Magnetospheric Control of Density and Composition in the Polar Ionosphere

• Main Author: Semeter, Joshua
• Other Authors: BOSTON UNIV MA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Atmospheric Physics; Active & Passive Radar Detection & Equipment; Plasma Physics and Magnetohydrodynamics; Radiofrequency Wave Propagation; *DENSITY; *GEOPHYSICS; *IONOSPHERE; *MAGNETOSPHERE; *POLAR CAP; AURORAE; COUPLING(INTERACTION); DRAG; ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE; EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN; F REGION; HIGH FREQUENCY; INCOHERENT SCATTERING; IONOSPHERIC MODELS; IONOSPHERIC SCINTILLATION; MAGNETIC FIELDS; OPTICAL DETECTION; PARTICLE FLUX; PHASED ARRAYS; PLASMAS(PHYSICS); QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS; SEARCH RADAR; SENSOR FUSION; THERMAL DIFFUSION; TIME DEPENDENCE; TURBULENCE; MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE COUPLING; GEOSPACE; POLAR IONOSPHERE; AURORA; SATELLITE DRAG; GNSS; ELECTRODYNAMIC COUPLING; DENSITY GRADIENTS; ISR(INCOHERENT SCATTER RADAR); Canada; Langmuir; Resolute Bay
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA621546; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA621546

This research has used collaborative observations by UHF incoherent scatter radar (ISR), the SuperDARN HF radar network, and wide-angle monochromatic optical imagers, supported by first-principles numerical modeling, to investigate the structure and composition of Earth's polar ionosphere. Key observational evidence has been provided by the electronically steerable Incoherent Scatter Radar at Resolute Bay, Canada. Findings include technical contributions related to the application of phased array ISR in the deep polar cap, as well as scientific contributions arising from the application of these techniques: 1) Development of a sensor fusion framework for combining simultaneous observations of auroral phenomena observed by radar and optical means [Semeter and Zettergren, 2014], 2) Development of a deconvolution approach for analyzing volumetric ISR measurements in a temporally and spatially varying ionosphere [Swoboda et al., 2015], 3) Discovery of direct evidence for internal structuring of convecting plasma patches [Dahlgren et al., 2013], 4) Quantitative description of electrodynamic coupling within polar auroral arcs developing along the nightside polar cap boundary [Perry et al., 2015], 5) Steepening of ionospheric density gradients via magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling at the poleward auroral boundary, and 6) Measurements of anomalous ion heating by Langmuir turbulence caused be soft particle fluxes in the aurora -- a possible hidden energy source for F-region energy balance at high latitudes [Akbari et al., 2014, 2015]. The original document contains color images.