Electron-Density Distribution in the Upper Ionosphere under Conditions of a Mid-Latitude F-Spread

Abstract

We present the results of the last experiments aimed at studying the phenomenon of mid-latitude F-spread by radio-raying of the ionosphere using the signal from the SURA facility received onboard the NASA spacecraft WIND. A generalized model of spatio-temporal distribution of the electron density in the mid-latitude ionosphere under F-spread conditions is proposed. Based on this model describing large-scale ionospheric irregularities, we calculate the ray trajectories of HF radio waves. We also discuss the known results of comparative measurements of the variances of relative electron-density fluctuations in large-scale irregularities of the mid-latitude ionosphere, carried out by the OGO-6 spacecraft, and the frequency broadening of the ionograms of ground-based stations for the vertical sounding. It is shown that the proposed model of electron-density disturbances in the mid-latitude ionosphere in the presence of F-spread is able not only to describe well the main qualitative feature of HF radiowave propagation under disturbed geophysical conditions, but also to reproduce quite accurately the quantitative parameters of the frequency broadening of reflected HF signals under conditions of standard and developed F-spread.