Long-Baseline VLF Observations of Solar Flares from Antarctica

We present long-baseline Very Low Frequency (VLF) observations of solar flare-induced ionospheric disturbances obtained at the Bulgarian Polar Astronomical Observatory (St.

Kliment Ohridski Base) on Livingston island, Antarctica.

Using continuous VLF transmissions at 21.4 kHz (NPM, Hawaii) and 24.0 kHz (NAA, Maine), propagating over trans-hemispheric paths exceeding 11000 km, we analyze observations of solar flares during the period 24 January--8 February 2025.

After removing the strong diurnal signal via superposed epoch analysis, we analyse the flare-related perturbations in VLF amplitude and their correlation with GOES soft X-ray flux for 250 flares of C and M class.

The long propagation paths provide enhanced sensitivity to flare-driven changes in D-region ionization.

The observations reveal clear, frequency-dependent responses and measurable time delays between X-ray and VLF peaks.

These delays, including cases of near-zero or negative lag for stronger events, highlight the role of flare spectral characteristics and D-region recombination processes.

Our results demonstrate the scientific value of long-baseline Antarctic VLF observations for detecting and timing GOES-class flares, while also highlighting key limitations, such as background variability and path-dependent propagation effects, which must be quantified for reliable VLF-based flare monitoring.