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DC electric field measurements with the Guará Spread‐F Rocket
Author(s) -
Jahn J.M.,
LaBelle J.,
Pfaff R. F.
Publication year - 1997
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 - 10.1029/97gl01242
Subject(s) - electric field , plume , plasma , rocket (weapon) , atmospheric sciences , altitude (triangle) , radar , panache , physics , geophysics , geology , environmental science , meteorology , aerospace engineering , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Data presented in this paper provide the first high‐altitude (> 600 km) rocket measurements of electric fields associated with spread‐F plumes measured simultaneously with a VHF coherent backscatter radar. In regions outside of spread‐F plasma depletions the electric field is primarily vertical, implying zonal plasma flow. The mean zonal drifts of the ambient plasma inferred from the rocket data are larger than average quiet time values, which can be attributed to the presence of active spread‐F irregularities. Within the spread‐F depletions, the vertical electric field becomes comparable to the zonal component, and individual plasma depletions are found to rise with speeds of up to 100 m/s. No large (> 10 mV/m) electric fields are observed in the plume region.