<i>F</i> layer height bands in the nocturnal ionosphere over Arecibo

Behnke, R. A.

doi:10.1029/ja084ia03p00974

Cited by 171 publications

(163 citation statements)

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“…An important characteristic of these instabilities is that they tend to occur poleward of the crests of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA), and thus their investigation using an ISR and ground based imagers has been a central component of research at Arecibo. The radar signatures are strong reversals in perturbation electric fields, moving F-layer plasma upwards and downwards into regions of less or increased chemical loss, thus creating "bands" in the ionosphere (Benkhe, 1979). Optically, these features are readily observed in 630.0 nm data from Arecibo (Mendillo et al, 1997b;Garcia et al, 2000) and recently in dualhemisphere sites in the Asian longitude sector (Shiokawa et al, 2005).…”

Section: Airglow Structures Associated With Mid-latitude Instabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 83%

Imaging science at El Leoncito, Argentina

Martinis¹,

Baumgardner²,

Smith³

et al. 2006

Ann. Geophys.

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Abstract. Thermospheric and mesospheric structures are studied using an all-sky imager located at El Leoncito, Argentina (31.8 • S, 69.3 • W, -18 • mag lat). This site has relatively high geographic latitude for a location under the crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA), and thus observations can be used to study the intrusion of several equatorial processes into the midlatitude domain. In addition, it has a conjugate point close to the field of view of our companion imager at Arecibo, PR, allowing for the study of interhemispheric effects. Four types of phenomena were studied using 630.0 nm and 777.4 nm observations: (1) highlystructured airglow depletions associated with the RayleighTaylor instability/equatorial spread-F (RTI/ESF) process, (2) brightness waves (BW) associated with the midnight temperature maximum (MTM), (3) strong airglow enhancements associated with the positive phase of ionospheric storms, and (4) simple (non-structured) bands of airglow depletions with characteristics matching a Perkins-like instability. Using 557.7 nm mesospheric observations, a fifth category of study deals with gravity waves probably generated by lower atmospheric disturbances, and mesospheric bores related to strong vertical temperature gradients.While ESF depletions and BW events are detected fairly frequently, the mid-latitude bands are not, and thus their successful imaging at El Leoncito offers the first example of the coupling from mid-latitudes to low-latitudes in the South American longitude sector. Preliminary results on these features are presented in this paper. Taken together, these five types of optical structures offer the opportunity to investigate coupling, both in altitude and latitude, of aeronomic processes at low latitudes in an under-sampled longitude sector in the Southern Hemisphere.

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Section: Airglow Structures Associated With Mid-latitude Instabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 83%

Imaging science at El Leoncito, Argentina

Martinis¹,

Baumgardner²,

Smith³

et al. 2006

Ann. Geophys.

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“…Our first scientific goal of the CIC series for the upper ionosphere was based on prior observations of mesoscale structure in the ionosphere including those of Behnke [1979], Kelley and Fukao [1991] In this paper we compare, for the first, time 630 nm airglow data with incoherent scatter raAar observations when a deep airglow depletion surges poleward out of the anomaly zone. We contrast this event with another evening with highly structured airglow but during which the features seem to grow in place.…”

Section: In This Special Section Of Geophysical Research Letters We Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caribbean Ionosphere Campaign, year one: Airglow and plasma observations during two intense mid‐latitude spread‐F events

Kelley¹,

Makela²,

Swartz³

et al. 2000

Geophysical Research Letters

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Abstract. A series of campaigns has been carried out in the Caribbean over a one-year period to study intense midlatitude spreaA-F events using a cluster of diversified instrumentation. These events are relatively rare but a number of them have now been captured and will be discussed in this and several companion papers. This paper focuses on 630 nm airglow images obtained by the Cornell All-Sky Imager for two of the more spectacular cases that began on February 17, 1998 and February 17, 1999. In the latter case, and for the first time, a poleward surge of depletion/enhancement airglow zones was captured by radar as well as an airglow imager. In the former case structures grew in place overhead and produced strong VHF F-region backscatter as observed by the CUPRI and University of Illinois radars; the other event, exactly one year later, did not result in detectable 3-m backscatter. The two data sets show quantitatively that the low airglow region is elevated in height and depleted in plasma density and Pedersen conductivity. We suggest an enhanced eastward electric field inside the low conductivity zone may be responsible for the surge. The data also suggest small scale turbulence can only be observed in developing structures.

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“…Behnke [1979] showed that F-layer profiles were occasionally displaced upward in geographically banded regions. The measured transitions from "normal" to raised F-layer profiles were found to be surprisingly steep.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several seemingly independent phenomena have been observed in the nighttime midlatitude ionosphere that display characteristics that have defied satisfying interpretations: sporadic E (Es) doublets [Bowman, 1960;Chen et al, 1972], height bands of upward-displaced F-layer profiles [Behnke, 1979], F-region plasmadensity depletions below 300 km altitude [Hanson and Johnson, 1992] [The term crest (trough) refers to a region where isodensity contours reach a local maximum (minimum) in altitude.] We show here that these hitherto puzzling questions have straightforward answers if we interpret the behavior of these phenomena in terms of coupled electrodynamics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupled electrodynamics in the nighttime midlatitude ionosphere

Tsunoda¹,

Cosgrove²

2001

Geophysical Research Letters

121

133

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Abstract. We describe a new, self-consistent scenario in which sporadic-E doublets, height bands of upward-displaced F-layer profiles, F-region plasma depletions, and radar backscatter plumes, are all manifestations of a coupled electrodynamical response by the nighttime midlatitude ionosphere to the presence of a traveling ionospheric disturbance (TID). We show that the response consists of (1) formation of image plasma structure in the E region, (2) initiation of a Hall-current-driven polarization process by the E-region plasma structure, and (3) mapping of the polarization electric field to the F region, where it strengthens the electrical properties of the TID that initiated the E-region processes. This scenario provides ready answers for several, hitherto puzzling, questions and a basis for new directions on this research topic.

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F layer height bands in the nocturnal ionosphere over Arecibo

Cited by 171 publications

References 6 publications

Imaging science at El Leoncito, Argentina

Imaging science at El Leoncito, Argentina

Caribbean Ionosphere Campaign, year one: Airglow and plasma observations during two intense mid‐latitude spread‐F events

Coupled electrodynamics in the nighttime midlatitude ionosphere

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