Abstract
Abstract. A new experimental technique is presented for the determination of the total electron content (TEC) below a low-orbiting satellite. According to this technique TEC can be obtained using the segment of a topside ionogram that only contains the traces of signals reflected from the Earth's surface. Possibilities of this technique were demonstrated using MIR station topside sounding data at the night time for both quiet and disturbed ionospheric conditions, and in particular, during the 14 November 1998 storm. An interesting fact was revealed with the help of this technique: after a series of relatively strong storms the main ionospheric trough on 14 November 1998 was detected at an abnormally low geomagnetic latitude (~43°). During this study some spatial variations of TEC were registered that can be interpreted as a TID-type wave structure.
Highlights
Despite the fact that the interactions of the various nearEarth space plasma regions with the interplanetary magnetic field and solar wind have been known for several decades (Williams, Mead, 1968), various aspects of this process continuing to attract intensive research today (Dymond, 2001)
In present paper the method is described that had been developed by authors for the determination of the total electron content (TEC) using traces of signals reflected from Earth. This method provides an estimate of the ionospheric contribution to the TEC value and, where necessary, provides a Topside ionospheric sounding from on board of orbital complex (OC) MIR was carried out using ionosonde AI-840
Today the use of near-Earth space requires a reconstruction of the electron density profiles in the ionosphere in real time with a maximum precision
Summary
2001; Scali and Reinisch B. In Russia the topside ionospheric sounding has been continued successfully and in 1998–1999 the ionosonde AI840 operated on board orbital complex (OC) MIR (Danilkin, 2001) These measurements are very important for global ionospheric monitoring regarding the technological use of the near-Earth space. The authors discuss the possible use of low-orbit satellites with an ionosonde on board both for studying the physics of the ionospheric processes and for prediction of ionospheric parameter values. These possibilities are related to a determination of the ionospheric trough characteristics near the F-region maximum, and to an estimation of the ionospheric part of the total electron content (TEC) along the satellite’s orbit.
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