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In this paper the chemical processes of the O+ + H2 → OH+ + H reactive reaction (exothermic) investigated with the thermal variation in the ionosphere by combining a gas kinetic theory model. Collision energy, reaction rate constant and total cross-sections as a function of ionospheric altitude and temperature are calculated. Also, all the other parameters related with the ionosphere are calculated for the 38.400N, 39.120E co-ordinates and year, day, and time taken as 2009, equinox and solstice, local time (12:00), respectively. It was found that the collision energy, reaction rate constant and cross-section values are decreasing with the increment of the ionospheric height and temperature. The total collision number takes the maximum values at lower ionosphere where the temperature is smallest and decreases with increasing height in upper ionosphere. The mean free path was found to close to each other and decay to zero nearly at 150 km for all months. It is estimated that the amount of energy which is released during the reaction can cause deterioration at the high level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we have calculated the electric field strength, Ey, of a plane electromagnetic wave with frequency, ω, propagation along z-axes and the polarized y-axes in 1-D by using Wentzel, Kramers, and Brillouin method for both with and without collision conditions in ionospheric F-region with regard to seasonal and local time. Also, the refractive index of ordinary wave and attenuation factor was computed for collision and collision-free conditions. When the collisions were calculated in the F-region of the ionosphere, it was observed that the electric field strength decreased for all seasons and Ey increased between 275-400 km altitudes encountering approximately hmF2 "the peak of F2" for the accepted conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WAM is realized making use of the plasma density data collected via the retarding potential analyser on board the Dynamics Explorer 2 spacecraft, capable to model the scintillation climatology over the northern hemisphere high latitude ionosphere. More recently, WAM has been tuned to model the ionospheric scintillations also over the equatorial latitudes. The effort has been done to support the CIGALA (Concept for Ionospheric Scintillation Mitigation for Professional GNSS in Latin America) project in the assessment of the scintillations climatology over Latin America. The concept of the new release of WAM is the same already adopted for the high latitudes: the in situ measurements, supplemented with an ionospheric model and with the irregularity anisotropy model, are treated to describe the morphology of scintillation, provided a suitable propagation model is used. Significant differences have been included in the low latitudes release to account for the anisotropy of the irregularities and for strong scattering regime. The paper describes the new WAM formulation and presents comparisons of the model predictions with the actual measurements collected in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global Ionospheric Maps (GIM) of vertical Total Electron Content (TEC) are utilized in an ingestion approach to generate a 3D specification of the ionosphere over the African Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly (EIA) by using NeQuick model. The effectiveness of the GIM to specify the ionosphere over the African region has been assessed during the IONAF, a project under the ESA’s Alcantara Initiative. A series of analysis that takes into account the day-to-day variability seen by the GIM and by specific receivers’ ground stations have shown that the vertical TEC derived from the GIMs (CODE) presents a systematic but not necessarily constant positive offset with respect to the corresponding data obtained from individual stations. These offsets have been taken into account in the ingestion process. Therefore, as option, an 'adjustment' to the vertical TEC from CODE has been introduced, to see if it has any effect in modeling the ionosphere in the region of interest. One of the outputs of the ingestion process is a series of maps of foF2 over the African EIA. A validation with foF2 values from the only ionosonde station available in that period, Ilorin, for some months of the year 2010 has been performed. Another comparison with the slant TEC obtained in the 3D specification using GNSS data from the station bjco, Benin, in a given day has been done. Results show that the mismodelings are reduced when the positive offset is taken out from the maps. The paper concludes with an investigation of the effects of the NeQuick bottomside thickness parameter (B2bot) mismodeling on the electron density retrieval. A parameterization of experimental B2bot as a function of time is used to explore the possibility of reducing the mismodeling when foF2 is retrieved from the 3D specification of the ionosphere obtained through the data ingestion process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research reports the 250 MHz amplitude ionosphere scintillations recorded at Vaddeswaram (Geographic Latitude 16.31°N, Geographic Longitude 80.30°E, Dip 18°N), a low-latitude station in India. Though amplitude scintillations were recorded for four continuous days (05–08 November 2011), the presence of intense and long-duration scintillations