overview

I. The earth’s ionosphere, an overview

1. Introduction
FIG. 2 Coupling components of upper atmosphere regions (NASA image).

5
6 1. Introduction
more recent research. When ionospheric variabil-
ity was found to be substantial during periods of
very quiescent solar and magnetospheric condi-
tions, a source of nondownward coupling was
needed. This led to the concept of coupling from
below—completing the paradigm of the iono-
sphere being a fully linked surface-to-Sun atmo-
spheric-plasma system.
Altitude and latitude coupling on a global
scale have introduced levels of complexity that
are now the major foci of ionospheric research.
This chapter is a prelude to the issues treated in
subsequent chapters—where various types of
complexity—a term still difficult to define
(Charbonneau, 2017)—are introduced and
described. Here, the agenda is set by describing
a few processes that are not simply latitude or
altitude dependent. Such topics illuminate core
concepts of altitude and latitude coupling, but
treat them as universal processes. The focus is
on a difference in approach to problems formerly
treated as issues confined by spatial and tempo-
ral boundaries. The goal is to continue fostering a
transition of thinking about the ionosphere as
depicted in Fig. 1 to the system depicted in Fig. 2.
References
Banks, P.M., Kockarts, G., 1973. Aeronomy (Parts A and B).
Academic Press, New York.
I. The earth’s ionosphere, an overview
Bauer, S., 1973. Physics of Planetary Ionospheres. Springer-
Verlag, Berlin.
Bauer, S.J., Lammer, H., 2004. Planetary Aeronomy.
Springer, New York.
Chapman, S., 1931. The absorption and dissociation or ion-
izing effect of monochromatic radiation in an atmo-
sphere on a rotating earth. Proc. Phys. Soc. Lond.
43, 26–45.
Charbonneau, P., 2017. Natural Complexity: A Modeling
Handbook. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Hargreaves, J.K., 1995. The Solar-Terrestrial Environment.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Kelley, M., 2009. The Earth’s Ionosphere: Plasma Physics and
Electrodynamics, second ed. Elsevier Academic Press,
New York.
Knipp, D.J., 2011. Understanding Space Weather and the
Physics Behind It. McGraw Hill, Boston, MA.
Mendillo, M., Nagy, A., Waite, J.H. (Eds.), 2002. Atmo-
spheres in the Solar System: Comparative Aeronomy.
In: Geophysical Monograph 130, American Geophysical
Union, Washington, DC.
Nagy, A.F., Galogh, A., Cravens, T.E., Mendillo, M., Muller-
Wodarg, I. (Eds.), 2008. Comparative Aeronomy.
Springer, Berlin (also in Space Science Reviews, vol.
139, no. 1-4.).
Pr€
olss, G.W., 2004. Physics of the Earth’s Space Environment:
An Introduction. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Ratcliffe, J.A. (Ed.), 1960. Physics of the Upper Atmosphere.
Academic Press, New York.
Rees, M.H., 1989. Physics and Chemistry of the Upper Atmo-
sphere. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Rishbeth, H., Garriott, O.K., 1969. Introduction to Iono-
spheric Physics. Academic Press, New York.
Schunk, R.W., Nagy, A.F., 2009. Ionospheres: Physics,
Plasma Physics and Chemistry. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, UK.
 C H A P T E R
2
Day-to-day variability of the ionosphere
Michael Mendillo
Department of Astronomy, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
1 Overview
The defining characteristic of a planet’s iono-
sphere is its profile of electron density versus
height, Ne(h). The ionosphere is not the same
every day—and for reasons all ultimately linked
to the Sun. As mentioned earlier, the observed
Ne(h) morphology depicted in Fig. 1 of
Chapter 1 results from the differential heights
reached by solar photons capable of ionizing
the terrestrial neutral atmosphere. At its lowest
altitudes, the ionosphere occurs in a dense neu-
tral atmosphere where photo-chemical-
equilibrium (PCE) dominates over plasma
dynamics because its molecular ions (O2 + ,
NO+, N2 + ) combine so rapidly with electrons.
Thus, plasma is lost at the same altitudes where
it is produced. At greater heights, however, the
recombination chemistry of the ionosphere’s
atomic ions (O+) and electrons proceeds at a
much slower rate, and thus plasma dynamics
competes effectively with, and can dominate
over, chemistry. The time constants for chemis-
try and dynamics are the key numbers that
define complexity. For PCE-dominated plasmas
in the low-altitude ionosphere, the chemistry
can be complicated, but the overall system is
not fundamentally complex. For dynamically
dominated systems, e.g., at the “top” of the
The Dynamical Ionosphere
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814782-5.00002-9
ionosphere, the interactions of diffusion, winds,
and electrodynamics can again be complicated,
but the overall system is still not complex merely
due to a transition from photochemistry to
plasma dynamics.
Given our basic understanding of the terres-
trial ionosphere, present-day research deals
with departures from “textbook” conditions.
These fall primarily into categories associated
with variable forms of solar output:
(a) changes in the solar irradiance that occur
with timescales ranging from flares (
minutes)
to sunspot cycles (
11 years), and (b) solar wind
variability due to coronal mass ejections
(
days), rotating active regions (
monthly),
and solar-cycle effects (
11 years). In addition
to ionospheric variations due to direct solar pho-
ton and solar wind external drivers, ionospheres
also vary as a result of processes driven by solar
energy absorbed by the Earth’s neutral atmo-
sphere. These include (c) changes associated
with upward coupling of waves and tides from
the lower to upper atmosphere, and
(d) composition changes due to thermal expan-
sion and varying atmospheric dynamics and cir-
culation. Atmospheric waves have time scales
ranging from minutes to
hour—not all that dif-
ferent from solar flare effects. The time scales for
tidal effects and global circulation are diurnal
7 # 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
8 2. Day-to-day variability of the ionosphere
(with subharmonics). Taken as an overall sys-
tem, then, the ionosphere varies following
known periodicities blended with statistically
varying episodic patterns that range from
minutes to decades. Is it possible to predict all
of these cause-effect patterns? Is there some level
of variability that is formally chaotic and thus an
ever-present level of uncertainty that can never
be predicted? The first example of complexity
deals with this issue.
2 Quantifying ionospheric variability:
Peak electron density and total electron
content
Magnitudes of ionospheric variability vary
with altitude. As an example, Fig. 1A shows
electron density profiles at noon for 32 consecu-
tive days as measured by the incoherent scatter
radar at Millstone Hill. To the right, the standard
deviations in percent are shown. For the maxi-
mum electron density (Nmax), many studies
have documented both magnitudes and sources
of variability (e.g., Forbes et al., 2000; Rishbeth
and Mendillo, 2001; Moore et al., 2006). The typ-
ical procedure has been to use radio reflection
(ionosonde) observations of mid-day Nmax
values spanning a month at midlatitudes, and
to characterize variability as the standard devia-
tion in percent [σ(%)] about the monthly mean
value. The selection of the midlatitude domain
is made because it exhibits all of the coupling
processes that are now the topics of intense
study (Kintner et al., 2008).
The components of overall Nmax variability
[σ total] can be attributed to changes in solar pho-
ton irradiance [σ sun], solar-wind-induced geo-
magnetic activity [σ mag], and meteorological
coupling from below [σ met]. The analysis
method used by Rishbeth and Mendillo (2001)
treated such contributions as independent func-
tions. Following that approach, and guided by
the numerical values used in Forbes et al.
(2000) and Rishbeth and Mendillo (2001),
I. The earth’s ionosphere, an overview
ionospheric variability about a monthly mean
< Nmax > under mid-day conditions can be por-
trayed as follows:
½σ total 2 ¼ ½σ sun 2 + ½σ mag 2 + ½σ met 2
(1)
½20  25%2  ½3  6%2 + ½14  17%2 + ½14  17%2
A dramatic variation of these results occurs
when one of the sources of variability greatly
exceeds the others. An example is shown in
Fig. 1B where the same days used in panel
(A) are selected from a high latitude location
(the ISR in Svalbard). Due to auroral processes,
the daytime variability at all altitudes is greatly
above that found at midlatitudes.
An alternative way to monitor the terrestrial
ionosphere is via observations utilizing tran-
sionosphere radio beacons (e.g., using geosta-
tionary or GPS satellites). This method
provides the integral of the full electron den-
sity (Ne) profile—with total electron content
defined as
ð
TEC ¼ Ne ðhÞ dh:
Since most of TEC comes from the F-layer, TEC
is highly correlated ( 90%) with Nmax (Fox et al.,
1991), and thus σ TEC(%) is also 20%–30%
( Johanson et al., 1978). Fig. 2 shows examples
of diurnal TEC variability throughout a year.
No local time and no seasonal condition is free
from variability. The extremes of high and low
TEC patterns are due to geomagnetic storm
effects (Mendillo, 2006). All of the other days
conform to the implications of Eq. (1).
The overall message from Eq. (1) and, as por-
trayed in Figs. 1 and 2, is clear: for both Nmax and
TEC, the influence of solar irradiance is minimal
in comparison to solar wind-magnetospheric
sources of downward coupling and neutral
atmosphere sources of upward coupling—with
the latter two being comparable. This simply
restates the fact that the bulk of the terrestrial
ionosphere is not fully described by internal
photochemical equilibrium (Chapman-esque)
 2 Quantifying ionospheric variability: Peak electron density and total electron content 9

FIG. 1 Incoherent scatter radar measurements at Millstone Hill and Svalbard from October 4–November 4, 2002. Noontime
electron density versus altitude for each of the 32 days: (A) Millstone, with standard deviations (%), and (B) Svalbard with
standard deviations (%). Diurnal variation of the maximum electron density at 110 km (C) at Millstone Hill, with standard
deviations (%), and (D) from Svalbard, with standard deviations in percent (%). After Moore, L., Mendillo, M., Martinis, C.,
Bailey, S., 2006. Day-to-day variability of the E layer. J. Geophys. Res.: Space Physics 111 (A6), A06307, https://doi.org/10.
1029/2005JA011448.

processes. Plasma dynamics (diffusion along
magnetic field lines, neutral wind coupling,
electrodynamics) compete with PCE, and
changes in the thermosphere (waves and tides)
affect the abundance of neutral gases that are
ionized.
For the pure-PCE component of the terrestrial
ionosphere, as found at
110 km where molecu-
lar ions dominate, variability is much less
because of the absence of significant contribu-
tions from plasma dynamical processes. In their
study of sources of PCE variability, Moore et al.
(2006) used observations and modeling of mid-
day conditions at midlatitudes. An example is
shown in Fig. 1C using ionosonde data from
Millstone Hill. Their finding from this and other
data sets led to the characterization of mid-
latitude, low-altitude observed variability to be
σ total ðPCEÞ ¼ 7%  12%: (2)
The Moore et al. (2006) modeling studies
showed that the contribution from solar input
(changes in flux and declination over a month)
was 8%–9%. The remaining contributions came
from small changes in the neutral atmosphere.
Yet, at high latitudes affected by auroral pro-
cesses, PCE variability can be as high as
50%,
as shown using ionosonde data from Svalbard
(Fig. 1D). In summary, while the solar photon
contribution to ionospheric variability domi-
nates at low altitudes (Eq. 2), the opposite is true
at high altitudes (Eq. 1). While downward and

I. The earth’s ionosphere, an overview

10 2. Day-to-day variability of the ionosphere

FIG. 2 A year of total electron content (TEC) data separated by month to portray ionospheric variability. The observations
were made using Faraday rotation measurements of the 137-MHz plane polarized beacon on the geostationary satellite ATS-3
from the AFCRL observatory at midlatitudes (Hamilton, MA). The traditional MKS units for TEC (1016 e/m2) are given on the
left axis; the axis on the right gives their correspondingly imposed time delay (in nanoseconds, ns) for a GPS-type
(L1 ¼ 1.575 GHz) frequency. A value of 20 TEC units results in a
10 ns of delay, causing a range error of
3 m. From
Mendillo, M., 2006. Storms in the ionosphere: patterns and processes for total electron content. Rev. Geophys. 47, RG4001. https://
doi.org/10.1029/2005RG000193.

upward coupling are comparable at middle lat-
itudes (Eq. 1), downward coupling dominates
all sources at high latitudes (Fig. 1D).
Understanding the complexity of ionospheric
variability—to the point of achieving a predic-
tive capability—defines a frontier topic of 21st
century upper atmospheric physics. Initial
steps, such as the separation of processes
implied by Eqs. (1) and (2), are clearly an ideal-
ized approach. In reality, the downward-
propagating changes due to solar irradiance
and geomagnetic activity interact with indepen-
dent upward propagating disturbances from the
troposphere-stratosphere-mesosphere system
that derive their energy from the Sun as well
(but in very different ways). A self-consistent,
whole-atmosphere, global circulation model
can, in principle, include all such processes. As
will be seen, however, the complexity of the
system-input and system-response functions
currently must rely on parameterizations of
basic processes ranging from secondary ioniza-
tion by photoelectrons, to estimates of plasma
convection and auroral precipitation patterns,
to the spectrum of gravity wave and tidal pat-
terns in the neutral atmosphere.
What should be the realistic goals for the sim-
ulation of such a complex system? Surely achiev-
ing a 5% predictive capability would be a
justifiable declaration of success. More probable
is a 20%–25% capability for basic morphologies.
For geomagnetic storm effects and ionospheric

I. The earth’s ionosphere, an overview

 References
instability disturbances, predictions within
25%-50% of observational magnitudes, spatial
locations, and time might be possible.
References
Forbes, J., Palo, S., Zhang, X., 2000. Variability of the iono-
sphere. J. Atmos. Solar Terr. Phys. 62, 685–693.
Fox, M., Mendillo, M., Klobuchar, J., 1991. Ionospheric equiv-
alent slab thickness and its modeling applications. Radio
Sci. 26, 429–438. https://doi.org/10.1029/90RS02624.
Johanson, J.M., Buonsanto, M.J., Klobuchar, J.A., 1978. The
variability of ionospheric time delay. In: Proceedings of
Ionospheric Effects Symposium. Naval Research
11
Laboratory, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC, pp. 479–485.
Kintner Jr., P.M., Coster, A.J., Fuller-Rowell, T., Mannucci, A.,
Mendillo, M., Heelis, R. (Eds.), 2008. Midlatitude
Ionospheric Dynamics and Disturbances, Geophysical
Monograph 181. Amer. Geophys. Union, Washington, DC.
Mendillo, M., 2006. Storms in the ionosphere: patterns and
processes for total electron content. Rev. Geophys.
47, RG4001. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005RG000193.
Moore, L., Mendillo, M., Martinis, C., Bailey, S., 2006. Day-to-
day variability of the E layer. J. Geophys. Res. Space
Physics 111 (A6), A06307. https://doi.org/10.
1029/2005JA011448.
Rishbeth, H., Mendillo, M., 2001. Patterns of ionospheric var-
iability. J. Atmos. Solar Terr. Phys. 63, 1661–1680.

