大功率高频无线电波对赤道E区双流不稳定性的影响--PIC静电粒子模拟研究

地面入射的大功率高频无线电波(泵波)和电离层等离子体之间的参数相互作用，能够引起静电波的激发，在一定条件下，产生不稳定性．本文用PIC静电粒子模拟方法，研究泵波与赤道电离层E区等离子体的相互作用．研究结果表明，泵波能够控制双流不稳定性的发生，在不同条件下，泵波对双流不稳定性起着稳定与不稳作用，模拟结果定性地与理论研究结果相符合，这为我们对不规则体产生的地面人工控制提供了依据．     

Dynamical stability of plasma irregularities produced by powerful radio wave in the F region of the ionosphere

The paper demonstrates that the artificial plasma irregularities in the F region of the ionosphere are dynamical structures caused by the component of temperature gradient parallel with gravitational field. The concept is justified by theoretical estimates of critical parameters of thermal convection in the heated ionospheric volume. Presented results of radar observations of small-scale irregularities are explained by the thermal convection.     

Comparison between HF propagation and DEMETER satellite measurements within the mid-latitude trough

The morphology of the auroral, sub-auroral and mid-latitude trough region of the ionosphere is strongly dependent on the interplanetary magnetic field and the level of geomagnetic activity. Changes in the morphology impact on the characteristics of HF signals propagating through these regions of the ionosphere. In order to develop a better understanding of these effects, a number of experiments have recently been undertaken in which the time of flight and direction of arrival of HF signals have been measured over several paths aligned along the mid-latitude trough. In addition, observations made by the DEMETER satellite of the mid-latitude trough electron density structure, dynamics and wave activity were used in order to investigate the effect of the fine structure of the ionosphere on HF signals. For two types of relatively common night time HF time of flight and azimuth of arrival behaviour (referred to here and elsewhere as ‘Type 1’ and ‘Type 2’ propagation), the signal behaviour is consistent with scatter from irregularities in the auroral region in the one case, and from irregularities present on the floor of the trough in the other.     

Appearance of VLF and ELF-noises in topside ionosphere under the action of high power radio wave from data of satellite intercosmos-24

Results of a satellite experiment are presented on detection of VLF and ELF-waves excited by irradiation of the night ionosphere F-region by the field of a nonmodulated high-power radio wave. The excited VLF and ELF-waves have been detected at the topside ionosphere heights h=500–1000 km in the frequency bands 8 kHz相似文献   

Assessment study of ionosphere correction model using single- and multi-shell algorithms approach over sub-Saharan African region

It is a known fact that ionosphere is the largest and the least predictable among the sources of error limiting the reliability and accuracy of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and its regional augmentation systems like Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) in a safety-of-life application. The situation becomes worse in the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) region, where the daytime ionization distribution is modified by the fountain effect that develops a crest of electron density at around ±15° to ±20° of the magnetic equator and a trough at the magnetic equator during the local noon hours. Related to this phenomenon is the appearance of ionosphere irregularities and plasma bubbles after local sunset. These may degrade further the quality of service obtained from the GNSS/SBAS system of the said periods. Considering the present operational augmentation systems, the accuracy and integrity of the ionosphere corrections estimate decreases as the level of disturbances increases. In order to provide a correct ionosphere correction to the user of GNSS operating in African EIA region and meet the integrity requirements, a certified ionosphere correction model that accurately characterizes EIA gradient with the full capacity to over-bound the residual error will be needed. An irregularities detector and a decorrelation adaptor are essential in an algorithm usable for African sub-Saharan SBAS operation. The algorithm should be able to cater to the equatorial plasma vertical drifts, diurnal and seasonal variability of the ionosphere electron density and also should take into account the large spatial and temporal gradients in the region. This study presents the assessment of the ionosphere threat model with single and multi-layer algorithm, using modified planar fit and Kriging approaches.     

Modeling of ionospheric scintillation at low-latitude

The presence and movement of plasma density fluctuations in the F-region of the ionosphere are studied by monitoring phase and amplitude of radio waves propagating through the region. In this paper, we have used weak scattering theory and assumed the plasma density fluctuations to behave like phase changing diffraction screen. Appropriate relations for scintillation index S₄, and phase variance δ? are derived and computed for different parameters of the plasma density irregularities of the ionosphere. SROSS-C2 satellite in situ measurements of plasma density fluctuations, which provide direct information about the structure and morphology of irregularities that are responsible for scintillation of radio waves, were used first time to develop a scintillation model for low latitude. It is observed that the scintillation index S₄ and phase variance δ? depends on the strength of the plasma turbulence. Finally, the results obtained from modeling are compared and discussed with the available recent results.     