on 06 November 2011 instigated us to verify the ionosphere background conditions. This research, therefore, is also used important databases including, diurnal variations of h′F (virtual height of the F-layer) and the vertical drifts as measured by an advanced digital ionosonde radar located at an Indian equatorial station i.e. Trivandrum (Geographic Latitude 8.5°N, Geographic Longitude 77°E, Dip 0.5°N), equatorial Electrojet (EEJ) ground strength measured using magnetometers and the total electron content (TEC) maps provided by the International GPS Service (IGS) to study the background ionosphere conditions. The interesting observations are higher E × B drifts, the occurrence of long-duration range-type spread F signatures at Trivandrum and, thereafter, intense scintillations over Vaddeswaram. It was found a secondary peak at around 1600 LT in EEJ strength followed by a higher upward drift velocity (more than 60 m/s) with a significant raise of the F region up to 470 km over the magnetic equator on 06 November 2011. The possible physical mechanisms of these important observational results are discussed in the light of available literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that the sunrise and sunset periods are of particular importance to ionospheric research and modelling because of the rapid changes in the ionospheric plasma density, temperature, and dynamics. In particular, the sharp increase in the ionisation following sunrise results in a quick increase in the ionospheric peak density, N m F 2 , and a decrease in the peak height, h m F 2 . Changes in plasma temperature, scale height and transport processes add further complexity which makes it difficult to investigate and model the ionospheric behaviour during this transitional period from night to day. One of the aspects contributing to this difficulty is that not all ionospheric altitudes are exposed to the first sunlight of the day at the same time. During sunrise, the upper part of the ionosphere is illuminated prior to the lower part which is still in the dark. The boundary between sunlit and dark regions moves downwards until it reaches the surface of the Earth, which is commonly taken as the moment of sunrise at certain geographical coordinates. This means that the sunrise at surface level does not occur until after the entire ionosphere has been illuminated. During sunset, the same process happens in reverse order. This paper addresses the issue of these altitude-dependent times of sunrise and sunset and reports on our study of some of the effects on the diurnal variations in the ionospheric characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NASA Ionospheric Connection explorer (ICON) will study the coupling between the thermosphere and ionosphere at low- and mid-latitudes by measuring the key parameters. The ICON mission will also employ numerical modeling to support the interpretation of the observations, and examine the importance of different vertical coupling mechanisms by conducting numerical experiments. One of these models is the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model-ICON (TIEGCM-ICON) which will be driven by tidal perturbations derived from ICON observations using the Hough Mode Extension method (HME) and at high latitude by ion convection and auroral particle precipitation patterns from the Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics (AMIE). The TIEGCM-ICON will simulate the thermosphere-ionosphere (TI) system during the period of the ICON mission. In this report the TIEGCM-ICON is introduced, and the focus is on examining the effect of the lower boundary on the TI-system to provide some guidance for interpreting future ICON model results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space plasmas are host to the electrostatic Langmuir waves and a rich range of processes associated with them. Many of such processes that are of interest in micro-scale plasma physics and magnetosphere-ionosphere physics are open to investigation via incoherent scatter plasma lines-i.e., a pair of resonant peaks in the incoherent scatter radar (ISR) spectrum, symmetrically displaced from the radar transmitting frequency by about the plasma frequency, as the signature of Langmuir waves in the ISR spectrum. There now exists a large body of literature devoted to the investigation of a number of topics in ionospheric physics via plasma line theory and observation. It is the goal of this work to provide a comprehensive review of this literature, from the early theoretical works on oscillations in magnetized plasma to the recent advances in plasma line measurements and applications. This review includes detailed theoretical discussions on the intensity and frequency displacement of plasma lines. It reviews the experimental observations of plasma lines enhanced by various sources of energy and discusses the implications of the observations in the context of ionospheric physics. The review also covers the practical aspects of plasma line measurements, from measurement techniques to the applications of plasma lines in estimating the bulk parameters of the ionosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron densities obtained from rocket borne measurements are compared to an empirical, steady state model built from these data. The ratios between each measured value and its corresponding model value vs . time yield trends which significantly