Assessment of the occurrence of radio frequency interference with AMSR-E observations over India

The AMSR-E observed brightness temperatures over India have been analyzed to study the impact of manmade radio frequency interference (RFI) sources for the two dry months April and May from 2003 to 2010. It is observed that the brightness temperature values far exceed 300 K over different locations of India indicating the presence of RFI. It is pronounced over the urban areas. The regions over Punjab, Haryana and Delhi show a marked increase in spread of the RFI affected areas. The RFI affected areas have increased from 15% to 30% from 2003 to 2007 and decreased thereafter. A maximum brightness temperature of 353 K is observed in April 2007 indicating very high level of RFI.     

Detection of long-term trends in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere from ground-based radio propagation measurements

Mesospheric temperature trends can be derived from LF phase-height observations in mid-latitudes supported by ionospheric absorption and ionosonde observations. Analysing the full observation period from 1959 until 2003, a mean yearly temperature trend has been derived with −0.25 K/yr for the height interval from 48 to 82 km. Subdividing the whole observation interval in two parts before and after 1979, the trend is markedly stronger in the second period with −0.38 K/yr compared with −0.20 K/yr in the first part before 1979. These differences can at least partly be explained by a steeper CO₂ increase and ozone decrease in the second interval. The differences in the mesospheric temperature trends are most evidently expressed during winter months and are markedly smaller during summer season. The reason of this seasonal difference is not quite clear; it may be related with detected ozone trends which are clearly stronger during winter months on both hemispheres.     

A radio study of the mouse,G359.23 − 0.82

The recent detection of a young pulsar powering “the Mouse”, G359.23 − 0.82, as well as detailed imaging of surrounding nebular X-ray emission, have motivated us to investigate the structural details and polarization characteristics of the radio emission from this axisymmetric source with a supersonic bow shock. Using polarization data at 3.6 and 6 cm, we find that the magnetic field wraps around the bow-shock structure near the apex of the system, but downnstream runs parallel to the inferred direction of the pulsar’s motion. The rotation measure (RM) distribution of the Mouse also suggests that the low degree of polarization combined with a high RM ahead of the pulsar result from internal plasma within the bow-shock region. In addition, using sub-arcsecond radio image of the Mouse, we identify modulations in the brightness distribution of the Mouse that may be associated with the unshocked pulsar wind behind the pulsar. Lastly, we discuss the relationship between the Mouse and its neighboring shell-type supernova remnant G359.1 − 0.5 and argue that these two sources could potentially have the same origin.     

ELF radio signals produced in the auroral ionosphere by non-linear demodulation of signals from high-power amplitude-modulated transmitters

ELF and VLF radio signals were recorded in the afternoon to early morning (local time) between 24 March and 4 April 1979, in Northern Scandinavia. Apart from signals of natural origin, timing signals, i.e. six pips of equal duration of 105 ± 8 ms, at 1 kHz ± 0.5 Hz, were observed on the hour UT. Such signals only occur on days of relatively high geomagnetic activity during enhanced auroral electrojet activity. They are believed to be generated by non-linear demodulation (self-detection) of signals from two or more amplitude modulated transmitters in the USSR, operating at 173, 200, 236, 263 and 657 kHz. The simplest explanation for the observations is provided by the three transmitters operating at 173 kHz.     

VHF radio response of the near Earth space during solar activity growth in October, 2003

The analysis of observations of very high frequency radio noise intensity at the middle latitude on a frequency f = 500 MHz from 14th till 26th of October, 2003 is presented. These data are compared with the solar radio bursts in the range of frequencies 1–14 MHz registered by RAD2 receiver of the WAVES device installed on board the WIND spacecraft.     

