Barium cloud striations revisited

Abstract

[1] Rocket-based barium cloud striation observations from the 1970s are revisited based on a better knowledge of naturally occurring irregularities and on a previously unpublished analysis. A sharp drop in the spectral density of the plasma density fluctuation power is found near 25 m wavelength. This mimics equatorial spread F (ESF) spectra reported in the 1990s. Structure balance arguments show that the effective perpendicular ambipolar diffusion coefficient is 25 times the classical value, in good agreement with the natural case. We speculate that three-wave coupling occurs to small scales where damped modes provide this anomalous diffusion effect, which is one-tenth the value of the Bohm diffusion.

Mid-latitude ionospheric fluctuation spectra due to secondary instabilities

“…Furthermore, this event was most unusual and very intense since, to our knowledge, only a handful of Arecibo power plots have ever exhibited structure of this sort. For reference, another ISR event of this type was observed on June 25/26, 1998 and reported by Kelley and Livingston (2003). Hence it is not surprising so few mid-latitude F-region events producing 3-m coherent scatter have occurred.…”

“…Recently, Kelley and Livingston (2003) re-analyzed barium rocket spectra to study the inner scale. They found good agreement with both the spectral shape at high k and the Kwajalein and Condor equatorial spread-F density fluctuation spectra (Kelley et al, 1986;Hysell et al, 1994).…”

Interaction of Atmospheric Plasma Vortices

“…Stratification of the plasma inhomogeneity into the small-scale structure can be initiated by a nonmonotonic dependence of the dielectric permittivity of electrostatic oscillations on coordinates at the start monotone dependence on the coordinates of the plasma density (Izhovkina et al 2010); the nonmonotonic stratification of clouds of ionized barium and of plasma of a thermonuclear explosion was observed in the form of structures (HAERENDEL 1973(HAERENDEL , 1983KELLEY and LIVINGSTON 2003). The appearance of cellular mosaic distributions of aerosols in the atmosphere can be caused by the nonmonotonic stratification of aerosol cloud in fields of electrostatic oscillations.…”

Electric Field Measurement Techniques

“…The theoretical and experimental work in the nuclear case by the Department of Defense has contributed to our current understanding of the natural case. Kelley and Livingston (2003). Reproduced with permission of the American Geophysical Union.…”