vary with altitude. Notably above 120–130 km the electron densities generally increase, whereas between 95 and 120 km the ionosphere appears stable. Somewhere below 80–90 km - depending on the investigated data subset - there is again a positive trend down to below 70 km. Tentative explanations such as cooling of the mesosphere are suggested and may be confirmed by comprehensive theoretical models of the upper atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ionospheric scintillation induced by local ionospheric plasma anomalies could lead to significant degradation for geosynchronous earth orbit synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging. As radar signals pass through the ionosphere with locally variational plasma density, the signal amplitude and phase fluctuations are induced, which principally affect the azimuthal pulse response function. In this paper, the compensation of signal amplitude and phase fluctuations is studied. First, space-variance problem of scintillation is addressed by image segmentation. Then, SPECAN imaging algorithm is adopted for each image segment, because it is computationally efficient for small imaging scene. Furthermore, an iterative algorithm based on entropy minimum is derived to jointly compensate the signal amplitude and phase fluctuations. Finally, a real SAR scene simulation is used to validate our proposed method, where both the simulated scintillation using phase screen technique and the real GPS-derived scintillation data are adopted to degrade the imaging quality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The global ionospheric model based on the reference stations of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) of the International GNSS Services is presently the most commonly used products of the global ionosphere. It is very important to comprehensively analyze and evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the model for the reasonable use of this kind of ionospheric product. In terms of receiver station deployment, this work is different from the traditional performance evaluation of the global ionosphere model based on observation data of ground-based static reference stations. The preliminary evaluation and analysis of the the global ionospheric model was conducted with the dynamic observation data across different latitudes over the southern oceans. The validation results showed that the accuracy of the global ionospheric model over the southern oceans is about 5 TECu, which deviates from the measured ionospheric TEC by about −0.6 TECu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space weather events significantly affect the high frequency (HF) radio wave propagation. The now-casting and forecasting of HF radio wave absorption is important for the HF communication industries. This paper assimilates vertical sounding data into an absorption model to improve its performance as a now-casting tool. The approach is a modification of the algorithm elaborated by Sauer and Wilkinson, which is based on the riometer data. The optimization is focused on accounting for short timescale variation of the absorption. It should be noted that the expression of the frequency dependence of absorption induced by the energetic particle precipitation employed in Sauer and Wilkinson model is based on the riometer data at frequencies of 20, 30, and 50 MHz. The approach suggested in this paper provides an opportunity for expanding the frequency dependence of the absorption for frequencies below 10 MHz. The simulation of the vertical ionograms in the polar cap region uses a computational model designed to overcome the high frequency wave propagation problem in high latitude of the Earth. HF radio wave absorption induced by solar UV illumination, X-ray flares and energetic particles precipitation is taken into consideration in our model. The absorption caused by the energetic particle precipitation is emphasized, because the study is focused on HF wave propagation in polar cap region. A comparison of observed and simulated vertical ionograms enables the coefficients, which relate absorption (day-time and night-time) to integral proton flux to be refined. The values of these coefficients determined from evaluation of the data recorded by any reliable ionosonde are valid for absorption calculation in high-latitude region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vertical E × B drift is very important parameter as its day to day variability has great influence on the variability in the low latitude F-region ion and electron density distributions. The measurements of vertical ion velocity from the first Republic of China Satellite (ROCSAT-1) provide a unique data base for the development of possible relationship between vertical E × B drifts and ground based magnetometer observation. An attempt has been made to derive quantitative relationship between F-region vertical E × B drifts measured by ROCSAT-1 (600 km) and ground measured equatorial electrojet for the solar maximum period 2001–2003 for Indian and Japanese sectors. The results consistently indicate existence of linear relationship between the measured vertical E × B drifts at topside F-region and EEJ for both the sectors, with a moderate to high correlation coefficients. The linear relationship between ROCSAT-1 measured E × B drifts and EEJ for Indian and Japanese sectors has been compared with a similar