Longitudinal behaviors of the IRI-B parameters of the equatorial electron density profiles retrieved from FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC radio occultation measurements

The electron density profiles in the bottomside F₂-layer ionosphere are described by the thickness parameter B0 and the shape parameter B1 in the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model. We collected the ionospheric electron density (N_e) profiles from the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (F3/C) radio occultation measurements from DoY (day number of year) 194, 2006 to DoY 293, 2008 to investigate the daytime behaviors of IRI-B parameters (B0 and B1) in the equatorial regions. Our fittings confirm that the IRI bottomside profile function can well describe the averaged profiles in the bottomside ionosphere. Analysis of the equatorial electron density profile datasets provides unprecedented detail of the behaviors of B0 and B1 parameters in equatorial regions at low solar activity. The longitudinal averaged B1 has values comparable with IRI-2007 while it shows little seasonal variation. In contrast, the observed B0 presents semiannual variation with maxima in solstice months and minima in equinox months, which is not reproduced by IRI-2007. Moreover, there are complicated longitudinal variations of B0 with patterns varying with seasons. Peaks are distinct in the wave-like longitudinal structure of B0 in equinox months. An outstanding feature is that a stable peak appears around 100°E in four seasons. The significant longitudinal variation of B0 provides challenges for further improving the presentations of the bottomside ionosphere in IRI.     

Comparative analysis of Venusian ionosphere dual-frequency radio soundings with the satellites Venera-9, 10 and Pioneer-Venus

A comparison of the Venusian ionosphere electron density profiles obtained by the dual-frequency radio occultation method for the satellites Venera-9,10 (1975) and the Pioneer-Venus orbiter (1978–1979) has been carried out. It is shown that the general nature of the profiles, the main maximum heights and electron densities, the ionopause height positions determined with the satellites Venera-9, 10 on the one hand and Pioneer-Venus orbiter on the other hand are in good agreement. This fact testifies to the reliability of the experimental dual-frequency radio occultation data. An attempt to compare the radio occultation data with the direct measurements points out the essential contradictions between them, which need detailed analysis and discussion.     

Characteristics of arctic ocean ice determined from SMMR data for 1979: Case studies in the seasonal sea ice zone

Sea ice data derived from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer are examined for sections of the Arctic Ocean during early summer 1979. The temporary appearance of spuriously high multiyear ice fractions in the seasonal ice zones of the Kara and Barents Seas is a result of surface melt phenomena and the relative responses of the different channels to these effects. These spurious signatures can provide early identification of melt onset and additional information on surface characteristics.     

Height of shock formation in the solar corona inferred from observations of type II radio bursts and coronal mass ejections

Employing coronagraphic and EUV observations close to the solar surface made by the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission, we determined the heliocentric distance of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) at the starting time of associated metric type II bursts. We used the wave diameter and leading edge methods and measured the CME heights for a set of 32 metric type II bursts from solar cycle 24. We minimized the projection effects by making the measurements from a view that is roughly orthogonal to the direction of the ejection. We also chose image frames close to the onset times of the type II bursts, so no extrapolation was necessary. We found that the CMEs were located in the heliocentric distance range from 1.20 to 1.93 solar radii (Rs), with mean and median values of 1.43 and 1.38 Rs, respectively. We conclusively find that the shock formation can occur at heights substantially below 1.5 Rs. In a few cases, the CME height at type II onset was close to 2 Rs. In these cases, the starting frequency of the type II bursts was very low, in the range 25–40 MHz, which confirms that the shock can also form at larger heights. The starting frequencies of metric type II bursts have a weak correlation with the measured CME/shock heights and are consistent with the rapid decline of density with height in the inner corona.     

The influence of the spatial and temporal collocation windows on the comparisons of the ionospheric characteristic parameters derived from COSMIC radio occultation and digisondes

GPS radio occultation (RO) ionospheric products obtained by Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) mission during the year of 2014 and the observations from 3 digisonde stations which are located at different latitudes are used to study the influence of different time and space collocation windows on the comparisons of the ionospheric characteristic parameters (ICPs), including the peak density and peak height, derived from the two techniques. The results show that the correlation coefficients (CC) and the standard deviation of the absolute biases (SDAB) between the ICPs derived from the two techniques vary distinctly under different spatial and time collocation windows. Generally, the CC (SDAB) of the ICPs decrease (increase) as the size of the collocation window increases in time dimension or in space dimension. The rate of change of the statistic parameters with the increase in the size of the collocation window in time dimension and space dimension is analyzed for each digisonde station. It is found that within the collocation window of $\left(60\mathrm{m}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n},{20}^{°},{20}^{°}\right)$, the influence of the increase of $1^{°}$ in the space window on the statistical comparison is much more significant than that of the increase of 1?min in the time window, and it is suggested that there can be appropriate relaxation on the time window within the threshold of 60?min to get a balance between the quality of the comparison results and the number of the matched pairs. In addition, it is found that the same variations in the longitude window and in the latitude window may have different influences on the comparison results when the horizontal gradients in electron density are distinctly different along different directions at the digisonde station, and strict space collocation window is preferred when comparing the observations from COSMIC RO with those from the digisonde station in such cases.     

