Simulation of plasma instabilities artificially induced in the equatorial ionosphere.

Based on a proposed high-resolution numerical simulation, a qualified development of ionospheric instability triggered by chemical release is first presented in this paper. First, the upwelling, pinching, penetrating, and bifurcating processes of artificial instability are overall produced with electron density patterns generated by using this model. This high-resolution simulation method is first used in artificial instability rather than similar previous work involving natural cases. The numerical method provides a clearer prospect on the development of artificially induced instability. Second, aside from the morphology, statistical characteristics of the electron density fluctuations are obtained and used to verify the effect of instability. The variance and the power spectral density (PSD) of artificial instability are first analyzed in detail by using data extracted from simulations. The empirical PSD of the generated natural irregularities yields Shkarofsky's spectrum, which is deemed to be the general spectrum of the ionospheric plasma. It is interesting that the PSD of artificially initiated electron density fluctuation is found to be in good agreement with Shkarofsky's spectrum. This consistency indicates the occurrence of irregularities in nonlinear simulation and applicability of the simulations to extended studies. Finally, as the electron density fluctuation shown in simulation varies along the altitude, the multiple phase screen (MPS) method is ready for scintillation calculation of the diagnostic radio propagation. Validity of the scintillation calculation by using the MPS reveals that the electron density predicted by instability simulation could be useful for further studies involving both natural and artificial instabilities in the ionosphere. It is shown that the high-resolution simulation model proposed could be useful for further studies involving both natural and artificial instabilities in the ionosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]