Storm Induced Changes of the Topside Ionosphere as Deduced from Incoherent Scatter Radars

Abstract

Incoherent scatter radar observations from Millstone Hill, Saint Santin, and Arecibo are used to illustrate changes of the topside ionosphere during a geomagnetic storm. These observations consist of electron density, electron and ion temperatures, and ion velocity components parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field. These parameters can further describe changes in ion composition, electric fields, and neutral winds. Attention is given to a specific storm during the Equinox Transition Study (ETS) of September 1984. In order to isolate the storm effects in the topside ionosphere, a comparison will be made between a disturbed and quiet day. A novel result from this study is the finding of correlated oscillations between parallel and perpendicular ion velocity components which are apparently storm induced. Previously, these oscillations have been observed primarily at night, but now it's noticed that during storm conditions there are prominent oscillations during the day. (JHD)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA227899

Entities

People

  • Kevin J. Lunn

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Charged Particles
  • Electric Fields
  • Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Electromagnetic Scattering
  • Electron Density
  • Electron Gas
  • Electrons
  • High Latitudes
  • Ionization
  • Ionosphere
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Magnetic Storms
  • Measurement
  • Scattering
  • Solar Wind
  • Thermal Conductivity

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Space/Atmospheric Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics