Effects of Impulsive Heating Events on F-Region Chemistry and Electron Density. HAES Report Number 81.

Abstract

The Chatanika incoherent-scatter radar (located near Fairbanks, Alaska, L = 5.6) has been used to study the ionospheric effects of impulsive auroral heating events. In some cases, the time-integrated auroral energy deposition is similar in magnitude to that expected from a high altitude nuclear event outside the fireball region. The resulting ionospheric effects are significant. The elevated temperatures and atmospheric heave contribute to a substantial change in F-region ion chemistry, changing the dominant F-region ion from atomic to molecular species. As a result, a significant depletion of the F-region electron density occurs. Currently, these effects are not accurately predicted by the nuclear codes, as the function of the codes is to predict the large-scale perturbations. The Chatanika radar data can be used to improve the ambient ionospheric models and to improve the predictions of F-region changes resulting from sudden heating events.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 31, 1979
Accession Number
ADA083333

Entities

People

  • John D. Kelly

Organizations

  • SRI International

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Altitude
  • Atmospheric Heave
  • Chemistry
  • Department Of Defense
  • Electric Fields
  • Electron Density
  • Electrons
  • Engineering
  • High Altitude
  • High Latitudes
  • Ionosphere
  • Latitude
  • Nuclear Explosions
  • Production Rate
  • Security
  • Systems Engineering

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Space/Atmospheric Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics