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The generation of Hall and field-aligned currents in and in the vicinity of nighttime mid-latitude sporadic <i>E</i>-layers moving under the action of strong acoustic impulses of seismic, anthropogenic, or meteorological nature is considered in a model presented in this paper. The influence of the electrical polarization fields caused by charges at the horizontal edges of the sporadic layers and the finite conductivity of the external circuits are also taken into account. The theoretical model is applicable for ionospheric altitudes between 95 and 130 km. The estimates show that under certain conditions in a system with two sporadic <i>E</i>-layers, one of which is the current generator and the other is situated in the external circuit, the Farley-Buneman instability could be generated. On the other hand, observations show that Farley-Buneman waves are likely responsible for the infrequent echoes of mid-latitude 50-MHz backscatter with Doppler velocities near 300 m s<sup>–1</sup>. The possibility exists that the proposed current-generator model is at the origin of the observed mid-latitude Farley-Buneman waves.
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We utilise high-time resolution measurements from the PACE HF radar at Halley, Antarctica to explore the evolution of the ionospheric response during the first few minutes after enhanced reconnection occurs at the magnetopause. We show that the plasma velocity increases associated with flux transfer events (FTEs) occur first ~100–200 km equatorward of the region to which magnetosheath (cusp) precipitation maps to the ionosphere. We suggest that these velocity variations start near the ionospheric footprint of the boundary between open and closed magnetic field lines. We show that these velocity variations have rise times ~100 s and fall times of ~10 s. When these velocity transients reach the latitude of the cusp precipitation, sometimes the equatorward boundary of the precipitation begins to move equatorward, the expected and previously reported ionospheric signature of enhanced reconnection. A hypothesis is proposed to explain the velocity variations. It involves the rapid outflow of magnetospheric electrons into the magnetosheath along the most recently reconnected field lines. Several predictions are made arising from the proposed explanation which could be tested with ground-based and space-based observations.
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The up-down asymmetry of the type I plasma waves in the equatorial electrojet region during daytime is investigated. It is shown that the asymmetry is exhibited not only in the vertical direction but also is manifested in the oblique direction (24.6° off zenith). The results further indicate the effect of neutral winds on the phase velocities of type I plasma waves.
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HF sounding of the mesosphere was first carried out at SURA in summer 1994 at frequencies in the range 8–9 MHz using one of the sub-arrays of the SURA heating facility. The observations had a range resolution of 3 km. Almost all measurements indicated the presence of strong radar returns from altitudes between 83 and 90 km with features very similar to VHF measurements of mesopause summer echoes at mid-latitudes and polar mesopause summer echoes. In contrast to VHF observations, HF mesopause echoes are almost always present.
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HF radar observations of mid-latitude spo- radic-E irregularities carried out with the Valensole radar in South France are compared with simultaneous ionosonde measurements underneath the irregularity zones. In a previous study of Valensole radar data, it has been shown that HF backscatter from the night-time mid-latitude E region is usually associated with large- scale wave-like modulations. To obtain more informa- tion on the geophysical conditions prevailing during backscatter events, a new experiment was performed which also included a vertical ionosonde beneath the scattering region. The data to be presented here are from two periods when radar scattering appeared simulta- neously with large variations in the virtual height and the Doppler velocity of F-layer re¯ected echoes mea- sured with the vertical ionosonde, indicating very clearly the passage of atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs). The e.ect of the atmospheric waves on the sporadic-E layer is not always as marked as it is in the F region. In the ®rst event, the passage of the AGWs is accompanied by an upward followed by a downward movement of the Es-layer. The apparent descending movement of the Es-layer from 135 to 110 km in less than 10 min corresponded to a positive (downward) Doppler velocity of 35 m/s measured by the vertical ionosonde, and was accompanied by a range variation in the radar scattering region with a negative rate of about 90±110 m/s. In the second event, the Es-layer is not as strongly disturbed as in the previous one, but, nevertheless, the range varia- tions of the scattering region can still be associated with height ¯uctuations of the Es-layer.
