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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

The Effect Of The Gradient-Drift Term On Type I Electrojet Irregularities, D. T. Farley, Bela G. Fejer Jan 1975

The Effect Of The Gradient-Drift Term On Type I Electrojet Irregularities, D. T. Farley, Bela G. Fejer

Bela G. Fejer

We hypothesize that type 1 VHF radar echoes can only be observed when the electrojet plasma is linearly unstable at half the radar wavelength and that further, for reasons not yet understood, the phase velocity of the unstable waves always corresponds to the threshold conditions for instability, even when the destabilizing forces (electron drift and plasma density gradient) exceed the threshold. This phase velocity, which produces the Doppler shift of the radar echoes, is usually close to the ion acoustic velocity of the medium but can differ from it to some extent because of the effect of the density gradient. …


Vertical Structure Of The Vhf Backscattering Region In The Equatorial Electrojet And The Gradient Drift Instability, Bela G. Fejer, D. T. Farley, B. B. Balsley, R. F. Woodman Jan 1975

Vertical Structure Of The Vhf Backscattering Region In The Equatorial Electrojet And The Gradient Drift Instability, Bela G. Fejer, D. T. Farley, B. B. Balsley, R. F. Woodman

Bela G. Fejer

Radar measurements made with high spatial resolution and large dynamic range at the Jicamarca Radar Observatory near the time of reversal of the electrojet current provide further proof that the gradient drift instability is in fact responsible for the type 2 irregularities. Echoes are received over a much wider range of altitudes at night than during the day partly because of the change in character of the background electron density profile and partly because of recombination effects, which can be important during the day. It is also shown that one must be cautious, particularly at night, in associating the mean …


Oblique Vhf Spectral Studies Ofthe Equatorial Electrojet, Bela G. Fejer, D. T. Farley, B. B. Balsley, R. F. Woodman Jan 1975

Oblique Vhf Spectral Studies Ofthe Equatorial Electrojet, Bela G. Fejer, D. T. Farley, B. B. Balsley, R. F. Woodman

Bela G. Fejer

A new narrow-beam antenna at the Jicamarca Observatory permits oblique (zenith angle, 25°) radar spectral studies of the electrojet with an altitude resolution down to 1.1 km. Only daytime observations are possible presently, however. The general altitude variations in spectral shape observed are consistent with linear instability theory, if the effect of recombination is included. The height at which the mean Doppler shift of the echo maximizes, however, is about 4 km higher than one would expect on the basis of electrojet models. An increase in the assumed collision frequency would remove the discrepancy. Other data presented strongly suggest that …