暴时密度增强区附近电离层不均匀体研究

基于IGS提供的TEC数据, 研究了2003年10月大磁暴期间的暴时密度增强(Storm Enhanced Density, SED)现象; 利用GPS观测数据, 计算出ROTI (Standard deviations of ROT)指数, 分析了SED边界附近电离层小尺度不均匀体结构的时间和空间演变. 研究表明, 在磁暴主相期间SED边界附近不均匀体随着磁暴的发展逐渐增多; 在主相的中后期不均匀体的分布密集度达到最大; 在恢复相期间, 不均匀体分布很少; 随着磁暴的发展, 不均匀体开始主要集中在40~45oN范围内, 随后向高纬漂移, 主要集中在45~55oN范围内.      

Equatorial ionosphere–thermosphere system: Electrodynamics and irregularities

The equatorial ionosphere and thermosphere constitute a coupled system, with its electro dynamical and plasma physical processes being responsible for a variety of ionospheric phenomena peculiar to the equatorial region. The most important of these phenomena are: the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) current system and its instabilities, the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA), and the plasma instabilities/irregularities of the night ionosphere (associated with the plasma bubble events – ESF). They constitute the major topics of investigations having both scientific and practical objectives. The tidal wind interaction with the geomagnetic field is responsible for the atmospheric dynamo electric fields, that together with the wind system, drives the major phenomena, under quiet conditions. Drastic modifications of these phenomena can occur due to magnetospheric forcing under solar-, interplanetary- and magnetospheric disturbances. They can also undergo significant modifications due to forcing by atmospheric waves (such as planetary- and atmospheric gravity waves) propagating upward or from extra tropics. This article will focus on the ambient conditions of the ionosphere–thermosphere system and the electro dynamics and plasma instability processes that govern the plasma irregularity generation. Major emphasis is given to problems related to the structuring of the equatorial night ionosphere through plasma bubble/ESF irregularity processes. Specific topics to be covered will include: equatorial electric fields, thermospheric winds, sunset electrodynamic processes, plasma drifts, EEJ plasma instability/irregularity generation, nighttime/post sunset plasma bubble irregularity generation, and very briefly, disturbance electric fields and winds and their effect on the ionization anomaly, the TEC and ESF/plasma bubble irregularities.     

Using GPS-SCINDA observations to study the correlation between scintillation,total electron content enhancement and depletions over the Kenyan region

This paper presents the first results of total electron content (TEC) depletions and enhancement associated with ionospheric irregularities in the low latitude region over Kenya. At the low latitude ionosphere the diurnal behavior of scintillation is driven by the formation of large scale equatorial depletions which are formed by post-sunset plasma instabilities via the Rayleigh–Taylor instability near the magnetic equator. Data from the GPS scintillation receiver (GPS-SCINDA) located at the University of Nairobi (36.8°E, 1.27°S) for March 2011 was used in this study. The TEC depletions have been detected from satellite passes along the line of sight of the signal and the detected depletions have good correspondence with the occurrence of scintillation patches. TEC enhancement has been observed and is not correlated with increases in S₄ index and consecutive enhancements and depletions in TEC have also been observed which results into scintillation patches related to TEC depletions. The TEC depletions have been interpreted as plasma irregularities and inhomogeneities in the F region caused by plasma instabilities, while TEC enhancement have been interpreted as the manifestation of plasma density enhancements mainly associated with the equatorial ionization anomaly crest over this region. Occurrence of scintillation does happen at and around the ionization anomaly crest over Kenyan region. The presence of high ambient electron densities and large electron density gradients associated with small scale irregularities in the ionization anomaly regions have been linked to the occurrence of scintillation.     

