Title
Electron-ion temperature ratio estimations in the summer polar mesosphere when subject to HF radio wave heating
Date Issued
01 January 2014
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Pinedo H.
La Hoz C.
Havnes O.
Rietveld M.
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
We have inferred the electron temperature enhancements above mesospheric altitudes under Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes (PMSE) conditions when the ionosphere is exposed to artificial HF radio wave heating. The proposed method uses the dependence of the radar cross section on the electron-to-ion temperature ratio to infer the heating factor from incoherent scatter radar (ISR) power measurements above 90. km. Model heating temperatures match our ISR estimations between 90 and 130. km with 0.94 Pearson correlation index. The PMSE strength measured by the MORRO MST radar is about 50% weaker during the heater-on period when the modeled electron-to-ion mesospheric temperature is approximately 10 times greater than the unperturbed value. No PMSE weakening is found when the mesospheric temperature enhancement is by a factor of three or less. The PMSE weakening and its absence are consistent with the modeled mesospheric electron temperatures. This consistency supports to the proposed method for estimating mesospheric electron temperatures achieved by independent MST and ISR radar measurements. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
Start page
106
End page
112
Volume
118
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Geoquímica, Geofísica
Keyword(s)
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84904801399
Source
Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics
ISSN of the container
13646826
Sponsor(s)
EISCAT is an international association supported by the Research Organizations in China (CRIRP), Finland (SA), Germany (DFG), Japan (NIPR and STEL), Norway (NFR), Sweden (VR), and the United Kingdom (NERC).
Sources of information:
Scopus 4.03.2025
Scopus 4.03.2025