Abstract
Total electron contents obtained by the differential Faraday method during 26 near-overhead passes of the Beacon-B satellite at Aberystwyth are compared with the results of integrating vertical N( h) profiles observed simultaneously by the incoherent scatter radar at Malvern, 117 km to the east. In 19 cases agreement within the experimental errors was found with a standard method of analysis of the satellite data, using a constant value of the magnetic field function M ̄ ; in three cases agreement could be reached only by allowing for an unsuspected ambiguity of π radians in the measured differential rotation angle; in two cases when the F2-peak was abnormally high it was necessary to adjust M ̄ ; in one case the presence of strong waves made the comparison invalid, and in one case there was a significant unexplained discrepancy. Computation of the mean Faraday height, h F , for the 26 incoherent scatter profiles showed that h F is roughly proportional to the F2 peak height, h max , and that ( h F— h max ) has a mean value of about 80 km. There is some indication that the use of the normal first order expression for the total Faraday rotation leads to overestimation of electron content: this problem can be dealt with by an empirical modification of the standard analysis.
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