relationship with Jicamarca Unattended Long-term Ionosphere Atmosphere Radar (JULIA) measured E × B drifts (150 km echos) and EEJ strength from Peruvian sector during 2003. It has been found that ROCSAT-1 measured E × B drifts shows linear relationship with EEJ, however, exhibits a larger scatter unlike JULIA radar observed E × B drifts. This may be attributed to the large height difference as ROCSAT-1 measures E × B drifts at 600 km altitude and the EEJ is E-region (110 km) phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) is derived from 250 Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers over China. The GNSS TEC data are utilized to study the diurnal and day-to-day variability of ionosphere, ionospheric east–west differences and to construct regional ionospheric map. The GNSS–TEC curves clearly show sunrise and sunset enhancements in the diurnal variation. The peak value of TEC is lower in January 2015 than in May 2014. There is 2 h difference in the occurrence time of TEC maximum/minimum between May and January. Compared with the observations of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), the measurements from the Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) clearly present the ionospheric day-to-day variability and east–west differences in a region with small longitude differences (3.52–11.31°). The east–west differences in TEC are more obvious in larger longitude differences at 11:30 local time on 23 January 2015. The maximum east–west difference in TEC is about 7 total electron content unit (TECU, 1 TECU = 10 16 el m −2 ) in longitude difference of 11.31°. Our analysis shows that the TEC for east–west small longitude differences may be associated with the east–west gradient of geomagnetic declination. Based on 250 GNSS stations, a regional TEC map constructed by Kriging method can well capture the main spatial structure of ionosphere in China. A comparison between TEC maps obtained by Kriging method and provided by Jet Propulsion Laboratory displays that there are large deviations in the North of China, which is mainly caused by the difference in the number of used GNSS stations. In addition, comprehensive investigation presents that GNSS has more advantages over GPS and GLONASS in the ionosphere research over China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspect sensitive scattering of multi-frequency probe signals by artificial, magnetic field aligned density irregularities (with transverse size ∼ 1 – 10 m ) generated in the ionosphere by powerful radio waves is considered. Fluctuations of received signals depending on stochastic properties of the irregularities are calculated. It is shown that in the case of HF probe waves two mechanisms may contribute to the scattered signal fluctuations. The first one is due to the propagation of probe waves in the ionospheric plasma as in a randomly inhomogeneous medium. The second one lies in non-stationary stochastic behavior of irregularities which satisfy the Bragg conditions for the scattering geometry and therefore constitute centers of scattering. In the probe wave frequency band of the order of 10–100 MHz the second mechanism dominates which delivers opportunity to recover some properties of artificial irregularities from received signals. Correlation function of backscattered probe waves with close frequencies is calculated, and it is shown that detailed spatial distribution of irregularities along the scattering vector can be found experimentally from observations of this correlation function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multifunctional ionosonde was designed for ionospheric scientific research and monitoring applications by the Ionospheric Laboratory of Wuhan University during 2012-2014. This ionosonde is a high-frequency (HF) radar using inter-pulse phase codes and linear frequency modulation with high sensitivity. The two basic sounding modes of the radio system are the fixed frequency mode and the swept frequency mode. Both the radar waveform and the sounding mode are optional, based on practical considerations. This ionosonde can be applied to study the space environment, for applications such as to observe the disturbance and irregularities in the ionospheric E- and F-layers, to record the propagation features of the HF radio waves, to detect the state of the ocean and so on. With different transmitting antennae, the same ionosonde can operate as a verticalincidence ionosonde, an oblique-incidence ionosonde or an oblique-backscatter ionosonde. Specifically, the ionosonde could be used to detect the state of the ocean by combining the sky wave with the ground wave. In this study, the architecture of the multifunctional ionosonde is introduced, and some initial observations of this ionosonde are presented . