Irregularity Decay in an Isolated Plasma Bubble.

Abstract

Complex signal scintillation observations of an isolated and decaying equatorial plasma bubble are described. Multiple scans through the bubble made from the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory Airborne Ionospheric Observatory, show evolution of irregularity energy over a broad range of scale sizes. At wavelengths larger than about 4 km, the energy remains nearly constant with time. At shorter scale sizes, the spectrum maintains an approximate law form (f-n) and n increases with time. This behavior suggests that the effective cross-field diffusion rate in the F region depends on scale size. Such a dependence has recently been predicted theoretically and is the result of magnetic field line coupling to the E layer.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 31, 1984
Accession Number
ADA145782

Entities

People

  • J. F. Vickrey
  • R. C. Livingston

Organizations

  • SRI International

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Altitude
  • Ascension Island
  • Classification
  • Diffusion
  • Diffusion Coefficient
  • Electric Fields
  • Electron Density
  • Electrons
  • Geophysics
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Measurement
  • Power Spectra
  • Security
  • Short Wavelengths
  • Spectra

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Space/Atmospheric Physics.