I. The earth’s ionosphere, an overview

 C H A P T E R
3
Ionospheric conjugate point science:
Hemispheric coupling
Michael Mendillo
Department of Astronomy, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
The foregoing discussion of ionospheric var-
iability focused on daytime conditions when
the magnitudes of plasma densities are the larg-
est. Yet, ionospheric variability does not cease
at sunset. A second example of complexity
deals with the plasma instabilities that can
dominate nighttime conditions across the
globe. Changes in low nighttime magnitudes
of electron density can be quite large on a per-
centage basis, and thus the variability of the
nighttime ionosphere might present the great-
est quantitative challenge to complexity theory.
Nighttime ionosphere topics were first studied
at high latitudes during geomagnetic
disturbances—where the optical manifesta-
tions of disturbance (aurora) are ordered by
patterns of closed and open geomagnetic field
lines. Given such control by B-field morphol-
ogy, effects of auroral substorms and geomag-
netic storms were found to be similar in each
hemisphere if monitored at the north and south
ends of the same geomagnetic field lines. Such
interhemispheric sites are called conjugate
points. Yet, as discussed later, significant cases
of departures from conjugate consistency of
the aurora have also been found.
The Dynamical Ionosphere 13
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814782-5.00003-0
For the regions from auroral to equatorial lat-
itudes that span so much of the globe, the geo-
magnetic field lines remain “closed” and
interhemispheric coupling occurs via electrody-
namical processes. This vast ionospheric
domain displays a systematic ordering of a mul-
titude of processes controlled by geomagnetic
fluxtubes—with each end having the same mag-
netic latitude (N and S) and longitude—the
defining conditions for conjugate points. Yet,
due to the tilt of the magnetic dipole axis, there
can be pronounced differences in ionospheric
storm effects at conjugate points (Mendillo and
Narvaez, 2010). This occurs because of the
differences between geographic latitude (the
crucial factor for solar production of the iono-
spheric) and geomagnetic latitude (the control-
ling factor for M-I coupling). Thus, all
conjugate points are not geophysically equiva-
lent. Moreover, by its very definition, conjugate
points have opposing seasonal conditions in the
two hemispheres, and thus conjugate iono-
spheres present different “receptor conditions”
to any single disturbance source ordered by
(or affected by) season. There are several exam-
ples to consider.
# 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
14 3. Ionospheric conjugate point science: Hemispheric coupling
1 Plasma instability conjugate science
The most intense and enigmatic disturbances
in all of geospace plasma science are those associ-
ated with a gravitational Rayleigh-Taylor (GRT)
plasma instability that occurs in the equatorial
and low-latitude ionosphere. Following sunset,
the maximum plasma density of the ionosphere
(O+, e
) appears as a “dense-fluid” upon a
“light fluid” (the remnant molecular ions and elec-
trons in the bottomside ionosphere). A seed
perturbation—intrusion of the low-density region
into the denser region—can result in a classic GRT
instability pattern. Low-density plasma along an
entire geomagnetic meridian “percolates”
upwards in explosive fashion via flux-tube inter-
change processes. Strong plasma gradients
prompt a cascade of irregularities from large scale
(100–1000s of kilometers) to small scales (centime-
ters) that cause serious effects upon radio signals
(phase and amplitude scintillations). For histori-
cal reasons linked to signatures in early ionosonde
measurements, the overall phenomenon is called
Equatorial Spread-F (ESF). The theory and obser-
vational methods used to study ESF are well
described in Kelley (2009), and reference therein.
Perhaps the most intriguing and challenging
aspect of ESF from the perspectives of complex
systems and applications areas is that ESF is a
form of “Space Weather” that can occur with
and without relationships to solar, solar wind,
or magnetospheric disturbances. That is, ESF
has an internal seasonal-longitude occurrence
pattern of disturbances (Tsunoda, 1985;
Aarons, 1993)—as well as instigations and sup-
pressions that occur during geomagnetic storms
(Martinis et al., 2005). Suppressions of ESF onset
and growth unrelated to geomagnetic activity
can also occur due the sudden appearance of
plasma well below the ionospheric peak
(Stephan et al., 2002). Achieving a functional
understanding of ESF phenomena during both
quiet and disturbed times is certainly one of
the grand challenges for ionospheric complexity
theory and practice.
I. The earth’s ionosphere, an overview
An example of recent research on ESF deals
with new insights gleamed from conjugate point
observations. Given the electrodynamical nature
of the fluxtube-integrated interchange process,
ESF effects must affect the ionospheres at both
ends of a geomagnetic meridian. This has been
confirmed using interhemispheric radio diagnos-
tics and optical imaging systems. For the latter,
ESF is associated with plasma depletions that appear
visually (e.g., in 630.0-nm images) as regions of air-
glow depletions. First observed as north-south-
aligned 630.0-nm emission voids spanning the
geomagnetic equator (Weber et al., 1978), they
were soon shown to extend to geomagnetic lati-
tudes of 15–25 degrees (Mendillo and
Baumgardner, 1982). This revealed ESF to be truly
interhemispheric, magnetic fluxtube disturbances
reaching lower midlatitudes—and thus B-field
lines having apex heights of thousands of kilome-
ters above the geomagnetic equator.
The first study of airglow depletions using all-
sky-imagers (ASIs) at conjugate points (Otsuka
et al., 2002) came from sites at Sata (Japan) and
Darwin (Australia). With magnetic latitudes at
zenith of 24°N and 22°S, respectively, and nearly
identical magnetic longitudes, airglow depletions
were observed in both hemispheres (Fig. 1). The
630.0-nm images showed depletion features hav-
ing 40–100 km scale sizes in longitude, with some
complex bifurcations in latitude. When mapped
along geomagnetic field lines from one hemi-
sphere to the other, Otsuka et al. (2002) and
Shiokawa et al. (2004) found excellent morphol-
ogy agreement between the two sites.
Fukushima et al. (2015) used ASI systems in Koto-
tabang (Indonesia) and Chiang Mai (Thailand)
and also found excellent agreement for optical
conjugate morphologies. Yet, Abdu et al. (2009)
and Sobral et al. (2009) reporting on simultaneous
ASI and ionosonde results from conjugate points
in Brazil (Boa Vista and Campo Grande), found
that while the airglow depletion characteristics
were very similar, the ionosonde observations in
each hemisphere showed somewhat different
irregularity patterns.
 2 Electrobuoyancy conjugate science 15

N Sata N Darwin
36 36

2000 34 34

32 32
1500 30 30

28 28

(deg.)

(deg.)
(km)
Lat.
Alt.

Lat.
126 128 130 132 134 E 126 128 130 132 134 E
Long. (deg.) Long. (deg.)