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a comparative study of computational methods for estimation of ionospheric scintillation indices. First, we review the conventional approaches based on Fourier transformation and low-pass/high-pass frequency filtration. Next, we introduce a novel method based on nonparametric local regression with bias Corrected Akaike Information Criteria (AICC). All methods are then applied to data from the Norwegian Regional Ionospheric Scintillation Network (NRISN), which is shown to be dominated by phase scintillation and not amplitude scintillation. We find that all methods provide highly correlated results, demonstrating the validity of the new approach to this problem. All methods are shown to be very sensitive to filter characteristics and the averaging interval. Finally, we find that the new method is more robust to discontinuous phase observations than conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cosmic noise at 40MHz is measured at NyÅlesund (79 N, 12 E) using a relative ionospheric opacity meter ("riometer"). A riometer is normally used to determine the degree to which cosmic noise is absorbed by the intervening ionosphere, giving an indication of ionisation of the atmosphere at altitudes lower than generally monitored by other instruments. The usual course is to determine a "quietday" variation, this representing the galactic noise signal itself in the absence of absorption; the current signal is then subtracted from this to arrive at absorption expressed in decibels (dB). By a variety of means and assumptions, it is thereafter possible to estimate electron density profiles in the very lowest reaches of the ionosphere. Here however, the entire signal, i.e. including the cosmic noise itself, will be examined and spectral characteristics identified. It will be seen that distinct spectral subranges are evident which can, in turn, be identified with non-Gaussian processes characterised by generalised Hurst exponents,. Considering all periods greater than 1 h, α≈1.24, an indication of fractional Brownian motion, whereas for periods greater than 1 day α≈0.9 - approximately pink noise and just in the domain of fractional Gaussian noise. The results are compared with other physical processes, suggesting that absorption of cosmic noise is characterised by a generalised Hurst exponent ≈1.24 and thus non-persistent fractional Brownian motion, whereas generation of cosmic noise is characterised by a generalised Hurst exponent ≈1. The technique unfortunately did not result in clear physical understanding of the ionospheric phenomena, and thus, in this respect, the application was not successful; the analysis could, however, be used as a tool for instrument validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of ionospheric precursorsof earthquakehas gained interest among many researchers, specially the precursor obtained in terms of anomalous variation in total electron content (TEC). If earthquake occurs during a period of moderate to high solar activity, the TEC derived using global positioning system (GPS) measurements requires the elimination of solar effect so as to identify the precursory signature. This paperincludes multi-resolution time series technique to remove the nonlinear effect from solar radiation on GPS-based TEC. The technique is based on wavelet transform applicable to RINEX TEC data. This technique is used to remove nonlinear background solar effect from TEC prior to four different earthquakes (M 6.0). Further in order to evaluate the extracted TEC, we obtain the correlation between the decomposed TEC A6 and measured solar index (F10.7) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV). A good correlation is obtained between decomposed TEC A6 and EUV for all the cases. This suggests that this technique is useful in removal of background solar effect for identifying earthquake precursor in TEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-rays and gamma-rays from astronomical sources such as solar flares are mostly absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. Resulting electron-ion production rate as a function of height depends on the intensity and wavelength of the injected spectrum and therefore the effects vary from one source to another. In other words, the ion density vs. altitude profile has the imprint of the incident photon spectrum. In this paper, we investigate whether we can invert the problem uniquely by deconvolution of the VLF amplitude signal to obtain the details of the injected spectrum. We find that it is possible to do this up to a certain accuracy. This leads us to the possibility of uninterrupted observation of X-ray photon spectra of solar flares that are often hindered by the restricted observation window of space satellites to avoid charge particle damages. Such continuous means of observation are essential in deriving information on time evolution of physical processes related to electron acceleration and interaction with plasma in solar atmosphere. Our method is useful to carry out a similar exercise to infer the spectra of more energetic events such as the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs), Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs) etc., by probing even the lower part of the Earth's atmosphere. We thus show that to certain extent, the Earth's atmosphere could be used as a gigantic detector of relatively strong astronomical events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current GLONASS satellites transmit signals based on the frequency division multiple access (FDMA) technology. Due to equipment delays occurring within GNSS receivers, GLONASS carrier phase and code observations are contaminated by inter-frequency biases. As a consequence, GLONASS ambiguity parameters in long-baseline processing are typically estimated as float values. In this paper, a strategy is investigated which benefits from the frequency spacing of GLONASS frequencies on the L $$_{1}$$ and L $$_{2}$$ bands, allowing for an