Common volume coherent and incoherent scatter radar observations of mid-latitude sporadic E-layers and QP echoes
Common-volume observations of sporadic E-layers made on 14-15 June 2002 with the Arecibo incoherent scatter radar and a 30MHz coherent scatter radar imager located on St. Croix are described. Operating in dual-beam mode, the Arecibo radar detected a slowly descending sporadic E-layer accompanie...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2004-09-01
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| Series: | Annales Geophysicae |
| Online Access: | https://www.ann-geophys.net/22/3277/2004/angeo-22-3277-2004.pdf |
| Summary: | Common-volume observations of sporadic E-layers made on 14-15 June
2002 with the Arecibo incoherent scatter radar and a 30MHz coherent
scatter radar imager located on St. Croix are described. Operating in
dual-beam mode, the Arecibo radar detected a slowly descending
sporadic E-layer accompanied by a series of dense E-region
plasma clouds at a time when the coherent scatter radar was detecting
quasi-periodic (QP) echoes. Using coherent radar imaging, we collocate the
sources of the coherent scatter with the plasma clouds observed by
Arecibo. In addition to patchy, polarized scattering regions drifting
through the radar illuminated volume, which have been observed in
previous imaging experiments, the 30MHz radar also detected
large-scale electrostatic waves in the E-region over Puerto Rico,
with a wavelength of about 30km and a period of about 10min,
propagating to the southwest. Both the intensity and the Doppler
shifts of the coherent echoes were modulated by the wave. |
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| ISSN: | 0992-7689 1432-0576 |