0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 100 200 300 400

Intensity (R) Intensity (R)
(A) (B)
FIG. 1 Example of conjugate point ionospheric airglow depletions associated with equatorial spread-F (left). An all-sky-
image of airglow patterns recorded in Sata (Japan) compared to an image taken at the same time in Darwin (Australia) that
is mapped along geomagnetic field lines from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere. Low values of airglow
outline a plume of ionospheric irregularities that exhibits a bifurcation pattern—showing a coherence between hemispheres
due to magnetic field control. The details agree to a scale size down to 40 km. From Otsuka, Y., Shiokawa, K., Ogawa, T.,
Wilkinson, P., 2002. Geomagnetic conjugate observations of equatorial airglow depletions. Geophys. Res. Lett. 29, 15. https://doi.org/
10.1029/2002GL015347.

Studies using conjugate point ASIs from three
longitude sectors have thus confirmed the basic
electrodynamical mechanism of geomagnetic
fluxtube-aligned control of the ESF signatures
found from all-sky airglow imaging. Yet, when
combining optical and radio results at conjugate
points, Abdu et al. (2009) found coherence of
effects in one hemisphere, but not in both. This
suggests conjugate point science offers an
important way to approach the complexity of
large- versus small-scale irregularity signatures.
If images mapped between hemispheres agree
down to a scale size of 40 km, but radio sound-
ings show differences, does that scale size define
the onset of complexity?
2 Electrobuoyancy conjugate science
Incoherent scatter radar (ISR) observations at
the Arecibo Observatory discovered unusual
corrugations in ionospheric densities with hori-
zontal scale size of 100 s of kilometers (Behnke,
1979). The first optical studies of these
midlatitude structures were carried out using
an all-sky imager at the Arecibo Observatory
(Mendillo et al., 1997; Miller et al., 1997). The
wavelengths and speeds observed were typical
of medium-scale traveling ionospheric distur-
bances (MSTIDs) associated with waves in the
neutral atmosphere. Yet, the structures observed
at Arecibo did not propagate over the full range
of azimuths found with earlier studies of
MSTIDs—rather, they had a narrow range of
northeast-to-southwest propagation vectors.
Those characteristics led to the suggestion that
a specific type of plasma instability seemed to
be involved (Perkins, 1973), but one not fully
consistent with observations, and thus the
phrase “Perkins-like” came into use. A more
general name was suggested (electro-buoyancy-
waves) by Kelley et al. (2000) in order to distin-
guish them from the ionospheric corrugations
driven by waves in the neutral atmosphere
(gravity waves) that propagate in all directions.
Unfortunately, it has not been widely adopted.
The MSTID designation is still used, as will be
done here.

I. The earth’s ionosphere, an overview

Another random document with
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of us are going to get there. And ‘the sermon is so long always.’ All
these things are, indeed, to be regretted! I would regret them more
sincerely, my boy, did I not know that you will often squeeze into a
stuffed street-car, with a hundred other men, breathing an odor of
whisky, beer and tobacco, hang on a strap for two miles, and then
pay fifty cents for the privilege of sitting on a rough plank in the
broiling sun for two hours longer, while in the intervals of the game a
scratch band will blow discordant thunder from a dozen misfit horns
right into your ears, and come home to talk the rest of the family into
a state of aural paralysis about the ‘dandiest’ game you ever saw
played on that ground.”

WHAT CHURCH GOING DID.

Ah, my boy, you see what staying away from church does. It
develops a habit of lying. There isn’t one man in a hundred who
could go on the witness stand and give, under oath, the same reasons
for not going to church that he gives to his family every Sunday
morning. My son, if you didn’t think you ought to go, you wouldn’t
make any excuses for not going. No man apologizes for doing right.
A young man from the country went to New York to engage in
business. The first Sunday he visited the old Wall Street church, and
was invited by Robert Lenox, the president of the Bible Society, to a
seat in his pew. The next morning he went to buy leather to start
shoe-making. When he asked for credit, the merchant asked: “Did I
not see you yesterday in Mr. Lenox’s pew?” “I don’t know, sir; I was
at church, and a kind gentleman asked me to sit in his pew.” “Yes,
young man, that was Robert Lenox. I’ll trust anyone that Mr. Lenox
invites into his pew. You need not trouble yourself about references.
When the goods are gone, come and get more.” “The attendance at
church that Sunday,” said this young man in after years, “was the
means of my becoming a prominent successful merchant, and
contributor to the support of God’s house.”
A humble brickmason who confessed Christ united with His
people. Rising in meeting, he stated the reason that prompted him to
this step. “I used to think,” he said, “that I could be as good out of the
church as in it. I felt that I was moral and upright and had as clean a
character as the next man; but one day while walking by a building
under construction, I happened to see a new but dirty brick lying in
the road useless and neglected. ‘There,’ said I to myself, ‘are you,
Henry Crane, thinking you are as good a brick out of the church as if
you were in it. But you are of no account to anybody, and nobody
cares anything for you. You are lying around in everybody’s way, and
nobody cares to step over you; they all tread you down into the mud
as if you were a stone. If you were built into the wall, as you ought to
be, you would amount to something, and have an honest man’s place.
Then you would be of some use.’ So I made up my mind that I would
not be like that brick any longer. That is why I have come out on the
Lord’s side and joined the Lord’s people, that I may be built into the
wall and have a place in the building of God.”

WHY ATTEND AND UNITE WITH THE CHURCH?

To attend and be a member of a church should be considered a

pleasure rather than pain, a privilege rather than duty. Some boys go
because they are compelled by parents who are members. They laugh
and talk, instead of worshipping God. Without a blessing they enter
the sacred place, without a blessing they leave.
The most sacred entrance to the Kremlin, in Moscow, is called the
“Redeemer Gate,” because there is hung in it a picture of the Saviour
—a picture of great sanctity. Even the Emperor has to uncover his
head as he passes through this gate. The passage under the gate is
long, but even in a terrific snow storm every one is compelled to
uncover his head. It is said that when Napoleon refused to take his
hat off while passing before the sacred picture, a sudden gust of wind
took it off for him. God’s House is sacred. There He manifests
Himself, having declared, “Ye shall reverence My Sanctuary: I am the
Lord.” (Lev. 19:30). And Jesus said: “My House shall be called the
House of prayer.” (Matt. 21:13).
The blessedness derived from attending and uniting with the
church exceeds the blessedness of everything else. God’s Word
approves it. Nehemiah said, “We will not forsake the House of our
God.” (Neh. 10:39). David said, “How amiable are Thy Tabernacles,
O Lord of Hosts! my heart longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of
the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (Ps.
84:42). Paul exhorts not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves
together.” (Heb. 10:25).
It is at church where God says: “There I will meet with thee, and I
will commune with thee from above the mercy seat.” (Ex. 25:22). It is
there God provides a spiritual feast of good things for the soul. “He
brought me,” said Solomon, “to the banqueting house and His
banner over me was love.” (Cant. 2:4). It is here He reveals His glory:
“I will glorify the House of My glory,” (Isa. 60:7) said God. Jesus
declared, “There am I in the midst.” (Matt. 18:20). Because of this
General O. O. Howard stood the scoffs and sneers at West Point, and
said: “I gripped my Bible, shut my teeth and went for my mother’s
and Jesus’ sake.”
To unite with the church is proper and profitable. It is one of the
ways of confessing Christ. That beautiful character, Henry
Drummond, united with the church at twelve. How interesting to
read his first experience in taking part in meeting. “In prayer,” he
wrote, “I trembled in voice and all through. Voice seemed not my
own. I had outlined the prayer during the afternoon, but didn’t
remember it.” Little by little however he became a man who had
great liberty in addressing God and pleading with man.
Many men who live without uniting with the church do not want to
die out of it. When the great shipbuilder John Roach was struck with
a mortal illness, he said. “I want to be received into the church.” Let
any Christian boy consider carefully that out of seven millions of
young men in this land, only two-thirds attend church and only one-
twelfth belong, and he will say with General Grant when baptized by
Bishop Newman, “O that I might live for years, that I might show the
joys of being a consistent member of the church.” Church
relationship, my boy, creates holy desires and aspirations, augments
power for doing good, throws a magic uplifting influence around
others and extends the kingdom of Christ on earth.