ionosphere-free ambiguity with a wavelength of approximately 5 cm to be defined; therefore, avoiding the problematic wide-lane ambiguity resolution. Based on 12 independent baselines with a mean inter-station distance of about 850 km over a 1-week period, it is demonstrated that close to 95 % of the estimated double-differenced ionosphere-free ambiguities are within 0.15 cycles of an integer, thereby suggesting that long-baseline ambiguity resolution can be achieved for GLONASS. Applying between-station ambiguity constraints in precise point positioning (PPP) solutions was found to improve longitudinal repeatability in static mode by more than 20 % for sessions between 2 and 6 h in duration. In kinematic mode, only limited improvements were made to the initial convergence period since the short wavelength of GLONASS ionosphere-free ambiguities requires the solution to be nearly converged before successful ambiguity resolution can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We validate two-dimensional ionospheric tomography reconstructions against EISCAT incoherent scatter radar measurements. Our tomography method is based on Bayesian statistical inversion with prior distribution given by its mean and covariance. We employ ionosonde measurements for the choice of the prior mean and covariance parameters and use the Gaussian Markov random fields as a sparse matrix approximation for the numerical computations. This results in a computationally efficient tomographic inversion algorithm with clear probabilistic interpretation. We demonstrate how this method works with simultaneous beacon satellite and ionosonde measurements obtained in northern Scandinavia. The performance is compared with results obtained with a zero-mean prior and with the prior mean taken from the International Reference Ionosphere 2007 model. In validating the results, we use EISCAT ultrahigh- frequency incoherent scatter radar measurements as the ground truth for the ionization profile shape. We find that in comparison to the alternative prior information sources, ionosonde measurements improve the reconstruction by adding accurate information about the absolute value and the altitude distribution of electron density. With an ionosonde at continuous disposal, the presented method enhances stand-alone near-real-time ionospheric tomography for the given conditions significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mainland of China, the number of ionospheric research groups is more than 10. Around 110 articles related to ionospheric physics have been published during 2014-2015. In this annual national report of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), we will outline some recent progresses in ionospheric studies conducted by the Chinese mainland scientists in the past 2 years. These investigations cover (1) the ionosphere responses to geomagnetic activities; (2) ionospheric climatology and structures; (3) couplings between the ionosphere, plasmasphere and lower atmosphere, and possible seismic signatures in the ionosphere; (4) ionospheric irregularities and scintillation; (5) ionospheric models, data assimilation and simulations; (6) ionospheric dynamics and electrodynamics; (7) progresses in the observation methodology and technique; and (8) planetary ionospheres. Such investigations will strengthen our ability to monitor the ionosphere, provide a better understanding of the ionospheric states and the underlying fundamental processes, and improve the ionospheric modeling, forecasting, and related applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief introductory review of some recent developments in atmosphere–ionosphere science is written for the “Vertical Coupling Special Issue” that is motivated by the 5th IAGA/ICMA/SCOSTEP Workshop on Vertical Coupling in the Atmosphere–Ionosphere System. Basic processes of vertical coupling in the atmosphere–ionosphere system are discussed, focusing on the effects of internal waves, such as gravity waves and solar tides, sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs), and of solar activity on the structure of the atmosphere. Internal waves play a crucial role in the current state and evolution of the upper atmosphere–ionosphere system. SSW effects extend into the upper atmosphere, producing changes in the thermospheric circulation and ionospheric disturbances. Sun, the dominant energy source for the atmosphere, directly impacts the upper atmosphere and modulates wave-induced coupling. The emphasis is laid on the most recent developments in the field, while giving credits to older works where necessary. Various international activities in atmospheric vertical coupling, such as SCOSTEP's ROSMIC project, and a brief contextual discussion of the papers published in the special issue are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dissociative recombination (DR) of FeO+ ions with electrons has been studied in a flowing afterglow reactor. FeO+ was generated by the pulsed laser ablation of a solid Fe target, and then entrained in an Ar+ ion/electron plasma where the absolute electron density was measured using a Langmuir probe. A kinetic model describing gas-phase chemistry and diffusion to the reactor walls was fitted to the experimental data, yielding a DR rate coefficient at 298 K of k(FeO+ + e-) = (5.5 ± 1.0) x 10-7 cm³ molecule- 1 s- 1, where the quoted uncertainty is at the 2s level. Fe+ ions