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In this paper an experiment designed for multifrequency azimuthal Doppler-spectrum investigations of decametre-scale plasma irregularities in the mid-latitude <i>E</i> region is introduced and some preliminary results are presented. The observations were made with the high-frequency Valensole radar in the south of France. The radar operated in a multifrequency mode that allowed simultaneous measurements of Doppler spectra at the four frequencies of 9.23, 11.03, 12.71 and 16.09 MHz, which correspond to scatter from field-aligned irregularities with wavelengths of 16.2, 13.6, 11.8 and 9.3 m, respectively. In addition, a digital ionosonde was operating beneath a small part of the radar viewing region. The data show that lower-frequency echoes are stronger, more frequent and more spatially extended than higher-frequency ones, in general agreement with theory and rocket measurements. On the other hand, the preliminary analysis shows no pronounced differences of the Doppler spectrum with radar frequency. Some trends in the spectral moments do exist, however, which can be understood as the result of temporal and/or spatial mixing of backscatter from directly generated (primary) plasma waves by the gradient drift instability and secondary low-velocity waves. Finally, a close relation of mid-latitude coherent backscatter with patchy sporadic <i>E</i>-layers is present in the data, but the details of this relation remain unresolved.
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This paper presents more data on the properties of type-1 irregularities in the nighttime mid-latitude <i>E-</i>region ionosphere. The measurements were made with a 50-MHz Doppler radar system operating in Crete, Greece. The type-1 echoes last from several seconds to a few minutes and are characterized by narrow Doppler spectra with peaks corresponding to wave phase velocities of 250–350 m/s. The average velocity of 285 m/s is about 20% lower than nominal <i>E</i>-region ion-acoustic speeds, probably because of the presence of heavy metallic ions in the sporadic-<i>E</i>-layers that appear to be associated with the mid-latitude plasma instabilities. Sometimes the type-1 echoes are combined with a broad spectrum of type-2 echoes; at other times they dominate the spectrum or may appear in the absence of any type-2 spectral component. We believe these echoes are due to the modified two-stream plasma instability driven by a polarization electric field that must be larger than 10 mV/m. This field is similar in nature to the equatorial electrojet polarization field and can arise when patchy nighttime sporadic-<i>E</i>-layers have the right geometry.
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Ionospheric two-stream waves and gradient-drift waves nonlinearly drive a large-scale (D.C.) current in the <i>E</i>-region ionosphere. This current flows parallel to, and with a comparable magnitude to, the fundamental Pedersen current. Evidence for the existence and magnitude of wave-driven currents derives from a theoretical understanding of <i>E</i>-region waves, supported by a series of nonlinear 2D simulations of two-stream waves and by data collected by rocket instruments in the equatorial electrojet. Wave-driven currents will modify the large-scale dynamics of the equatorial electrojet during highly active periods. A simple model shows how a wave-driven current appreciably reduces the horizontally flowing electron current of the electrojet. This reduction may account for the observation that type-I radar echoes almost always have a Doppler velocity close to the acoustic speed, and also for the rocket observation that electrojet regions containing gradient-drift waves do not appear also to contain horizontally propagating two-stream waves. Additionally, a simple model of a gradient-drift instability shows that wave-driven currents can cause nonsinusoidal electric fields similar to those measured <i>in situ</i>.
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Studies of the auroral plasma with small-scale inhomogenieties producing the VHF-radar reflections (radar aurora) when observed in conditions of the saturated Farley-Buneman instability within the auroral E region, show strong nonlinear interactions and density fluctuations of 5–15%. Such nonlinearity and high fluctation amplitudes are inconsistent with the limitations of the weak turbulence theory, and thus a theory for arbitrary amplitudes is needed. To this end, a nonlinear theory is described for electrostatic MHD moving plasma structures of arbitrary amplitude for conditions throughout the altitude range of the collisional auroral E region. The equations are derived, from electron and ion motion self-consistent with the electric field, for the general case of the one-dimensional problem. They take into account nonlinearity, electron and ion inertia, diffusion, deviation from quasi-neutrality, and dynamical ion viscosity. The importance of the ion viscosity for dispersion is stressed, while deviation from the quasi-neutrality can be important only at rather low plasma densities, not typical for the auroral E region. In a small amplitude limit these equations have classical nonlinear solutions of the type of "electrostatic shock wave" or of knoidal waves. In a particular case these knoidal waves degrade to a dissipative soliton. A two-dimensional case of a quasi-neutral plasma is considered in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field by way of the Poisson brackets, but neglecting the nonlinearity and ion inertia. It is shown that in these conditions an effective saturation can be achieved at the stationary turbulence level of order of 10%.
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Low-frequency electrostatic fluctuations in the ionospheric E region were detected by instruments on the ROSE rockets. The phase velocity and dispersion of plasma waves in the ionospheric E region are determined by band-pass filtering and cross-correlating data of the electric-field fluctuations detected by the probes on the ROSE F4 rocket. The results were confirmed by a different method of analysis of the same data. The results show that the waves propagate in the Hall-current direction with a velocity somewhat below the ion sound speed obtained for ionospheric conditions during the flight. It is also found that the waves are dispersive, with the longest wavelengths propagating with the lowest velocity.
