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Incoherent scatter verification of DMSP observations

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:273145
The transfer of electromagnetic energy to heat, i.e., Joule heating, in the ionospheric gas is often the most dominant energy source for the polar regions. The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) has demonstrated that the Joule heating rate in the high-latitude ionosphere can be estimated with measurements of the perturbation magnetic field and precipitating particle population. The NSF incoherent scatter radar located at Sondrestrom, Greenland, can measure the plasma parameters of interest and is at a latitude well suited for coincident measurements with DMSP. The manner in which the Joule heating rate is now being calculated parallels that of DMSP allowing a more direct means of testing assumptions and comparing results. Here, the authors summarize the progress made over the program year and detail the observational program for conjunctions with the F12 and F13 DMSP satellites and the radar.
Research Organization:
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (United States)
OSTI ID:
273145
Report Number(s):
AD-A--305873/2/XAB; CNN: Contract F19628-94-C-0100
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English