in the lower thermosphere are oxidized by O3 to FeO+, and this DR reaction is shown to provide a more important route for neutralizing Fe+ below 110 km than the radiative/dielectronic recombination of Fe+ with electrons. The experimental system was first validated by measuring two other DR reaction rate coefficients: k(O2+ + e-) = (2.0 ± 0.4) x 10-7 and k(N2O+ + e-) = (3.3 ± 0.8) x 10- 7 cm³ molecule-1 s-1, which are in good agreement with the recent literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data of the ionospheric observations (the daily f plots) at the Yakutsk meridional chain of ionosondes (Yakutsk-Zhigansk-Batagai-Tixie Bay) with sharp decreases (breaks) in the critical frequency of the regular ionospheric F2 layer ( foF2) are considered. The data for 1968-1983 were analyzed, and the statistics of the foF2 break observations, which indicate that these breaks are mainly registered in equinoctial months and in afternoon and evening hours under moderately disturbed geomagnetic conditions, are presented. Calculations performed using the prognostic model of the high-latitude ionosphere indicate that the critical frequency break position coincides with the equatorial boundary of large-scale plasma convection in the dusk MLT sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A local approximation method based on piecewise sinusoidal models has been proposed in order to study the frequency and amplitude characteristics of geomagnetic pulsations registered at a network of magnetic observatories. It has been established that synchronous variations in the geomagnetic pulsation frequency in the specified frequency band can be studied with the use of calculations performed according to this method. The method was used to analyze the spectral-time structure of Pc3 geomagnetic pulsations registered at the network of equatorial observatories. Local approximation variants have been formed for single-channel and multichannel cases of estimating the geomagnetic pulsation frequency and amplitude, which made it possible to decrease estimation errors via filtering with moving weighted averaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a statistical framework for estimating global navigation satellite system (GNSS) non-ionospheric differential time delay bias. The biases are estimated by examining differences of measured line-integrated electron densities (total electron content: TEC) that are scaled to equivalent vertical integrated densities. The spatiotemporal variability, instrumentation-dependent errors, and errors due to inaccurate ionospheric altitude profile assumptions are modeled as structure functions. These structure functions determine how the TEC differences are weighted in the linear least-squares minimization procedure, which is used to produce the bias estimates. A method for automatic detection and removal of outlier measurements that do not fit into a model of receiver bias is also described. The same statistical framework can be used for a single receiver station, but it also scales to a large global network of receivers. In addition to the Global Positioning System (GPS), the method is also applicable to other dual-frequency GNSS systems, such as GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema). The use of the framework is demonstrated in practice through several examples. A specific implementation of the methods presented here is used to compute GPS receiver biases for measurements in the MIT Haystack Madrigal distributed database system. Results of the new algorithm are compared with the current MIT Haystack Observatory MAPGPS (MIT Automated Processing of GPS) bias determination algorithm. The new method is found to produce estimates of receiver bias that have reduced day-to-day variability and more consistent coincident vertical TEC values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The differential ionospheric path delay is a major error source in L-band interferograms. It is superimposed to topography and ground deformation signals, hindering the measurement of geophysical processes. In this paper, we proceed toward the realization of an operational processor to compensate the ionospheric effects in interferograms. The processor should be robust and accurate to meet the scientific requirements for the measurement of geophysical processes, and it should be applicable on a global scale. An implementation of the split-spectrum method, which will be one element of the processor, is presented in detail, and its performance is analyzed. The method is based on the dispersive nature of the ionosphere and separates the ionospheric component of the interferometric phase from the nondispersive component related to topography, ground motion, and tropospheric path delay. We tested the method using various Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased-Array type L-band synthetic aperture radar interferometric pairs with different characteristics: high to low coherence, moving and nonmoving terrains, with and without topography, and different ionosphere states. Ionospheric errors of almost 1 m have been corrected to a centimeter or a millimeter level. The results show how the method is able to systematically compensate the ionospheric phase in interferograms, with the expected accuracy, and can therefore be a valid element of the operational processor. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]