Ionospheric and thermospheric responses during August 1972 storms — A review

Various reports of ionospheric responses during the August 1972 storm events are reviewed with respect to the phenomena in three major world sectors, N-S America, Afro-Europe, and Austro-Asia, in order to have a global picture. Emphasized highlights are (1) extensive investigation of the sudden increase of the total electron content estimated from Faraday-rotation measurements of satellite signals; (2) a dramatic upward surge above 300 km altitude, soon after a flare, measured by the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar; (3) electron density profiles, electric fields and conductivities, and neutral winds, at the time of the geomagnetic storm sudden commencement and during the succeeding storms, measured by the Chatanika incoherent scatter radar; and, (4) approximately 2.5-h oscillatory F2 density variations in Eastern Asia during the F2 storm main phase. To show temporal variations of the latitudinal distributions of storm-time F2 electron densities, in three longitudinal sectors separated about 60° longitude each, newly investigated results of the F2 hourly data at 35 stations in the Asia-Australia-Pacific sector are then exhibited. Finally, current theories or at least theoretical ideas of ionospheric storm mechanisms are briefly introduced, and a few remarks on the August events in the light of those theories are presented.     

Incoherent Scatter Plasma Lines: Observations and Applications

Space plasmas are host to the electrostatic Langmuir waves and a rich range of processes associated with them. Many of such processes that are of interest in micro-scale plasma physics and magnetosphere-ionosphere physics are open to investigation via incoherent scatter plasma lines—i.e., a pair of resonant peaks in the incoherent scatter radar (ISR) spectrum, symmetrically displaced from the radar transmitting frequency by about the plasma frequency, as the signature of Langmuir waves in the ISR spectrum. There now exists a large body of literature devoted to the investigation of a number of topics in ionospheric physics via plasma line theory and observation. It is the goal of this work to provide a comprehensive review of this literature, from the early theoretical works on oscillations in magnetized plasma to the recent advances in plasma line measurements and applications. This review includes detailed theoretical discussions on the intensity and frequency displacement of plasma lines. It reviews the experimental observations of plasma lines enhanced by various sources of energy and discusses the implications of the observations in the context of ionospheric physics. The review also covers the practical aspects of plasma line measurements, from measurement techniques to the applications of plasma lines in estimating the bulk parameters of the ionosphere.     

Investigations of irregularities in remote plasma regions by radio sounding: applications of the radio plasma imager on image

The Radio Plasma Imager (RPI) on the IMAGE mission operates like a radar by transmitting and receiving coherent electromagnetic pulses. The RPI is designed to receive mirror-like (specular) reflections and coherent scatter returns. Long-range echoes of electromagnetic sounder waves are reflected at remote plasma cutoffs. Thus, analyses of RPI observations will yield the plasma parameters and distances to the remote reflection points. The RPI will employ pulse compression and spectral integration techniques, perfected in ground-based ionospheric digital sounders, in order to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio in long-range magnetospheric sounding. When plasma irregularities exist in the remote magnetospheric plasmas being probed by the sounder waves, echo signatures may become complicated. Experience in ionospheric sounding under such conditions indicates that sounding echo strengths can actually be enhanced by the presence of irregularities, and ground-based sounding indicates that coherent detection techniques can still be employed. In this paper we investigate the conditions that will allow coherent signals to be detected by the RPI and the signatures of scattering to be expected in the presence of multi-scale irregularities. Sounding of irregular plasma structures in the plasmasphere, plasmapause and magnetopause are also discussed.     

再入飞行器尾迹流场及其雷达散射效应研究

对再入飞行器等离子体尾迹及其雷达散射特性进行了分析、研究和大量的计算。讨论了物形、流场各因素对尾迹雷达散射截面的影响。流场计算使用准一维粘性尾迹方程，以修正基尔方法（多值法）求解，用一阶Ｂｏｒｎ近似完成亚密雷达散射截面（ＲＣＳ）计算。计算中使用８组元混合空气、１４个非平衡化学反应模型，考虑５种不同尺度的小钝头锥形物体，沿再入轨道取６５至３４公里，共１３个高程的飞行条件。通过计算得到了再入体尾迹各流场参数、电子密度分布及湍流亚密尾迹的ＲＣＳ。结果说明再入钝锥细长体粘性尾迹的转捩特性对于等离子体的散射性质具有决定性的作用；再入弹头尾迹等离子体对地面单站雷达发射波的回波主要来源于尾迹湍流亚密的非相干散射；对确定的波长，当环境雷诺数达到临界值之后，可能出现ＲＣＳ的突增现象；不同物形及来流条件造成尾迹转捩位置的改变，从而影响ＲＣＳ的数值及其沿轨道的分布；改变尾迹颈部初值会引起ＲＣＳ值的明显变化。     

