Abstract Incoherent scatter observations of the ionosphere have been used to monitor the passage of atmospheric gravity waves. The period of a wave and its vertical wavelength can be derived from profiles of electron concentration or field-aligned plasma velocity, and measurements of this kind have been used to confirm the Hines' dispersion equation. On occasions waves have been observed which maintain a regular periodicity over many cycles. Incoherent scatter can also be used to study the source region of large-scale atmospheric gravity waves in the auroral zone. Such observations have identified Joule heating and Lorentz forcing in the auroral electrojet as the main mechanisms for generating large-scale waves which are later observed at mid-latitude propagating equatorwards. The observations often reveal a quasi-periodicity in the substorm electric field which largely determines the periodicity of the wave launched by the electrojet, although this may be modified in the far-field by filtering and dispersion.


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    Title :

    Observations of atmospheric gravity waves with incoherent scatter radar


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1989-01-01


    Size :

    8 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



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