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Determination of F ‐region Vertical Drifts at Millstone Hill
Author(s) -
Evans J. V.,
Brockelman R. A.,
Julian R. F.,
Reid W. A.,
Carpenter L. A.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1029/rs005i001p00027
Subject(s) - millstone hill , ionosphere , altitude (triangle) , f region , incoherent scatter , geology , atmospheric sciences , electron density , physics , electron , geophysics , computational physics , nuclear physics , geometry , mathematics
Thomson scatter observations of the F region at altitudes between 450 and 900 km are described; from them the bulk vertical velocity of the ambient electrons can be determined. These measurements were made possible by the construction of a new spectrum analyzer; they supplement earlier established programs to measure F ‐region densities and temperatures at Millstone Hill. The uncertainty in the results varies both with time of day and with altitude but is of the order of ±5 m/sec. Sample results are presented which show evidence of (1) thermal expansion and contraction of the layer and (2) oscillatory fluctuations attributed to traveling ionospheric disturbances.