G. P. Komrakov

Sounding of HF heating‐induced artificial ionospheric disturbances by navigational satellite radio transmissions

[1]xa0During experiments carried out in 2009–2011 the midlatitude ionosphere was modified by powerful HF pulses from the Sura heating facility located near Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) and operated by the Radio Physical Research Institute. GPS/GLONASS and Parus/Tsikada satellite radio transmissions responding to the heating-induced disturbances in electron density were analyzed. The variations in the total electron content (TEC), which are proportional to the reduced phase of navigational signals, were studied for various schemes of radiation of the heating wave. The variations in TEC (their amplitudes and temporal behavior) caused by HF heating are identified in several examples. The TEC spectra contain frequency components corresponding to the modulation periods of the heating wave. For the first time, the spatial structure of the wave disturbances generated in the ionosphere by high-power radio waves radiated by the Sura heating facility with a square wave modulation of the effective radiated power at a frequency lower than or of the order of the Brunt-Vaisala frequency of the neutral atmosphere is imaged using the method of low-orbital radio tomography and GPS/GLONASS data.

Results of investigation of the langmuir and upper-hybrid plasma turbulence evolution by means of stimulated ionospheric emission

The results of investigations of the temporal evolution of high-frequency plasma turbulence obtained by measurements of stimulated ionospheric emission (SIE) features for different stages of interaction of powerful radio emission, with an ionospheric F region plasma are presented. It is found that the relaxation time decreased up to 2–4 times with increase in the pump duration and pumping power under the conditions of striction parametric instability (excitation of Langmuir plasma turbulence) over times t≤2.00 ms. A similar decrease of the SIE relaxation time was also observed under the conditions of thermal parametric instability (excitation of upper-hybrid plasma turbulence) in long-term quasicontinuous heating of ionospheric plasma. The possible mechanisms of collisionless dissipation of plasma turbulence energy are discussed to explain the observed dependence of the plasma wave damping rate on the temperal stage of development and intensity of plasma turbulence.

ON THE EFFECT OF BUM GENERATION ENHANCEMENT REVEALED USING THE SCHEME OF ADDITIONAL HEATING OF IONOSPHERIC PLASMA

We present measured characteristics of the artificial ionospheric radio emission (AIRE), which were obtained experimentally using additional heating of the ionospheric F-region by O-polarized waves. It is shown that the observed enhancement of intensity of the broad upshifted maximum (BUM) of the AIRE can result from the influence of electrons accelerated in the plasma: esonance region on its generation. An empirical model of the phenomenon observed is developed. It is concluded from experimental results that the BUM has a complex structure and only one of its components produces the above emission enhancement. We show the possibility of using the AIRE in additional heating of ionospheric plasma for diagnostics of artificial ionospheric turbulence and investigation of the features of perturbation propagation along the geomagnetic field lines.

New phenomenon observed on board the ISS during a RF ionosphere modification.

A quantitative analysis is presented of the data on modification of the ionosphere by high-power radio emission from the SURA heating experiment run on October 2, 2007 (18:40 – 19:00 UT). The Sura facility was working in the mode of periodic heating at the radio frequency (RF) of 4.30 MHz. The modulation frequency was close to the frequency of natural Alfven oscillations of plasma in the local magnetic flux tube. The effects of modification were observed onboard the Russian Segment of the International Space Station (RS ISS). The observations have provided more than 1500 images of a bright local glow, which appeared within the field of view of the TV camera as the ISS was passing close to the location of the Sura facility. The brightness of aurora reached some hundreds of kiloRayleighs. The compact bright aurora appeared North-East of the heating facility and was moving East in the image plane. The analysis of helio-geophysical conditions did not reveal any significant anomalies during the experiment. A low power of the heating RF emission and high intensity of the observed aurora suggest that the local glow wasnt due directly to HF heating of ionosphere, but rather might be caused by the particle precipitation artificially stimulated by the heating effects, such as modification of the ionosphere over the SURA heating facility, which forms the base of the magnetic flux tube (and the standing wave node) whose natural Alfven oscillations have a period close to the modulation period of the heating HF emission. The Alfven mode of the magnetic tube could be intensified during the experiment by a short (less than 1 min) and weak (amplitude of about 2 nT) pulse in the planetary geomagnetic field that occurred at 18:47:30 UT.