Multifrequency Imaging of Radar Turntable Data

In recent years synthetic-aperture radars (SAR) have proven to be very useful two-dimensional imaging tools in various fields. Based on the synthetic-aperture concepts, different imaging modes are possibe with various operating characteristics. We describe a special case where circular-projection radar data are coherently processed to yield both azimuth and range resoultion. Experiments are performed using data obtained from the radar target scatter site (RAT SCAT) radar cross-section facility. Fairly good results are obtained which illustrate the versatility of coherent syntheticaperture processing of pulse-to-pulse high-range-resolution radar returns. A discrete multifrequency stepped and pulsed waveform is the basic transmitted signal from which range-Doppler images are generated. The RAT SCAT turntable facility allows interesting model targets to be illuminated from which radar images can then be computed. One such application of the processing is described.     

Meteoric Layers in Planetary Atmospheres

Metallic ions coming from the ablation of extraterrestrial dust, play a significant role in the distribution of ions in the Earth’s ionosphere. Ions of magnesium and iron, and to a lesser extent, sodium, aluminium, calcium and nickel, are a permanent feature of the lower E-region. The presence of interplanetary dust at long distances from the Sun has been confirmed by the measurements obtained by several spacecrafts. As on Earth, the flux of interplanetary meteoroids can affect the ionospheric structure of other planets. The electron density of many planets show multiple narrow layers below the main ionospheric peak which are similar, in magnitude, to the upper ones. These layers could be due to long-lived metallic ions supplied by interplanetary dust and/or their satellites. In the case of Mars, the presence of a non-permanent ionospheric layer at altitudes ranging from 65 to 110 km has been confirmed and the ion Mg⁺?CO₂ identified. Here we present a review of the present status of observed low ionospheric layers in Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune together with meteoroid based models to explain the observations. Meteoroids could also affect the ionospheric structure of Titan, the largest Saturnian moon, and produce an ionospheric layer at around 700 km that could be investigated by Cassini.     

Some contributions of the ISIS program towards advances in knowledge of low latitude ionospheric phenomena

The ISIS (International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies) program yielded four scientific satellites, Alouette 1 and 2, and ISIS 1 and 2. This review is limited to the scientific contribution of the program to advances in knowledge relating to the portion of our atmosphere and ionosphere that lie within the plasmasphere. Topside ionograms form the principal data base from which global distributions of electron density and other geophysical parameters can be obtained. Ionospheric ducts and bubbles have also been studied with the aid of ionograms. The utilization of other instruments has facilitated investigations of ion composition, electron temperature and airglow variations.     

从探测概率的角度评价飞机的隐身性能

采用雷达散射截面(RCS)均值来衡量飞机的隐身性能并不能给出足够充分的信息,从信号检测概率的角度来衡量飞机的可探测性可以提供更完整的信息。本文从探测概率的角度详细分析了4种典型隐身飞机RCS起伏数据与虚警概率、探测概率、探测距离、信噪比(SNR)等参数间的关系,并给出了完整的推导过程,采用此方法可以对任意飞机目标在给定雷达参数下的可探测性进行准确计算。一般在雷达性能评估中需要用到RCS起伏模型,本文对飞机目标回波信号进行检测分析时采用数值计算方法,信号的概率密度函数(PDF)直接来源于原始回波起伏信号,避免了模型拟合带来的回波特性失真,且不会产生大的计算误差。通过对比分析计算结果发现:单脉冲检测下回波信号均值中值比越大,回波取值范围越小,则信号的检测概率越小,其中均值中值比一般相差3倍以上时可以得到明显不同的检测概率;在快起伏假设下,非相参积累检测的积累脉冲数Nin即便较小,也能得到较大的信噪比增益,此增益可能大于Nin。     

Analyses of techniques for measuring DC and AC electric fields in the magnetosphere

Methods for measuring the amplitudes and directions of DC electric fields and the directions, power spectra, and dispersion relations of AC electric fields in the magnetosphere are discussed with emphasis on their applicability in various regimes of the magnetospheric plasma. The two classes of techniques that are discussed are measurement of the bulk flow of the plasma and the potential difference between pairs of separated conductors. The plasma bulk flow discussion includes measurements by ionospheric radar backscatter, whistler mode wave propagation, energetic or thermal particle trajectories, artificial ion cloud motion, probe measurements of bulk flow, vehicle wake analyses, effects of bulk flow on the coupling of antennas, and the bulk flow of an artificial electron beam.     

