New possibilities for mesospheric electricity diagnostics |
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| Institution: | 1. Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA;2. The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA;3. Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 22118, USA;4. Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA;5. Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA;6. Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA |
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| Abstract: | A possible cause of large variations in the electron collision frequency could be the effect of strong external electric fields of atmospheric origin. This provides a new opportunity to take measurements of electric fields in the lower ionosphere using remote sensing instruments employing radio wave techniques. It has been proposed the technique for making estimates of strong mesospheric electric field intensities on the lower edge of the ionosphere using MF radar data on the effective electron collision frequency, and the data has been presented. The technique described permits a real-time derivation from MF radar data of changes in mesospheric electric field intensities, and estimates of electric current densities. Our results give proof that the source of strong mesospheric electricity is very likely to be a current source. |
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