Abstract
Abstract. Incoherent scatter data from a hybrid long-pulse/double-pulse experiment at Jicamarca are analyzed using a full-profile analysis similar to the one implemented by Holt et al. (1992). In this case, plasma density, electron and ion temperatures, and light ion composition profiles in the topside are estimated simultaneously. Full-profile analysis is crucial at Jicamarca, since the long correlation time of the incoherent scatter signal at 50 MHz invalidates conventional gated analysis. Results for a 24 h interval in April of 2006 are presented, covering altitudes through 1600 km with 10 min time resolution, and compared with results from the NRL ionospheric model SAMI2. The analysis provides the first comprehensive assessment of ionospheric conditions over Jicamarca at sunrise as well as the first 24-h record of helium ion layers. Possible refinements to the experiment and the algorithm are discussed.
Highlights
The Jicamarca Radio Observatory has design features that distinguish it from other incoherent scatter radars (ISRs) including its 50 MHz operating frequency
Jicamarca’s long wavelength make it relatively immune to finite Debye-length effects that would otherwise limit its usefulness as an ISR at high altitudes
We investigate the application of full profile analysis to long-pulse incoherent scatter measurements at Jicamarca
Summary
The Jicamarca Radio Observatory has design features that distinguish it from other incoherent scatter radars (ISRs) including its 50 MHz operating frequency. Given reasonable incoherent integration times, the hybrid experiment yields useful ionospheric profiles well into the protonosphere. Rather than manipulating the lag products from a long-pulse experiment, constructing approximations of autocorrelation functions, and fitting the results for ionospheric parameters one range at a time (so-called “gated” analysis), these investigators proposed the simultaneous estimation of complete parameter profiles directly from the lag product matrices as they are measured. Inverse theory is applied widely in other branches of geoscience including seismology, geodesy, hydrology, crystalogrophy, and geology as well as in radar, radio astronomy, and inverse scattering It seeks to find model parameters (ionospheric state variables in this case) that are consistent with whatever data are available within statistical confidence limits as well as with other a priori expectations. Experimental results are presented and compared with simulation results from the NRL ionospheric model SAMI2, and potential improvements are discussed
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