Daily variations of the geomagnetic field

The atmospheric dynamo theory of the daily magnetic variations (S) has received substantial support from recent observational and theoretical work. In particular, several features of the variations, such as their remarkable enhancement close to the dip equator and other effects indicating a strong control by the main geomagnetic field, are well explained by the dynamo theory. Also the detection of ionospheric currents by instrumental rockets has confirmed an essential part of the theory.Considerable impetus was given to their study by the acquirement of much new data on magnetic variations during the IGY-IQSY period. Additional observations in the Pacific area were obtained during the IQSY by the establishment of four island stations equipped with newly developed magnetometers. A major advance at other stations was the development of automatic standard observatories using nuclear magnetometers.Several methods for the world-wide analysis of the S-field have been developed. A possibility now being studied is the completely automatic evaluation and construction by computers of ionospheric current charts for any day and any epoch UT.Some theoretical and statistical papers are briefly reviewed. These include discussions of the day-to-day variability of S, seasonal changes of the S-field, the nature of the equatorial electrojet, the possibility of solar wind effects contributing to the daily variations, and the modification of the dynamo theory to take account of the possible flow of electric current from the ionosphere along magnetic lines of force in the magnetosphere.Finally, an attempt to extend the dynamo theory of S by treating the ionosphere as a three-dimensional medium, instead of regarding it as a thin shell, has revealed that, although the relations between the horizontal components of electric field and current density in the dynamo layer are given with reasonable accuracy by the well-known layer equations, the assumption, implicit in the thin shell treatment, that the horizontal currents are non-divergent is not in fact true. Hence a revision of some earlier theoretical work on S appears necessary.     

单脉冲雷达测量的电离层折射修正的研究

当目标在电离层飞行时,单脉冲雷达的测量电波会受到电离层的折射影响。由于电离层是一种磁离子介质,与低层大气介质的物理特性不一致,对电波造成的折射影响也不同。本文首先介绍电离层折射误差的计算方法,然后分析雷达测量仰角和目标高度造成的折射误差,并比较不同的电子浓度剖面对雷达测量的影响。     

Netted radar sensing

Future radar applications are beginning to stretch monostatic radar systems beyond their fundamental sensitivity and information limits. Networks of smaller radar systems can offer a route to overcome these limitations; for example, networks of radar sensors can counter stealth technology whilst simultaneously providing additional information for improved target classification. More generally, multiple independent sensors can provide an energetically more efficient collector of radar scatter. The relative merits of non-coherent and coherent networks are introduced and the balance between increased performance, complexity, and cost is discussed.     

Distributions of Radar Angels

A foremost characteristic of large dot radar angels is the wide variation of basic parameter values which they exhibit. This variation is traceable to the nature of the underlying phenomena, i.e., birds and flocks of birds. In this paper, statistical distribution models for the mean radar cross section (RCS) and density of radar angels are obtained, based on a combination of radar and direct ornithological data. The radar cross-section distribution model has been derived from a dimensionless RCS versus wavelength model for individual birds, obtained from measured RCS data which have been scaled to a dimensionless form. This model is applied to ornithological data on populations of birds. The density distribution model is based on statistical reduction of migratory bird data obtained by Lowery's moon watching experiment, and observed seasonal and diurnal variations of radar angel activity. Both resulting distribution models are closely appproximated by the log-normal distribution. The model parameters for these distributions are given.     

Spectral Analysis and Subtraction of Noise in Radar Signals

A new method of maximum entropy spectral estimation called the revised maximum entropy method (MEM) is formulated and is applied to the spectral analysis of the echo signals from atmospheric turbulence observed by an incoherent scatter radar. The revised MEM is shown free from many demerits of the other methods for spectral analysis. Further it makes it possible to subtract the white noise usually contained in the data during the processing. Some examples of spectral estimation are shown for the actual radar signals and the simulated data. Another application of the revised MEM is the subtraction of the clutter component which is difficult to do by linear filtering. The method is successfully applied to several data abounding with the clutter to obtain the spectra of the echo signals with less clutter distortion.     

