EclipseNB: A Radio Instrument Network for Monitoring the Ionosphere During the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

On April 8, 2024 there will be a total solar eclipse spanning Mexico, Central-East United States, and Eastern Canada. A total solar eclipse has a dramatic effect on the structure, dynamic behaviour, and coupling of the Earth's atmosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere (AIM) system, and presents a unique opportunity to study the physics and chemistry at play during a sudden and localized reduction in solar radiation. As demonstrated in studies of previous eclipse events such as the August 2017 “Great American Eclipse”, there remains several outstanding questions pertaining to the complex physical processes that occur within the AIM environment during a solar eclipse. Addressing many of these open issues requires enhanced observational capabilities, including high spatial and temporal resolution observations of the ionosphere during a solar eclipse. To monitor the ionosphere over Eastern Canada during the April 2024 event, we are in the process of installing 49 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, including 30 high-rate scintillation monitors, as well as 3 ionosonde systems. This radio remote-sensing network will be located within and adjacent to the path of totality, and is designed to observe the multi-scale (sub-km to 100s of kms) structuring of the ionosphere during the eclipse event. We will discuss the details of the EclipseNB network and the potential applications of these observations.