Discussion of paper by W. J. Breitling, R. A. Kupferman, and G. J. Gassmann, ‘Traveling ionospheric disturbances associated with nuclear detonations’

Abstract

In a recent paper, Breitling et al. [1967] presented an analysis of ionospheric ƒ0F2 data from 54 ionosonde observations throughout the world. From their analysis they claim to have observed F2-region ionospheric disturbances with a large number of characteristic velocities that originated from the five high-altitude, nuclear detonations conducted at Johnston Island in 1962 [Glasstone, 1964]. This Letter has been prepared to show that hourly ƒ0F2 data are, in gener, unsuitable for the study of traveling F2-region ionospheric disturbances originating from nuclear detonations. It appears that much of the data presented by Breitling et al. are due to natural fluctuations of the ƒ0F2 values from the monthly medians rather than the progress of traveling disturbances from high-altitude detonations.