RESULTS OF CHURCH RELATIONSHIP.

The results of church relationship are too numerous to mention.

To be a church member glorifies God, enlarges influence, and leads
others into the broad fields of usefulness, where God can own and
bless.
In “Darkest Africa,” a great man did a great work, through loving
and uniting with God’s people in youth. In a little village of Scotland,
stood an old church, whose pastor had preached therein for many
years. One Sunday morning he was accosted by one of his deacons,
whose face wore a very resolute but distressed expression. “I came
early to meet you,” he said, “I have something on my heart to say to
you, Pastor. There must be something radically wrong in your
preaching and work; there has been only one person added to the
church in a whole year, and he only a boy.”
The old minister listened. His eyes moistened and his thin hand
trembled on his broad-headed cane. “I feel it all,” said he, “I feel it,
but God knows that I have tried to do my duty, and I can trust Him
for the results.” “Yes, yes,” said the deacon, “but ‘by their fruits ye
shall know them.’ (Matt. 7:20). One new member seems to me a
rather slight evidence of true faith and zeal. I don’t want to be hard; I
have had this matter on my heart and I have only done my duty in
speaking plain.” “True,” said the old man, “but ‘charity suffereth long
and is kind: beareth all things, hopeth all things!’ (1 Cor. 13:4, 7). Ay,
there you have it: ‘hopeth all things!’ I have great hopes of that one
boy. Some seed that we sow bears fruit late, but its fruit is generally
the most precious of all.”
The old minister went into the pulpit with a grieved and heavy
heart, and closed his discourse with dim and tearful eyes. He wished
that his work was done forever and that he was at rest under the
blooming trees in the old churchyard. He lingered in the church after
the rest were gone. He desired to be alone. The place was sacred and
inexpressibly dear to him. It had been his spiritual home from his
youth. Before this altar he prayed over the dead forms of bygone
generations, and had welcomed the children of succeeding ones; and
now to be told that his work was no longer owned and blessed!
No one remained, no one? “Only a boy.” He watched the trembling
man. His soul was filled with loving sympathy. He went to him, and
laid his hand on his black gown. “Well, Robert?” said the minister.
“Do you think if I were willing to work hard for an education, I could
ever become a preacher?” “A preacher?” “Perhaps a missionary.”
There was a long pause. Tears filled the eyes of the minister. At
length he said, “This heals each ache in my heart, Robert. I see the
divining Hand now. May God bless you, my boy. Yes, I think you will
become a preacher.”
Some few years ago there returned to London from Africa an aged
missionary. His name was spoken with reverence. When he went into
an assembly the people rose; when he spoke in public there was a
deep silence. Princes stood uncovered before him, nobles invited him
to their homes, and on one occasion he was presented with a sum of
five thousand guineas in recognition of his great services. He had
added a province to the church of Christ on earth; he had brought
under the gospel influence the most savage of African chiefs; had
given the translated Bible to strange tribes; had enriched with
valuable knowledge the Royal Geographical Society, and had
honored the humble place of his birth, the old Scottish church, the
United Kingdom and the universal missionary cause.
Who was the boy? Who was the minister? The latter is forgotten.
He sleeps beneath the trees in the humble place of his labors, but
men remember his work because of what he was to that one boy, and
what that boy was to the world. “Only a boy that had joined the
church,” but that boy was the great missionary Robert Moffatt. Had
he neglected church and mingled with bad company and formed bad
habits, what a great work would have been left undone, what an
obscure life he would have lived, and the name so universally known
would never have been uttered with reverence as it is now!

BEE HUNTING.

Of hunting bees, one writer has said that the manner of catching
them is very ingenious. He puts a piece of honeycomb into a box.
Then he catches a bee and covers him within the box. As soon as the
fright of the prisoner is overcome, he moves about, tastes the honey
and is satisfied. The prison becomes a home. Being loosed, he finds
his way back to the hive and in a little time returns, bringing others
with him. He has told the secret story of his find to his former
associates, and they in turn follow him back until the bee-hunter’s
box is filled with a swarm of bees. This is God’s appointed way of
building up His church and saving the race. He first reveals Himself
to one soul, entrancing him with His love and thrilling his soul with
the joys of salvation. This one, having tasted the sweetness of
forgiveness and the joy of hope, goes to another, narrating his
experience and discovery, and he in turn finds another, until one by
one he brings them into the great church hive. Andrew brings Peter,
(John 1:41) Philip brings Nathaniel, (John 1:45) Joel Stratton brings
Gough, Robert Eaglen brings Spurgeon, and you, some other boy.
O, my boy, attend church regularly. If you are not a member,
become one. Then tell the story of Jesus and His love. Seek to bring
others to church, for if the House of God is the Gate to Heaven, what
must Heaven be? If the songs of Zion, the gospel preached and
prayers offered are cheering and helpful, what must it be to be in the
presence of Him who is the key-note of all songs; the sum and
substance of all truth, the way, and the life? Can you not say:
“I love Thy church, O God;
Her walls before me stand,
Dear as the apple of Thine eye,
And graven on Thy hand.

For her my tears shall fall;

For her my prayers ascend;
To her my cares and toils be given,
Till toils and cares shall end.”
 CHAPTER XXVI
Be a Worker for Jesus

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER XXVI

By C. C. McCabe
“Forth in Thy name, O Lord, I go,
My daily labor to pursue,
Thee, only Thee, resolved to know,
In all I think, or speak, or do.”

The manifold relations that a boy sustains to society forces him to labor in many
spheres, and each has its special compensation, but the noblest and best rewarded
service is for Jesus. Such calls into exercise the purest impulses, inspires the best
deeds, grants the truest freedom and protects against destroying vices.
—Nevin B. Mathes.