Fading in the HF ionospheric channel and the role of irregularities

It is well known that the ionosphere affects radio wave propagation especially in the high frequency (HF) range. HF radio waves reflected by the ionosphere can reach considerable distances, often with changes in amplitude, phase, and frequency. The ionosphere is a dispersive in frequency and time, bi-refractive, absorbing medium, in which multipath propagation due to traveling irregularities is very frequent. The traveling irregularities undulate the reflecting ionospheric layer, introducing variations in signal amplitude (fading). In this multipath time variant channel fading is mainly considered, even though it is not the sole effect. Echo signals from a single reflection, as in ionospheric vertical sounding (VIS) techniques, are affected by a certain degree of variability even in quiet ionospheric conditions. In this work the behavior of the ionospheric channel is studied and characterized by observing the power variation of received echoes using the VIS technique. Multipath fading was analyzed quantifying the power variation of the signal echo due to irregularities on a temporal scale from 0.5 to 256 s. An experimental set-up derived from an ionosonde was implemented and the analysis was performed employing a special numerical algorithm operating off-line on the acquired time sequence of the signal. The gain-loss of the irregularity shapes are determined in some special cases.     

高频电波在背景备向异性和不均匀的随机起伏电离层中的传播

运用波动理论,讨论背景为各向异性、不均匀的随机起伏电离层中高频电波的传播和散射问题,给出了电离层不均匀体散射引起的反射回波波场的起伏,并在垂测条件下计算了接收波场的相位与振幅起伏的谱分布。      

Multi-beam sounding ionograms in the polar cap region: Absorption induced by proton precipitations

The simulation of the multi-beam ionograms in the polar cap region, assessing absorption effect is performed. It is reasonable to distinguish among four different mechanisms responsible for absorption: regular absorption due to solar UV illumination, absorption associated with energetic particles precipitation, absorption connected with X-rays flare and additional absorption in Auroral oval area. In this paper the absorption attributed to proton precipitations is envisaged. The computational model of the high-latitude ionosphere with irregularities oriented to application for the high frequency wave propagation problem was elaborated (Zaalov et al., 2005). A number of the quasi-vertical ionograms in the polar cap region were simulated on the basis of this model. A well-known algorithm (Sauer and Wilkinson, 2008) is applied for the absorption effects calculation. The simulated high-latitude ionograms with the absorption effect and the measured ionograms exhibit quite a good resemblance. This paper illustrates the importance of the understanding and taking into account the absorption effect in the presence of the various structural features in the polar ionosphere (in particular, patches of enhanced electron density) in interpreting ionosonde data.     

Effect of moderate geomagnetic storms on equatorial plasma bubbles over eastern Africa in the year 2012: Evolution and electrodynamics

Equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) are common features of the equatorial and low-latitude ionosphere and are known to cause radio wave scintillation which leads to the degradation of communication and navigation systems. Although these structures have been studied for decades, a full understanding of their evolution and dynamics remains important for space weather mitigation purposes. In this study, we present cases of EPBs occurrences around April and July 2012 geomagnetic storm periods over the African equatorial sector. The EPBs were observed from the Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) and generally correlated well to the ionospheric irregularities observed from the Global Positioning System total electron content (GPS-TEC) measurements (rate of TEC change, ROT). This study revealed that the evolution of the EPBs during moderate storms is controlled by the strength of the daytime equatorial electrojet (EEJ) currents regardless of the strength of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA), the latter is observed during the July storm case in particular. These effects were more evident during the main and part of the early recovery phases of the geomagnetic storm days considered. However, the evening hours TEC gradients between regions of the magnetic equator and ionization crests also played roles in the existence of ionospheric irregularities.     

Application of small-size antennas for estimation of angles of arrival of HF signals scattered by ionospheric irregularities

A modification of the Doppler Interferometry Technique is suggested to enable estimating angles of arrival of comparatively broadband HF signals scattered by random irregularities of the ionospheric plasma with the use of small-size weakly directional antennas. The technique is based on the measurements of cross-spectra phases of the probe radiation recorded at least in three spatially separated points. The developed algorithm has been used to investigate the angular and frequency-time characteristics of HF signals propagating at frequencies above the maximum usable one (MUF) for the direct radio path Moscow-Kharkiv. The received signal spectra show presence of three families of spatial components attributed, respectively, to scattering by plasma irregularities near the middle point of the radio path, ground backscatter signals and scattering of the sounding signals by the intense plasma turbulence associated with auroral activations. It has been shown that the regions responsible for the formation of the third family components are located well inside the auroral oval. The drift velocity and direction of the auroral ionosphere plasma have been determined. The obtained estimates are consistent with the classical conception of the ionospheric plasma convection at high latitudes and do not contradict the results of investigations of the auroral ionosphere dynamics using the SuperDARN network.     