Coronal fast wave trains of the decimetric type IV radio event observed during the decay phase of the June 6, 2000 flare

The 22 min long decimetric type IV radio event observed during the decay phase of the June 6, 2000 flare simultaneously by the Brazilian Solar Spectroscope (BSS) and the Ond?ejov radiospectrograph in frequency range 1200–4500 MHz has been analyzed. We have found that the characteristic periods of about 60 s belong to the long-period spectral component of the fast wave trains with a tadpole pattern in their wavelet power spectra. We have detected these trains in the whole frequency range 1200–4500 MHz. The behavior of individual wave trains at lower frequencies is different from that at higher frequencies. These individual wave trains have some common as well as different properties. In this paper, we focus on two examples of wave trains in a loop segment and the main statistical parameters in their wavelet power and global spectra are studied and discussed.     

Global pictures of the ozone field,from high altitudes,from DE-I

Using the imaging instrumentation aboard the Dynamics Explorer spacecraft (DE-I), total column ozone densities are obtained in the sunlit hemisphere by measuring the intensities of backscattered solar ultraviolet radiation with multiple filters and multiple photometers. The high apogee altitude (23,000 km) of the eccentric polar orbit allows high resolution global-scale images of the terrestrial ozone field to be obtained within 12 minutes. Previous ozone-monitoring spacecraft have required much longer time periods for comparable spatial coverage because of their lower altitudes (<1200 km). The much higher altitude of DE-I also provides hours of continuous imaging of features compared to minutes or seconds with previous spacecraft. Near perigee, high resolution images can be gained with pixel size as small as 3 km to view mesoscale atmospheric variations. Utilizing these data, the effects of planetary-scale, synoptic-scale, and mesoscale dynamical processes, which control the distribution of ozone near the tropopause, can be studied. Preliminary results show short-term (less than one day) variations in the synoptic ozone field and these variations appear to be in accord with meteorological data. Spatial variations in the ozone field are found to be highly negatively correlated with tropopause altitude.     

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.     

Evaluation of the IRI-2016 and NeQuick electron content specification by COSMIC GPS radio occultation,ground-based GPS and Jason-2 joint altimeter/GPS observations

We examined performance of two empirical profile-based ionospheric models, namely IRI-2016 and NeQuick-2, in electron content (EC) and total electron content (TEC) representation for different seasons and levels of solar activity. We derived and analyzed EC estimates in several representative altitudinal intervals for the ionosphere and the plasmasphere from the COSMIC GPS radio occultation, ground-based GPS and Jason-2 joint altimeter/GPS observations. It allows us to estimate a quantitative impact of the ionospheric electron density profiles formulation in several altitudinal intervals and to examine the source of the model-data discrepancies of the EC specification from the bottom-side ionosphere towards the GPS orbit altitudes. The most pronounced model-data differences were found at the low latitude region as related to the equatorial ionization anomaly appearance. Both the IRI-2016 and NeQuick-2 models tend to overestimate the daytime ionospheric EC and TEC at low latitudes during all seasons of low solar activity. On the contrary, during high solar activity the model results underestimated the EC/TEC observations at low latitudes. We found that both models underestimated the EC for the topside ionosphere and plasmasphere regions for all levels of solar activity. For low solar activity, the underestimated EC from the topside ionosphere and plasmasphere can compensate the overestimation of the ionospheric EC and, consequently, can slightly decrease the resulted model overestimation of the ground-based TEC. For high solar activity, the underestimated EC from the topside ionosphere and plasmasphere leads to a strengthening of the model underestimation of the ground-based TEC values. We demonstrated that the major source of the model-data discrepancies in the EC/TEC domain comes from the topside ionosphere/plasmasphere system.     

