Comparison of the orientation of small-scale electron density irregularities and F region plasma flow direction.

• Main Authors: Rietveld, Michael T., Tereshchenko, E.D., Brekke, Asgeir, Khudukon, B.Z., Kozlova, M.O., Evstafiev, O.V., Nygren, T.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: European Geophysical Society 2000
• Subjects: ionosphere; auroral ionosphere; ionospheric irregularities; VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Fysikk: 430::Rom- og plasmafysikk: 437; EISCAT
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10037/559

Results are shown from an experimental campaign where satellite scintillation was observed at three sites at high latitudes and, simultaneously, the F region plasma flow was measured by the nearby EISCAT incoherent scatter radar. The anisotropy parameters of field-aligned irregularities are determined from amplitude scintillation using a method based on the variance of the relative logarithmic amplitude. The orientation of the anisotropy in a plane perpendicular to the geomagnetic field is compared with the direction of F region plasma flow. The results indicate that in most cases a good agreement between the two directions is obtained.