The Satellite Telemetry Receiving Station of Terre Adelie: Three Years of Operation

• Main Author: M. Sylvain
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Laboratoire de Geophysique Externe 1976
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarc*; Memoirs of National Institute of Polar Research; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=839; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00000839/; https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=839&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1

Since January 1972,satellite telemetry reception has been carried out on the routine basis at French Antarctic station Terre Adelie, in connection with the ISIS programs. Up to date, 2245 ISIS-II passes and 524 ISIS-I passes with an average length of 20 minutes have been recorded, giving a rather good seasonal and temporal coverage for statistical purposes. Although, systematic analysis has been limited as yet to summer days with low magnetic activity (K_p≤2t), two types of regularly appearing ionospheric disturbances have been found. The first type occurs between 06 and 18 MLT, at invariant latitudes from 76° to 82°, consisting in an increase of the electron density at all altitudes, and an increase of the plasma scale height particularly at high altitudes. The second type occurs between 17 and 22 LMT at invariant latitudes from 67° to 75°, consisting in an increase of the electron density at the satellite height, concomitant with a decrease at H_<max>F2.