scholarly journals Heights of SuperDARN F region echoes estimated from the analysis of HF radio wave propagation

2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1987-1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. V. Koustov ◽  
D. André ◽  
E. Turunen ◽  
T. Raito ◽  
S. E. Milan

Abstract. Tomographic estimates of the electron density altitudinal and latitudinal distribution within the Hankasalmi HF radar field of view are used to predict the expected heights of F region coherent echoes by ray tracing and finding ranges of radar wave orthogonality with the Earth magnetic field lines. The predicted ranges of echoes are compared with radar observations concurrent with the tomographic measurements. Only those events are considered for which the electron density distributions were smooth, the band of F region HF echoes existed at ranges 700–1500 km, and there was a reasonable match between the expected and measured slant ranges of echoes. For a data set comprising of 82 events, the typical height of echoes was found to be 275 km.

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 1977-1985 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sridharan ◽  
C. V. Devasia ◽  
N. Jyoti ◽  
Diwakar Tiwari ◽  
K. S. Viswanathan ◽  
...  

Abstract. The effects on the electrodynamics of the equatorial E- and F-regions of the ionosphere, due to the occurrence of the solar eclipse during sunset hours on 11 August 1999, were investigated in a unique observational campaign involving ground based ionosondes, VHF and HF radars from the equatorial location of Trivandrum (8.5° N; 77° E; dip lat. 0.5° N), India. The study revealed the nature of changes brought about by the eclipse in the evening time E- and F-regions in terms of (i) the sudden intensification of a weak blanketing ES-layer and the associated large enhancement of the VHF backscattered returns, (ii) significant increase in h' F immediately following the eclipse and (iii) distinctly different spatial and temporal structures in the spread-F irregularity drift velocities as observed by the HF radar. The significantly large enhancement of the backscattered returns from the E-region coincident with the onset of the eclipse is attributed to the generation of steep electron density gradients associated with the blanketing ES , possibly triggered by the eclipse phenomena. The increase in F-region base height immediately after the eclipse is explained as due to the reduction in the conductivity of the conjugate E-region in the path of totality connected to the F-region over the equator along the magnetic field lines, and this, with the peculiar local and regional conditions, seems to have reduced the E-region loading of the F-region dynamo, resulting in a larger post sunset F-region height (h' F) rise. These aspects of E-and F-region behaviour on the eclipse day are discussed in relation to those observed on the control day.Key words. Ionosphere (electric fields and currents; equatorial ionosphere; ionospheric irregularities)


2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Stocker ◽  
N. F. Arnold ◽  
T. B. Jones

Abstract. Characteristic signatures are often observed in HF radar range-time-intensity plots when travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) are present. These signatures, in particular the variation of the F-region skip distance, have been synthesised using a ray tracing model. The magnitude of the skip variation is found to be a function of the peak electron density perturbation associated with the TID and radar frequency. Examination of experimental observations leads to an estimate of the peak electron density perturbation amplitude of around 25% for those TIDs observed by the CUTLASS radar system. The advantage of using the skip variation over the radar return amplitude as an indicator of density perturbation is also discussed. An example of a dual radar frequency experiment has been given. The investigation of the effect of radar frequency on the observations will aid the optimisation of future experiments..Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; ionosphere -atmosphere interactions; ionospheric disturbances)


2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 1385-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Danskin ◽  
A. V. Koustov ◽  
T. Ogawa ◽  
N. Nishitani ◽  
S. Nozawa ◽  
...  

Abstract. Several factors are known to control the HF echo occurrence rate, including electron density distribution in the ionosphere (affecting the propagation path of the radar wave), D-region radio wave absorption, and ionospheric irregularity intensity. In this study, we consider 4 days of CUTLASS Finland radar observations over an area where the EISCAT incoherent scatter radar has continuously monitored ionospheric parameters. We illustrate that for the event under consideration, the D-region absorption was not the major factor affecting the echo appearance. We show that the electron density distribution and the radar frequency selection were much more significant factors. The electron density magnitude affects the echo occurrence in two different ways. For small F-region densities, a minimum value of 1 × 1011 m-3 is required to have sufficient radio wave refraction so that the orthogonality (with the magnetic field lines) condition is met. For too large densities, radio wave strong "over-refraction" leads to the ionospheric echo disappearance. We estimate that the over-refraction is important for densities greater than 4 × 1011 m-3. We also investigated the backscatter power and the electric field magnitude relationship and found no obvious relationship contrary to the expectation that the gradient-drift plasma instability would lead to stronger irregularity intensity/echo power for larger electric fields.Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric irregularities; plasma waves and instabilities; auroral ionosphere)


1966 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuo Matuura

The upper atmospheric parameters that control the daytime electron density distributions in the F1 region have been determined with the use of N(h) profiles. The analysis is based on the photochemical equilibrium state in which ion production is given by the ionization of molecular nitrogen and/or molecular oxygen as well as of atomic oxygen, and ionization loss is controlled by charge transfer and dissociative recombination processes. The variations of the upper atmospheric parameters with season, solar activity, and magnetic disturbances have been obtained, and their relations to the behavior of the F1 and F2 layers have been examined.


