Articles | Volume 18, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00585-000-0918-9
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00585-000-0918-9
31 Aug 2000
31 Aug 2000

Comparison of the orientation of small-scale electron density irregularities and F region plasma flow direction

E. D. Tereshchenko, B. Z. Khudukon, M. O. Kozlova, O. V. Evstafiev, T. Nygrén, M. T. Rietveld, and A. Brekke

Abstract. Results are shown from an experimental campaign where satellite scintillation was observed at three sites at high latitudes and, simultaneously, the F region plasma flow was measured by the nearby EISCAT incoherent scatter radar. The anisotropy parameters of field-aligned irregularities are determined from amplitude scintillation using a method based on the variance of the relative logarithmic amplitude. The orientation of the anisotropy in a plane perpendicular to the geomagnetic field is compared with the direction of F region plasma flow. The results indicate that in most cases a good agreement between the two directions is obtained.

Key words: Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; ionospheric irregularities)