Radio wave propagation in the arctic

• Main Authors: Little, C.G., Dyce, R.B., Hessler, V. P., Leonard, R. S., Owren, L., Roof, R. B., Sugiura, M., Swenson, G. W. Jr
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska 1956
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/3584

The main body of this report is divided into eight sections, corresponding to the eight aspects of Arctic radio wave propagation listed in Section I, Purposes of the Contract, In cases where the work has already been fully described in Interim Scientific Report No. 1 (AFCRC-TN- 55-579, here in after referred to as R(l)), brief summaries only are given. The progress in these eight fields is summarized as follows: Task No. 1 Sweep-Frequency Ionospheric Backscatter Because of lack of equipment, no progress was made on this task. Task No. 2 Auroral and Meteor Echoes Three frequencies were used in this work: (a) At 50 me A low“power9 50 me radar equipments specially designed and built for auroral radar research, was operated with a steerable antenna to monitor both auroral and meteor activity,, The results showed that the diurnal distribution of meteor activity is similar at College to that observed elsewhere, and that the meteor echo rates observed on this equipment are not affected by the presence of aurora. (b) At 106 me The 106 me SCR 270 DA radar was used for two main experiments, as described in R(l). First, the aspect sensitivity of the auroral echoes was investigated. The results showed clearly that the auroral ionization giving rise to VHF auroral radar echoes is aligned along the earth's magnetic lines of force3 in that the auroral radar echoes are strongest when the radio waves are traveling perpendicularly to the magnetic lines of force through the aurora. Second, the relationship between visual and radar aurora was investigated; this work showed that the auroral radar echoes are often closely associated in range and azimuth with visual aurora, although the strength of the echoes is not proportional to the visual brightness of the auroral forms„ (c) At 210 me The 210 me SA-2 radar was installed in a trailer and tested without modification, It was then modified by the building of a steerable 16-Yagi array, by increasing the pulse length, and by reducing the receiver bandwidth„ Simultaneous operation of the ...