The exit of the photoelectron flows from the ionosphere of the Earth after X-ray burst

The process of the disturbance formation and evolution in the ionosphere of the Earth with a pulsed source of X-ray radiation is studied. The region of altitudes H > 100km, where nonlocal effects are essential, is examined. The formation of current system developed by noncompensated photoelectron flows is studied in detail. Time characteristics of the photoelectron flows leaving the ionosphere are calculated. A possibility of the plasma turbulence excitation by these fluxes is analyzed.     

DEMETER卫星记录到的电离层加热现象

在法国DEMETER卫星运行期间, 地基电离层加热装置SURA和HAARP开展了一系列加热试验, 记录到各类电离层异常信息, 发现电离层加热过程中卫星观测的电离层扰动信号包括HF发射泵波及边带泵波、VLF人工源增强及频谱拓展、ULF/ELF/VLF调制波、ELF电磁扰动、ULF谐振波、等离子体特征参量扰动及高能粒子沉降等. 由于传播及耦合机制的差异, 发射泵波可以穿透电离层直达卫星高度, 其观测概率最高达到68%以上, 其他扰动受发射调制模式及当地电磁环境等影响,观测概率相对较低, 均在40%左右, 有些甚至是某次试验中出现的个别事例. 结合中国地震电磁监测试验卫星飞行轨道设计及载荷配置等,对未来开展加热试验进行了分析论证, 并参考DEMETER卫星试验结果给出了一些建议.      

双离子成分下的赤道电离层R-T不稳定性

等离子体R-T(Rayleigh-Taylor)不稳定性被认为是赤道夜间F区电离层产生不规则体的主要机制, 经典理论中只考虑了氧离子一种正离子成分, 等离子体R-T不稳定性的表达式与氧离子质量和密度无关. 事实上, 在有些情况下, 电离层F区往往不仅仅只有一种正离子存在. 本文利用连续性方程、动量方程和电流守恒方程, 采用微扰方法, 推导了双离子成分条件下, 赤道电离层R-T不稳定性线性增长率的表达式, 研究多种正离子成分对R-T不稳定性的影响. 结果表明, 双离子成分下线性增长率与两种正离子的数密度和质量都相关, 增长率的大小依赖于两种正离子成分所占的比例.      

Plasma effects of active ion beam injections in the ionosphere at rocket altitudes

Data from ARCS rocket ion beam injection experiments will be primarily discussed in this paper. There are three results from this series of active experiments that are of particular interest in space plasma physics. These are the transverse acceleration of ambient ions in the large beam volume, the scattering of beam ions near the release payload, and the possible acceleration of electrons very close to the plasma generator which produce intense high frequency waves. The ability of 100 ma ion beam injections into the upper E and F regions of the ionosphere to produce these phenomena appear to be related solely to the process by which the plasma release payload and the ion beam are neutralized. Since the electrons in the plasma release do not convect with the plasma ions, the neutralization of both the payload and beam must be accomplished by large field-aligned currents (milliamperes/square meter) which are very unstable to wave growth of various modes. Future work will concentrate on the wave production and wave-particle interactions that produce the plasma/energetic particle effects discussed in this paper and which have direct application to natural phenomena in the upper ionosphere and magnetosphere.     

从射电天文观测中提取电离层信息的一种统计方法

本文在分析了法拉第旋转效应、多源观测效应和程差补偿误差等对可见度函数的相位的影响的基础上,确认了:当电离层不规则性尺度较基线长为大时,仅有电离层引起的可见度函数的相位与基线长成正比且具有随时间快变化的特点这一物理事实;从而提出了从米波综合孔径射电望远镜的观测数据中提取电离层信息的统计方法,并分析了该法的特点,给出了统计实例.      

Physical mechanism of the vertical electric field generation over active tectonic faults

The concept of the Global Electric Circuit (GEC) provides an explanation of the existence of a vertical atmospheric electric field and coupling between the ground and ionosphere. Presently, ionospheric physics pays more attention to electric fields and coupling processes in the polar and auroral regions, whereas in other areas the potential difference between the ground and ionosphere usually is not taken into account. Regional processes exist, however, that are able to significantly affect the GEC parameters and through modification of the ionospheric potential to create plasma density irregularities of different scales within the ionosphere. One such source of ionosphere modification is air ionization in the vicinity of active tectonic faults, which takes place due to increased radon emanation. This paper considers the process of local modification of the GEC and corresponding ionospheric variability due to tectonic activity.