## 3 Results
### A Qualitative Investigation of IBI Events Using Swarm and COSMIC \(n_{e}\) Data  
To conduct a qualitative investigation of the response of the topside ionospheric \(n_{e}\) profile under different levels of geomagnetic activities, we compared plasma density measurements from Swarm satellites and COSMIC \(n_{e}\) profiles. Figure 9 shows the latitudinal and latitudinal profiles of the \(n_{e}\) observed by Swarm and COSMIC satellites in the left and right columns, respectively. The middle column of Figure 9 illustrates the location of  
Figure 8: Shows the geographic distribution of IBIs at different seasons and local times. Rows from top to bottom corresponding to summer, winter, and equinoxes. Left and right columns corresponding to sunset (17:00-21:00) and pre-midnight (21:00-24:00) local times. IBIs observed by Swarm A, B, and C are marked in red, blue, and cyan colors, respectively, and sizes of the circles from small to large correspond to the storm levels of moderate to super. Swarm and COSMIC satellites. Rows ordered from top to bottom corresponding to IBIs during super, intense, and moderate storms, respectively. The same event observed by both Swarm and COSMIC satellites is marked in the same color. The occurrence time of each IBI event is indicated in the middle column of Figure 9. For each type of storm, we found only two IBI events for each type of storm where COSMIC locates within \(\pm 30^{\circ}\) longitude from Swarm. During super storms (upper row), the \(n_{e}\) data are not only dramatically decreased/depleted in comparison with other storms, but also the hmF2 is displaced to higher altitudes \(\sim\)400 km. However, these two features are not observed simultaneously for the same event, they are clearly observed independently in our observations of the IBIs occurring on 23 and 24 June 2015. COSMIC\(-\)RO observation extends to broad longitudes as shown in the middle panel of the upper row, which means irregularities observed by Swarm satellites extend to large longitudes. Also, Swarm \(n_{e}\) data are intensively disturbed/depleted over a wide range of latitudes due to the existence of large plasma irregularities, which could be seen along the path of Swarm satellites. Moderate geomagnetic storms show low \(n_{e}\) degradation in comparison with super and intense geomagnetic storms. Also, the hmF2 is observed at lower altitudes. Several authors have attributed the intense dynamics of the ionospheric irregularities during super geomagnetic storms to auroral activities [59]. Regardless, the degradation degree increases with the storm activity level, it is hard to correlate it with the size of areas exposed to degradation. This issue is difficult to investigate using the \(\pm 30^{\circ}\) longitude criterion because of the fewer number of space observatories whereas COSMIC is closer to Swarm for the same IBI event. Geomagnetic storms observed on June 2015, October 2016, and September 2014 corresponding to super, intense, and moderate types were analyzed in detail using the COSMIC \(n_{e}\) data shown in the left, middle, and right columns, respectively, in Figure 10. Rows from top to bottom correspond to the SYMH index, the hmF2, and the \(n_{e}\) at the hmF2,  
Figure 9: The \(n_{e}\) profiles during super, intense, and moderate geomagnetic storms are shown in the rows from top to bottom, respectively. The middle column shows the geographic coordinates of the Swarm and COSMIC satellites, while the left and right columns correspond to \(n_{e}\) data observed by Swarm and COSMIC satellites, respectively. respectively. The SYMH index shows a strong depression in the Earth's magnetic field (\(<\)\(-\)250 nT) on June 23, 2015, corresponding to the super storm criterion set in the data and methodology sections, but on September 14, 2014, there was a low depression in the Earth's magnetic field corresponding to a moderate storm. The number of IBIs on each day of the storm is superimposed in the form of bars in the same panel of the SYMH index.