Theoretical models of ionospheric storms

Summary Precipitations of soft particles at the polar region will enhance the electron density in the oval shaped region surrounding the pole and their effects are marked at winter night.Reduction in the electron density in the sunlit polar region and at the trough may be caused by polar atmospheric heating through two processes; one is the increased chemical reaction coefficients controlling the loss rate of electron density and the other is the decrease in atmospheric density ratio O/N₂ near the turbopause caused by enhanced mixing by atmospheric gravity waves or by convective motion of the upper atmosphere.Positive disturbances of the ionosphere appearing in the evening or around noon at mid-latitudes on the storm developing stage, may be caused by equatorward meridional wind arising from a pressure gradient in the upper atmosphere, though the effects of electric fields cannot be ruled out.The Dst part of ionospheric storms persisting over several days may be caused by changes in atmospheric composition arising from global convective motion of the upper atmosphere.Equatorial ionospheric storms are probably caused by changes in east-west electric fields in the equatorial ionosphere arising probably from disturbance electric currents flowing at the polar region.     

Analyses of sidereal and solar anisotropies in cosmic rays

The Sun's interplanetary magnetic field and the solar wind modulate the distribution of galactic cosmic-ray particles in the heliosphere. The particles diffuse inward, convert outward and have drifts in the motion of their gyro-centres. Irregularities in the IMF also scatter particles from their gyro-orbits. These processes are the components of solar modulation and produce streaming (and higher-order anisotropies) of particles in the heliosphere. The anisotropies can be investigated at the Earth by examining the count rates of cosmic-ray detectors. The anisotropic streams appear as diurnal variations in solar and sidereal time in the count rates. Higher-order anisotropies produce generally much smaller semi-diurnal and higher-order variations. Theoretical models of solar modulation predict effects that depend on the polarity of the Sun's magnetic dipole. The solar diurnal and north-south anisotropies can be used to test these predictions. This paper is a short review of analyses of 60 years of cosmic-ray data collected at the Earth for the solar and sidereal diurnal variations present. Past analyses have yielded interesting and controversial results regarding the rigidity spectra and components of these anisotropies. Some of the controversy remains today. Analyses of these anisotropies have also yielded quantitative information about parameters important to solar modulation, such as latitudinal and radial density gradients. The relatively new techniques used for these determinations are explained here. Calculations of these modulation parameters from Earth-based cosmic-ray detectors are reviewed and compared to spaceprobe measurements and theoretical predictions of their values. Recently, investigations of the sidereal and solar diurnal anisotropies have been combined to calculate mean-free-paths of cosmic rays in the heliosphere. The latest conclusions from these analyses are that the parallel mean-free-paths of cosmic rays may depend on the polarity of the Sun's magnetic field. The results of these investigations are included in this paper to indicate the present state of knowledge concerning this facet of cosmic-ray research.Now at Department of Physics, Shinshu University, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto 390, Japan.     

Stimulated electromagnetic emissions by high-frequency electromagnetic pumping of the ionospheric plasma

A high frequency electromagnetic pump wave transmitted into the ionospheric plasma from the ground can stimulate electromagnetic radiation with frequencies around that of the ionospherically reflected pump wave. The numerous spectral features of these stimulated electromagnetic emissions (SEE) and their temporal evolution on a wide range of time scales are reviewed and related theoretical, numerical, and simulation results are discussed. On long (thermal) time scales the SEE constitutes a self-organization of the ionospheric plasma which depends on the interaction of nonlinear processes in a hierarchy of time scales in response to the electromagnetic pumping. Particularly, the appearance of the rich SEE spectrum is associated with the slow self-structuring of the plasma density into a spectrum of magnetic field-aligned density striations. The dependence of the SEE on electron gyroharmonic effects and the presence of density striations suggests that the existence of a magnetic field in the plasma is important for plasma turbulence to dissipate into non-thermal electromagnetic radiation during the long time quasi-stationary state of the turbulence evolution.     

Detection by incoherent recombination with partial information

Matched filter (MF) detection in spread environments is often seriously degraded by the mismatch between the waveform replica and the composite signal formed by the spreading environment. Typically the spreading is caused by multiple delayed reflections due to scatter extent or multipath especially in shallow water sonar applications. It is possible to recover some detector performance by incoherent summation of weighted MF realizations in a process called incoherent recombining (IR). Several IR strategies for Gaussian data that assume varying amounts of prior scattering function (SF) information are examined, their receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) computed, and compared with those of the unrealizable “prescient” receiver (PR). They include optimally weighted and unweighted versions of the maximum likelihood estimator-correlator (EC), and variations of the “at-least-one” (ALO) detector that examines sequences of MF realizations declaring a detection if at least one threshold is crossed. As might be expected, performance improves with the accuracy of the prior information incorporated in the detector formulation