The dependence of F-region electron heating on HF radio pump power: Measurements at EISCAT Tromso
[1] Measurements of ionospheric electron temperature enhanced by the action of a powerful high-frequency radio wave on the F-region at the EISCAT facility near Tromsø, Norway are analyzed to obtain the electron heat source due to the radio wave as a function of transmitter power. The absorption of t...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics |
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Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU); Wiley
2012
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2381/12755 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2011JA017267/abstract https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JA017267 |
Summary: | [1] Measurements of ionospheric electron temperature enhanced by the action of a powerful high-frequency radio wave on the F-region at the EISCAT facility near Tromsø, Norway are analyzed to obtain the electron heat source due to the radio wave as a function of transmitter power. The absorption of the wave in the D-region is accounted for and is found to have a significant influence on the F-region heating, especially due to variations in the D-region electron density during the experiment. It is found that the efficiency of F-region heating expressed in terms of the electron heating rate as a function of radio wave power flux is higher at higher transmitter powers. This behavior seems to be consistent with the development of geomagnetic field-aligned plasma density irregularities which are associated with the conversion of the radio wave to electrostatic upper-hybrid waves. At the highest power fluxes, the efficiency appears to be close to 100%. Peer-reviewed Publisher Version 111316 |
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