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Incoherent scatter radar plasma density measurements at Jicamarca using a transverse‐mode differential‐phase method
Author(s) -
Kudeki Erhan,
Woodman Ronald F.,
Feng Zhaomei
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl015496
Subject(s) - incoherent scatter , radar , earth's magnetic field , ionosphere , differential phase , computational physics , physics , f region , optics , electron density , antenna (radio) , transverse plane , phase (matter) , remote sensing , plasma , geology , magnetic field , geophysics , computer science , telecommunications , structural engineering , quantum mechanics , engineering
The 50 MHz Jicamarca incoherent scatter radar can be used to make very high precision F‐region plasma drift measurements with less than a m/s uncertainty and 5 min/15 km time/height resolutions. In such measurements the transmitting antenna beam is pointed perpendicular to the geomagnetic field [e.g., Kudeki et al. , 1999] and backscattered fields consist of magneto‐ionic O‐ and X‐components with unequal phase retardations. Detecting the fields with an orthogonal pair of linear‐polarized antennas and fitting the average power and differential‐phase of the antenna outputs to an appropriate data model we have succeeded in making F‐region electron density measurements with data collected during Jicamarca drifts experiments. This procedure provides Jicamarca with a new capability for simultaneous drifts and density measurements at F‐region heights.