The accuracy of SST retrievals from AATSR: An initial assessment through geophysical validation against in situ radiometers,buoys and other SST data sets

The Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) was launched on Envisat in March 2002. The AATSR instrument is designed to retrieve precise and accurate global sea surface temperature (SST) that, combined with the large data set collected from its predecessors, ATSR and ATSR-2, will provide a long term record of SST data that is greater than 15 years. This record can be used for independent monitoring and detection of climate change. The AATSR validation programme has successfully completed its initial phase. The programme involves validation of the AATSR derived SST values using in situ radiometers, in situ buoys and global SST fields from other data sets. The results of the initial programme presented here will demonstrate that the AATSR instrument is currently close to meeting its scientific objectives of determining global SST to an accuracy of 0.3 K (one sigma). For night time data, the analysis gives a warm bias of between +0.04 K (0.28 K) for buoys to +0.06 K (0.20 K) for radiometers, with slightly higher errors observed for day time data, showing warm biases of between +0.02 (0.39 K) for buoys to +0.11 K (0.33 K) for radiometers. They show that the ATSR series of instruments continues to be the world leader in delivering accurate space-based observations of SST, which is a key climate parameter.     

Evidence of change after 2001 in the seasonal behaviour of the mesopause region from airglow data at El Leoncito

Airglow intensities and rotational temperatures of the OH(6-2) and O₂b(0-1) bands acquired at El Leoncito (32°S, 69°W) provide good annual coverage in 1998–2002, 2006, and 2007, with between 192 and 311 nights of observation per year. These data can therefore be used to derive the seasonal variations during each of these seven years, in airglow brightness and temperatures at altitudes of 87 and 95 km. From 1998 to 2001, seasonal variations are similar enough so that they can be well represented by a mean climatology, for each parameter. On the other hand, these climatologies do not agree with what is usually observed at other sites, maybe due to the particular orographic conditions at El Leoncito. With respect to the last three fully documented years (2002, 2006, and 2007), the similarity from year to year deteriorates, and there are greater differences in the seasonal behaviour, more or less in all the parameters. The differences include, e.g., maxima occurring earlier or later than “normal”, by one or two months. All this may suggest the build-up of a new regime of intraseasonal variability, with a possible relationship to corresponding changes in wave activity.     

The compatability of cloud tracked winds from the United States,European, and Japanese geostationary satellites

Overlap of coverage of the five geostationary satellites has allowed an intercomparison of the FGGE cloud tracked winds. No attempt was made during FGGE to standardize the cloud tracking techniques. In spite of this potential for differences between data sets, the compatability of the various cloud wind data sets was generally quite good. The vector magnitude differences between nearly co-located vectors showed similar cumulative frequency statistics for all data producers. A study of systematic biases which could affect a global wind analysis of any given synoptic period showed that image alignment errors caused less than 2 m s^?1 bias for all data producers except the NESS high level winds which had an average bias of slightly greater than 3 m s^?1. This appears to be caused by the manual alignment of images in the movie loops. Height bias studies showed the Japanese winds to be higher than other data producers by as much as 100 mb for both the high and low levels winds. Height biases appear to be caused by the differences in cloud wind height assignment procedures.     

Crystallisation of alpha-crustacyanin, the lobster carapace astaxanthin-protein: results from EURECA.

Crystallisation of alpha-crustacyanin, the lobster carapace astaxanthin-protein was attempted under microgravity conditions in EURECA satellite using liquid-liquid diffusion with polyethyleneglycol (PEG) as precipitant; in a second reaction chamber phenol and dioxan were used as additives to prevent composite crystal growth. Crystals of alpha-crustacyanin grown under microgravity from PEG were larger than those grown terrestrially in the same apparatus under otherwise identical conditions. On retrieval, the crystals from PEG were shown to be composite and gave a powder diffraction pattern. The second reaction chamber showed leakage on retrieval and had also been subjected to rapid temperature variation during flight. Crystal fragments were nevertheless recovered but showed a powder diffraction pattern. It is concluded, certainly for liquid-liquid diffusion using PEG alone, that, for crustacyanin, although microgravity conditions resulted in an increase in dimensions of crystals, a measurable improvement in molecular ordering was not achieved.