You cannot serve a better Master. He will set you free and keep you
so. Any other service is slavery—but His service is perfect freedom.
Work for Him. Let your life count upon the side of Christ, and for the
welfare of the world.
You cannot imagine what a glorious destiny is before you if you
give yourself and your life to Him.
 CHAPTER XXVI
Be a Worker for Jesus

The poet Virgil was said to have cast an enchantment on one of the
public gates of Naples. All who passed the sculptured, smiling face on
one side prospered, but those who passed under the frowning figure
on the opposite side were doomed from the outset to disaster. Many
now believe in such superstitious ideas, and “Chance” is charged with
the ups and downs of thousands. Common sense and experience
assure us that the one main condition of success is work. The
practical person takes no stock in what Shakespeare calls “giddy
fortune’s fickle wheel,” but instead relies on “Heaven helps those that
help themselves.”
A dying farmer called to his bedside his three lazy sons and said to
them: “My sons, a great treasure lies hid in the estate which I am
about to leave you.” “Where is it hid?” exclaimed the sons in a
breath. “I am about to tell you,” said the old man, “you will have to
dig for it—” His breath failed him before imparting the weighty
secret, and he died. Forthwith the sons set to work upon the long-
neglected fields. They discovered no treasure, but they learned to
work, and when these fields were sown, and the harvest came, the
yield in consequence of the thorough tilling was prodigious. Then
was it they discovered the treasure concealed in the estate, of which
their wise old father had advised them.
The same rule holds good in the work of Jesus. Work is ordained
by God, and should be ordained by us for God. The establishment of
the religion of Christ in all lands, the numberless churches, the
schools of learning and the asylums for the needy owe all to the
energy and toil of the adherents of Christ. In the Bible Christianity is
represented as a temple, but Christians are the builders. Life is
spoken of as a warfare, but Christians are the soldiers. Work is
shown to be the divine test of greatness, but Christians are the
workers. To simply love God is not sufficient, for love must prove
itself by labor. To have faith is not enough, for “Faith without works
is dead.” (James 2:20). It is like a fish without water and a watch
without springs. Philip might have said to Nathaniel: “I would not be
surprised if we met Jesus to-day,” but the record tells us he “findeth
Nathaniel and saith unto him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses
in the law and the prophets did write.’” (John 1:45). Harlan Page,
pressed with business cares and battling with ill-health, might have
said, “Well, now, I believe God will send laborers into His vineyard,”
but he went to work and led a hundred young men into the ministry
by consecrating his personal influence to Christ.

LAYING BRICKS.

A little over half a century ago a boy heard his pastor say to the
trustees that he would like a new brick walk laid around the old
church. They replied it was impossible as there were no funds in the
treasury. That boy wanted to do something for his Master, so he said
to himself: “I will do what I can to lay the walk about the church.” He
went to a brickyard section of Philadelphia, and asked one of his
father’s friends to give him a thousand brick, of another friend he
asked a like amount; and another, until he thought he had secured a
sufficient number to complete the walk. He then asked some of the
men and boys whom he knew very well to help place them in
position. They did so, beginning on Thursday and completing the
work at half past ten o’clock Saturday night.
This lad had a great desire to know what the pastor would say, so
he made his way very early Sunday morning to a place where he
could see his pastor and not be seen by him. Soon after Dr.
Chambers came down the street and started to go to his study, when
he realized that his feet were standing on a new pavement. He took
off his glasses and rubbed them. Putting them on he began to walk
up and down, first on Sansom and then on Broad Street. He made
the journey two or three times. The young man was soon walking
along after him apparently unconcerned. The pastor had made his
last trip over the walk, and turning around saw the lad. The tears
began to flow as he said, “My son, who did this?” The young man
looked up and said, “Dr. Chambers, I helped to do it.” Then Dr.
Chambers put his hands on the young man’s shoulders and said,
“God bless you, my son, you have made your old pastor’s heart glad.
You have greatly aided me in my church work.” That boy was John
Wanamaker.
 THE COMMAND.

There is one reason which should prompt every boy to work. Jesus
says, “Son, go work to-day in My vineyard.” (Matt. 21:28). He has
elected boys as well as men, and commissioned them to do His will.
Note the loving title which He uses. “Son.” Not slave, or servant, but
son, thus presenting the fact of near relationship. Son, do what?
“Work.” That’s the philosopher’s stone which turns everything to
gold, and the key that unlocks the treasures of nature. By it the
muscles are hardened, the intellect strengthened, and slumbering
genius awakened. “Son, go work!” When? “To-day,” thus showing it
is a present need, for the night cometh when no boy can work.
Ledyard, on being summoned before the Geographical Society of
Great Britain was told they desired him to visit and do certain work
in Africa. After enumerating the perils, the exposure, the hard work,
they asked when he could be ready to start. “To-morrow morning,”
was the reply. The learned men were astonished. They thought it
would take weeks and months to get ready. But God requires even
greater promptness than Ledyard’s. He asks, “to-day.” There’s not a
moment that has not a work assigned to it, and if neglected it is left
undone forever. Like a ship at sea, with compass gone, the boy loses
his bearings. It is by the velocity with which a ball is shot from a
cannon that it is kept from the ground. It is by a peculiar law that
electricity will keep to the wire till it reaches a break, and thus an
active Christian boy will keep at the Master’s work until life ends. He
will be a Samuel, saying: “Here am I,” (2 Sam. 3:5) and a Paul, “What
wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).

EQUIPMENT.

God not only calls us to work, but He also has a definite work, and
equips every worker with ability to do that work. It is not sufficient to
testify of being saved and a willingness to be used by God. No. God
has something especially for every Christian to do. As surely as we
have named the name of Jesus, so surely have we been called to do
His service,—a service that is for each one just as definite as for any
who have lived before us. We may not be able to do what we would
like, but we can do a great deal more than we do for the Master. It is
not always—
—“the good thing we accomplish, but the better thing we plan,
Not achievement but Ideal, is the measure of the man.”

There was a boy who led thousands to Christ. He was converted

under somewhat peculiar circumstances, and owed the beginning of
his religious life largely to the influence exerted upon him by the
silent performance of an act of religious duty on the part of a room-
mate and fellow-apprentice. This boy’s early years were such as to
produce a very unquiet conscience, but the claims of religion
continued to assert themselves in his soul amid all his irregularities
of conduct. At last he began to have longings for a better life.
Sometimes on a Sabbath he would go away by himself and pray. “I
wanted to be a Christian,” he said, “but knew not how. I prayed that
the Lord would raise up someone in the house to be my guide. I am
sure I was sincere in this, and now came the turning point of my life.
The gentleman with whom I lived was in need of money, so he took
another apprentice for the sake of the premium. This youth had been
religiously educated. The apprentices all slept in the same room. The
first time this boy lodged with us he knelt down by his bed and
prayed in silence. The thought instantly occurred to me as I looked
with surprise on the youth bending before God, that there was the
answer to my prayer. So it proved. I became acquainted with him
and with boyish simplicity he told me the love of Jesus. It was not
long before the light of the Gospel shone in my heart.” This boy that
did his duty so silently and unconsciously is not known to us, but the
boy he led to Christ and who became such a great soul-winner was
the eloquent Henry James.
Joel Stratton was a poor, unlettered young man, but he led the
great temperance worker John B. Gough to Jesus. It was a kind word
and a hearty handshake that brought the white-headed, clear-
brained, sweet-spirited, silver-tongued Bishop Simpson to Christ.
Robert Eaglen is unknown but for one thing. One day standing up in
meeting he attempted to preach the gospel. Before him was Charles
Haddon Spurgeon, of whom the great evangelist Richard Knill once
said: “That voice will be heard by thousands.” Knill exacted a
promise from him, that when he preached in Rowland Hill’s great
chapel in London, he would announce the hymn, “God moves in a
mysterious way.” This boy heard Eaglen give out the text, “Look unto
Me, and, be ye saved.” (Isa. 45:22). Then he caught the eye of the
speaker looking at him as he cried, “Look! Look! Look! only look and
be saved.” Through that sermon Charles Spurgeon became a
Christian. At sixteen he preached his first sermon. At nineteen he
was placed on trial as a candidate for a pastorate. He was greeted by
an audience of two hundred persons to hear the first sermon, but
before his three months’ trial was over, the twelve hundred sittings
were all taken, and within a year the house was enlarged. The Royal
Surrey Garden Music Hall was then engaged while a larger
tabernacle was being built. Ten and twelve thousand people flocked
to hear him. Rich and poor, lords and laborers sat at his feet. Men
said, “What a brilliant meteor.” But he proved to be a fixed star. He
wrote many books, built orphanages until five hundred children were
sheltered, erected a college and did a vast amount of good. Great
honor is his, but how great that of Robert Eaglen who led him to
Jesus.

