Investigation of structure and transport processes in the high-latitude ionospheric plasma using ground based and airborne digisondes. Final report, 8 August 1986-7 December 1989

Technical Report · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6549765

Reinisch, B W; Bibl, K; Bullett, T W; Cannon, P S; Crowley, G

The Digisonde 256 an advanced ionospheric sounder is a new and exciting tool for obtaining important ionospheric information. Like a conventional ionosonde, the Digisonde yields vertical electron density profiles. However, the antenna arrangement and sophisticated data handling system also permits plasma drift velocities to be derived from the ionospheric reflections. The F-region plasma drifts perpendicular to the magnetic field at the E x B velocity, and electric fields can therefore be deduced from the Digisonde drift measurements. This final report describes the development of the drift analysis techniques and highlights some of the exciting scientific results obtained by the Air Force Digisonde network, including the Airborne Ionospheric Observatory (AIO) of the Geophysics Laboratory. Digisonde data have been applied to the study of large scale ionospheric features such as high latitude convection, polar cap patches, sun aligned arcs and the midlatitude trough.

• Research Organization: Lowell Univ., MA (USA). Center for Atmospheric Research
• OSTI ID: 6549765
• Report Number(s): AD-A-224397/0/XAB; ULRF--455/CAR; CNN: F19628-86-K-0036
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CONVECTION
DATA PROCESSING
DOCUMENT TYPES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRON DENSITY
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ENERGY TRANSFER
EQUIPMENT
F REGION
HEAT TRANSFER
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
IONOSONDES
IONOSPHERE
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAIN SEQUENCE STARS
MASS TRANSFER
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
PLASMA
PLASMA DRIFT
POLAR REGIONS
PROCESSING
PROGRESS REPORT
RADIO EQUIPMENT
REFLECTION
STARS
SUN
VELOCITY