1998 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1392-1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. F. Arnold ◽  
T. B. Jones ◽  
T. R. Robinson ◽  
A. J. Stocker ◽  
J. A. Davies

Abstract. Quasi-periodic fluctuations in the returned ground-scatter power from the SuperDARN HF radars have been linked to the passage of medium-scale gravity waves. We have applied a technique that extracts the first radar range returns from the F-region to study the spatial extent and characteristics of these waves in the CUTLASS field-of-view. Some ray tracing was carried out to test the applicability of this method. The EISCAT radar facility at Tromsø is well within the CUTLASS field-of-view for these waves and provides a unique opportunity to assess independently the ability of the HF radars to derive gravity wave information. Results from 1st March, 1995, where the EISCAT UHF radar was operating in its CP-1 mode, demonstrate that the radars were in good agreement, especially if one selects the electron density variations measured by EISCAT at around 235 km. CUTLASS and EISCAT gravity wave observations complement each other; the former extends the spatial field of view considerably, whilst the latter provides detailed vertical information about a range of ionospheric parameters.Key words. Ionosphere (ionosphere – atmosphere interactions) · Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (thermospheric dynamics) · Radio science (ionospheric propagations)


10.29007/wg8s ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Picone ◽  
Arianna Orasi ◽  
Aldo Drago ◽  
Fulvio Capodici ◽  
Giuseppe Ciraolo ◽  
...  

The CALYPSO HF radar network is a permanent and fully operational observing system currently composed of four CODAR HF stations. The system is providing real- time hourly maps of sea surface currents and wave data in the Malta-Sicily Channel since 2012. Significant wave height derived from the HF radar wave measurements are confirmed to be a reliable source of wave information even in case of extreme events. However, it is noticed that the HF radar wave data are subject to differing interfering noise in the signal from unknown sources that may be competing with transmissions in the same frequency band. These interferences lead to frequent gaps and/or outliers that affect the continuity and reliability of the data set. The aim of this work is to estimate missing values and to detect possible outliers building and fitting a Markov chain mixture model on the significant wave height data collected at the four stations. It is verified that the proposed procedure is sufficiently robust since the model estimates succeed to classify radar observations with a high percentage of missing data and to equally highlight spikes and outliers.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 221-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Kane ◽  
R. A. Makarevich ◽  
J. C. Devlin

Abstract. The quiet-time coherent backscatter from the F-region observed by the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) Bruny Island HF radar is analysed statistically in order to determine typical trends and controlling factors in the ionospheric echo occurrence. A comparison of the F-region peak density values from the IRI-2007 model and ionosonde measurements in the vicinity of the radar's footprint shows a very good agreement, particularly at subauroral and auroral latitudes, and model densities within the radar's footprint are used in the following analyses. The occurrence of F-region backscatter is shown to exhibit distinct diurnal, seasonal and solar cycle variations and these are compared with model trends in the F-region peak electron density and Pedersen conductance of the underlying ionosphere. The solar cycle effects in occurrence are demonstrated to be strong and more complex than a simple proportionality on a year-to-year basis. The diurnal and seasonal effects are strongly coupled to each other, with diurnal trends exhibiting a systematic gradual variation from month to month that can be explained when both electron density and conductance trends are considered. During the night, the echo occurrence is suggested to be controlled directly by the density conditions, with a direct proportionality observed between the occurrence and peak electron density. During the day, the echo occurrence appears to be controlled by both conductance and propagation conditions. It is shown that the range of echo occurrence values is smaller for larger conductances and that the electron density determines what value the echo occurrence takes in that range. These results suggest that the irregularity production rates are significantly reduced by the highly conducting E layer during the day while F-region density effects dominate during the night.


1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klemens Hocke

Abstract. During the MLTCS (Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere Coupling Study) campaign the EISCAT UHF radar was continuously operated over 7 days (30 July–5 August 1992) in the CP-1 mode. The long time series obtained of the fundamental ionospheric parameters field-aligned ion velocity (Vi), ion and electron temperature (T and Te), and electron density (Ne) are useful in investigating tidal variations in the E- and F-region since the geomagnetic activity was particularly low during the time of measurement. Maximum entropy spectra of the parameters were calculated for the relatively quiet interval from 1 August to 4 August 1992 and indicated dominant variations with harmonics of 24 hours. In the electron density spectrum especially, harmonics up to the sixth order (4-h period) are clearly visible. The phase and amplitude height profiles (100–450 km) of the diurnal, semidiurnal, and terdiurnal variations were determined by Fourier transform for a 24-h data set beginning at 12:00 UT on 3 August 1992 when the contaminating influences of electric fields were negligible. The tidal variations of the ion temperatures are compared with the corresponding variations of the neutral temperature predicted by the MSISE-90 model. A remarkable result is the dominance of terdiurnal temperature oscillations at E-region heights on 3–4 August 1992, while the measured diurnal and semidiurnal variations were negligible. The finding was confirmed by the analysis of further EISCAT data (2–3 August 1989, 2–3 July 1990, 31 March–1 April 1992) which also showed a dominant terdiurnal temperature tide in the E-region. This is different from numerous observations of tides in the E-region at mid-latitudes where the diurnal and especially the semidiurnal temperature oscillations were dominant.


2011 ◽  
Vol 671 ◽  
pp. 131-152
Author(s):  
T.K. Thirumalaisamy ◽  
K.J Lakshmi Sri ◽  
R. Saravanan

The electron density distribution and the local structure of aluminum oxide (Al2O3), chromium doped aluminum oxide (Cr:Al2O3) and vanadium doped aluminum oxide (V:Al2O3) have been studied. Powder X-ray data set of Al2O3 , Cr:Al2O3 and V:Al2O3 is analyzed in terms of cell parameters, thermal vibration parameters, 1D, 2D and 3 Dimensional electron density distributions. The bonding between the atoms using the maximum entropy method (MEM) and bond length distribution using pair distribution function (PDF) has been analyzed. The particle size of Al2O3 , Cr:Al2O3 and V:Al2O3 is also analyzed using XRD and SEM.


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