Spectral Characteristics of Medium-Scale Equatorial F-Region Irregularities.
Abstract
The spectral characteristics of equatorial F-region irregularities with scale sizes from a few kilometers to several hundred kilometers have been measured using data from the Atmospheric Explorer-E (AE-E) satellite. The spectra admit the expected power-law characterization with a mean spectral index slightly less than 2. The spectral index, p1, however, decreases with increasing perturbation strength. The same data have been compared with nearly simultaneous phase scintillation data from the Wideband satellite. The power-law index of the phase scintillation data varies with perturbation strength in exactly the same manner as does p1. With realistic propagation model parameters, the scintillations-inferred perturbation levels can be made to match those measured in-situ. However, the long-accepted unity separation between the in-situ and phase spectral indices is not observed. This discrepancy is attributed either to shortcomings in the theory or to lack of temporal/spatial comparability of the two measurements. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA091169
Entities
People
- C. L. Rino
- Robert C. Livingston
Organizations
- SRI International