ONE BOY’S WORK.

Mrs. Phoebe Palmer once told of a boy in England who went to his
pastor and asked him if there was something he could do for the
Lord. The pastor said, “Why, I don’t know. I do not think you are
capable of teaching a class, and hardly old enough to be a judicious
tract distributor. I don’t know what you can do.” “Seems to me,” said
the boy, “there ought to be something for us boys to do.” The pastor
thought a moment and then he asked, “Is your seat-mate in school a
Christian?” “No, sir, I think not.” “Then go to work, as the Lord shall
show you how, and get him converted. Then take another and
another. I cannot tell you exactly what to do, but if you pray, the
Saviour will show you how to get them saved.” Some months after
when Mrs. Palmer was holding meetings in that place, this boy was
lying very ill. The doctors gave him up to die. His father went to the
afternoon meeting, and coming home, the boy roused up and asked:
“Was Ned Smith at the meeting this afternoon?” “Yes, my son.” “Did
he give his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ?” “No, I think not.” “Oh,
dear,” said the dying boy, “I thought he would.”
 The next day his father again went to the meeting. When he came
home the son asked him the same question and expressed the same
disappointment that his friend was not converted. The third day he
asked the same question and received a different answer. “Yes, Ned
gave his heart to the Saviour this afternoon.” “I am so glad,” was the
answer. After his death, his parents opened a little box he kept near
him, and found a piece of paper with forty boys’ names written upon
it. The first one was his seat-mate at the time when he went to the
pastor and asked for something to do for the Lord; the last name was
that of Ned Smith. Every boy on the list was converted. He had taken
them one by one in faith and prayer, giving them books to read,
showing them texts of scripture, taking them to church and talking to
them about their sins and how Christ would forgive them, and the
whole forty had been converted through his efforts.

THE KIND OF A WORKER.

There is plenty of work a boy can do for Jesus. There are tracts to
distribute, acts of love to be shown to the sick and aged. There are
boys who can be influenced to go to Sunday-school and church.
Beethoven’s maxim was, “Not a day without a line,” and the boy’s
should be, “Every day this one thing I do, something to lead a soul
nearer to Jesus.” Be a patient and careful worker. “The one prudence
in life,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson, “is concentration; the one evil is
dissipation.” Paul’s exhortation to Timothy was, “Show thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,” (2
Tim. 2:15), a first-class workman. To be this demands judicious
planning and careful executing. It is not so much the amount done,
but the way in which it is done. A right motive to a right way is found
in the fact: “Thou God seest me.” (Gen. 10:13).
Hooker, speaking of Edward VI. said, “He died young but lived
long, if life be action.” John Summerfield was but twenty-seven when
he died, yet with a frail body, he lived long enough to tell the Gospel
message to the whole English-speaking race of his time. “So little
done, so much to do,” said Cecil Rhodes on his death-bed. Though a
man of affairs and a prodigious worker he sorrowed over the fact that
he was leaving much unaccomplished. One of Napoleon’s dying
veterans received on the battlefield the grand cross of the “Legion of
Honor” from the Emperor’s hand and said “Now I die satisfied.” My
boy, may you be enrolled in God’s Legion of Honor. Let nothing
discomfort you. Make condition your bond slave, grasp opportunity
by the forelock and work out destinies in sunshine and darkness, so
that you may hear the Master’s voice after the labor and battles of life
are o’er.
“Go labor on; spend and be spent
The joy to do the Father’s will;
It is the way the Master went;
Should not the servant tread it still?

Toil on, and in thy toil rejoice!

For toil comes rest, for exile home;
Soon shalt thou hear the Bridegroom’s voice,
The midnight peal: ‘Behold, I come!’”
 CHAPTER XXVII
Be a Witness for Jesus

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER XXVII

By H. W. Warren
My family and I were in Copenhagen one Fourth of July, so we hung
our American flag out of the window of the hotel. Up came the
United States consul, saying: “I knew there must be some good
Americans behind that flag.” How glad we were to see one of our
countrymen in a strange land. What favors he showed us and what
honors he caused to come to us.
We belong to a better country. Let us hang out the flag. The King of
the country said: “If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor,”
(John 12:26) and “He that shall confess Me before men, him will I
confess also before My Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 10:32).
What is your name? Be it John, Henry or whatever else, how
pleasant to hear it confessed in that place, that company and by that
royal King.
It is not merely there and then that our names are confessed, but
here and now: the Spirit beareth witness in our hearts that we are the
children of God. The Holy Ghost is a witness to us now, as really as
we are witnesses for God. Mutual relations are best relations. Abel
obtained witness that he was righteous; so may we.
 CHAPTER XXVII
Be a Witness for Jesus

In city courtrooms there is a certain stand known as the “witness

stand,” from which individuals give evidence for or against the
accused whose trial is pending. Sometimes the evidence is the means
of convicting and sometimes freeing the accused. Before giving the
testimony, however, they are required on oath to tell “the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
In like manner this world is one large courtroom, and there are
many witnesses testifying daily for or against right, truth and Christ.
Every political party is championed by witnesses who talk and vote
for it. Satan has his witnesses and they are easily distinguished. The
world has its witnesses. They run after the follies and amusements of
this life, all of which leave an aching void. And why should not
Christ, who is pure, kind, loving and helpful have witnesses? “Ye are
My witnesses, saith the Lord.” (Isa. 43:10). To be a true Christian is
to be a witness for Jesus.

A BRAVE WITNESS.

When Frederick the Great of Prussia was ridiculing Christ and

Christianity before a company of jolly nobles and officers of the
army, there was one brave general who remained gloomily silent. It
was Joachim von Zietan, one of the ablest and bravest officers
present. Rising and shaking his gray head solemnly, he said to the
King: “Your Majesty knows well in war I have never feared any
danger, and everywhere I have boldly risked my life for you and for
my country. But there is One above us who is greater than all men.
He is my Saviour and Redeemer, who has died for Your Majesty, and
has dearly bought us all with His own blood. That Holy One I can
never allow to be mocked or insulted, for on Him I repose my faith,
my comfort and my hope in life and death. In the power of this faith
your brave army has courageously fought and conquered. If Your
Majesty undermines this faith, you undermine at the same time the
welfare of your State. I salute Your Majesty.” Frederick looked at the
man in admiration, and in the presence of the illustrious company,
apologized for what he had said. So no boy ever stands for Jesus, but
that he awakens in the heart of those who make light of spiritual
matters a sense of honor and respect for him and his testimony.

HOW TO WITNESS FOR JESUS.

It is not every one who says the most that does the most good.
Actions speak louder than words. Nearness to Christ means Christ
shining in the life. Seneca said regarding the quality of life: “It is the
bounty of nature that we live, but of philosophy that we live well.”
Paul said, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” (Gal. 2:20). “You
may depend upon it,” says Lavatar, “that he is a good man whose
intimate friends are good,” and no friend is so good or dear as Jesus.
Every boy should witness for Christ because wicked men oppose the
work He wrought. From the trial of Christ to the present, there have
been those who have ridiculed His blessed atonement. They have
uttered blasphemous epithets and have advanced many arguments to
demolish the church He organized. Every manner of persecution has
been hurled against His people. Yet in spite of fire, sword, rack and
thumbscrew the adherents of Jesus number more than ever before.
Atheists and infidels have warred against the Christian religion, but
we are living witnesses against them and their theories, “Their rock is
not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.” (Deut.
32:31).

BEECHER AND INGERSOLL.

Colonel Ingersoll was one day in the society of Henry Ward

Beecher and four or five gentlemen, all of whom were prominent in
the world of literature. Several different topics were discussed with
decided brilliancy, but no allusion was made to religion. The
distinguished infidel was too polite to introduce the subject, but one
of the party finally desiring to see a tilt between Mr. Ingersoll and
Mr. Beecher made a playful remark about Colonel Ingersoll’s
idiosyncrasy, as he termed it. The Colonel at once defended his views
with his usual apt rhetoric and eloquence. He was met by several
gentlemen in very effective repartee. Contrary to the expectations of
all Mr. Beecher remained an abstracted listener. The gentleman who
introduced the topic with hope that Mr. Beecher would answer
Colonel Ingersoll, at last remarked, “Mr. Beecher, have you nothing
to say on this question?”
The old man slowly lifted himself from his attitude and replied,
“Nothing, in fact. If you will excuse me for changing the
conversation, I will say that while you gentlemen were talking, my
mind was bent on a most deplorable spectacle which I witnessed to-
day.” “What was it?” at once inquired Colonel Ingersoll, who,
notwithstanding his peculiar views of the hereafter, was noted for his
kindness of heart. “Why,” said Mr. Beecher, “as I was walking I saw a
poor blind man with crutches, slowly and carefully picking his way
through a morass of mud in the endeavor to cross the street. He had
just reached the middle of the filth when a big, burly ruffian rushed
up to him, jerked the crutches from under the unfortunate man and
left him sprawling and helpless in the pool of liquid dirt, which
almost engulfed him.” “What a brute he was!” said the Colonel.
“What a brute he was!” they all echoed. “Yes,” said the old man,
rising from his chair and brushing back his long, white hair, while his
eyes glittered with his old-time fire, as he bent them on Ingersoll,
“yes, Colonel Ingersoll, and you are the man. The human soul is
lame, but Christianity gives it crutches to enable it to pass the
highway of life. It is your teaching that knocks these crutches from
under it and leaves it a helpless and rudderless wreck in the slough of
despond. If robbing the human soul of its only support on earth be
your profession, ply it to your heart’s content. It requires an architect
to erect a building; an incendiary may reduce it to ashes.”
The old man sat down and silence brooded over the scene. Colonel
Ingersoll found that he had a master in his own power of illustration
and said nothing. The company took their hats and departed.
Unbelief may scoff but it cannot controvert the fact, Jesus saves to
the uttermost all who come unto Him.

WHAT OTHERS SAY.

 A boy should witness for Christ, for as master minds declare, His
character is spotless. Christ stands the ideal among men. The Roman
centurion called Him: “The Son of God” (Matt. 27:54); Judas, “The
innocent blood,” (Matt. 27:4); Pilate, “The Man without fault” (Luke
23:4); Josephus, “The wise man” and Celsus, “The miracle-working
magician.” Diderot the atheist speaking of the history calls it “The
unsurpassed story.” Napoleon declared Christ to be “The Emperor of
Love;” John Stuart Mill “The guide of humanity;” Renan “The
greatest among the sons of men;” Robert Owen “The
irreproachable;” Theodore Parker “The youth with God in his heart;”
to which millions add, He “is all and in all,” (Col. 10:32) “and over
all, God blessed for ever.”

THE PROMISE.

A boy should witness for Christ because Christ has promised to

witness for him before His Father. “Whosoever therefore,” said He,
“shall confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father
which is in heaven.” (Matt. 10:32). Dr. Theodore Cuyler says the
word “confession” is a very deep and far-reaching one. It refers to the
heart, then to the lips, and then to the daily life. Whoever would be
saved must embrace Christ in the heart; this signifies conversion.
Next we must acknowledge Him with the life; this is what is usually
styled “a profession of faith.” Above all, those who make this open
confession are expected to honor Christ by obedience to His
commandments; this is vital Christianity. To all who honestly make
confession Christ has promised He will own as “His brethren and
chosen” in this world and in the next.
It was a drummer boy by the name of Charlie Couston that led the
great Dr. Roosvalley to Christ. After the battle of Gettysburg this boy
was so frightfully wounded that it necessitated the amputation of an
arm and leg. When chloroform was about to be administered he
politely refused it. The doctor asked the reason. “Doctor,” said he,
“one Sunday afternoon in the Sabbath-school when I was nine and a
half years old, I gave my heart to Christ. I have been trusting Him
ever since, and I know I can trust Him now. He is my strength and
stimulant. He will support me while you amputate my arm and leg.”
The doctor asked if he would take a little brandy. Looking up, the lad
answered, “Doctor, when I was about five years old my mother knelt
by my side with her arm about my neck, and said, ‘Charlie, I am
praying to Jesus that you may never know the taste of strong drink.
Your papa died a drunkard, and I promised God, if it was His will
that you should grow up, that you should warn young men against
the bitter cup.’ I am now seventeen years of age, but I have never
tasted anything stronger than tea or coffee; and as I am in all
probability about to go into the presence of God, would you send me
there with brandy on my stomach?”
The operation began. While cutting through the flesh Charlie never
groaned, but when the surgeon took the saw to separate the bone, the
lad took the corner of the pillow in his mouth, and prayed: “Oh,
Jesus, blessed Jesus, stand by me now.” Five days after this, Charlie
sent for Dr. Roosvalley, to whom he said, “Doctor, my time has come.
I do not expect to see another sunrise, but thank God I am ready to
go; before I die I desire to thank you with all my heart for your
kindness to me. Doctor, you are a Jew, you do not believe in Jesus;
will you please stand here and see me die, trusting my Saviour to the
last moment of my life?”
The doctor remained. Taking his hand Charlie continued: “Doctor,
I love you because you are a Jew; the best friend I have found in this
world was a Jew.” Dr. Roosvalley asked who was that. Charlie
answered: “Jesus Christ, to whom I want to introduce you before I
die, and will you promise me that what I am about to say, you will
never forget?” The surgeon promised. “Five days ago,” said the dying
boy, “while you amputated my arm and leg, I prayed to the Lord
Jesus Christ to convert your soul.” The boy soon died, and the words
had their effect, for the surgeon soon became a Christian.
About eighteen months later, Dr. Roosvalley attended a prayer
meeting in Brooklyn. Among those who gave their testimony was an
elderly lady who said, “Dear friends, this may be the last time I shall
have the privilege of testifying for Christ. My family physician told
me yesterday that my right lung is nearly gone, and my left one is
very much affected; I have but a short time to be with you, but what
is left of me belongs to Jesus. Oh! it is a great joy to know that I shall
meet my boy with Jesus in heaven. My son was not only a soldier for
his country, but a soldier for Christ. He was wounded at the Battle of
Gettysburg, and fell into the hands of a Jewish doctor who