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Auroral Region

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Full-Text Articles in Physics

A New Mass Spectrometer For Upper Atmospheric Measurements In The Auroral Region, Addison E. Everett, James S. Dyer, Mike Watson, Wayne Sanderson, Scott Schicker, Dalon Work, Christopher J. Mertens, Scott M. Bailey, Erik A. Syrstad Dec 2011

A New Mass Spectrometer For Upper Atmospheric Measurements In The Auroral Region, Addison E. Everett, James S. Dyer, Mike Watson, Wayne Sanderson, Scott Schicker, Dalon Work, Christopher J. Mertens, Scott M. Bailey, Erik A. Syrstad

Graduate Student Posters

We have previously presented a new rocket-borne time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) for measurements in the mesosphere / lower thermosphere (MLT). Traditionally, mass spectrometry in the MLT has been difficult, mainly due to the elevated ambient pressures of the MLT and high speeds of a sounding rocket flight, which affect the direct sampling of the ambient atmosphere and spatial resolution. The TOF-MS is a versatile, inherently adaptable, axial-sampling instrument, capable of operating in a traditional TOF mode or in a multiplexing Hadamard-transform mode where high spatial resolution is desired. To minimize bow shock effects at low altitudes (~70-110km), the ram surface …


The Meridional Thermospheric Neutral Wind Measured By Radar And Optical Techniques In The Auroral Region, Vincent B. Wickwar, J W. Meriwether Jr., P B. Hays, A F. Nagy Jan 1984

The Meridional Thermospheric Neutral Wind Measured By Radar And Optical Techniques In The Auroral Region, Vincent B. Wickwar, J W. Meriwether Jr., P B. Hays, A F. Nagy

All Physics Faculty Publications

Radar observations of ion velocities in the magnetic zenith over Chatanika, Alaska, were used to determine the geomagnetic meridional component of the thermospheric neutral wind. Corrections for molecular diffusion and molecular ion contamination of the pure O+ composition assumed for the ionosphere were included in the analysis. Comparison of the averaged diurnal variation of the meridional wind showed good agreement between the two measurement techniques. Good agreement was also found for several cases of simultaneous observations. The evidence suggested that differences were caused by gravity waves. The 7 years of radar meridional wind results were examined with respect to …