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Ann. Geophys., 24, 1861-1869, 2006
www.ann-geophys.net/24/1861/2006/
© European Geosciences Union 2006

Gadanki radar observations of daytime E region echoes and structures extending down to 87 km

A. K. Patra¹, S. Sripathi², P. B. Rao³, and R. K. Choudhary^4
1National Atmospheric Research Laboratory, Tirupati, India
²Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, New Panvel, Navi Mumbai, India
³National Remote Sensing Agency, Balanagar, Hyderabad, India
⁴Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

Abstract. Observations of daytime E region echoes extending to altitudes as low as 87 km made using the Gadanki MST radar are presented. The echoing regions display descending layer resembling the characteristics of tidal winds and show structures with periods 2–4 min having both positive and negative slopes. At the center of the layer where strongest SNR is observed, the velocity is maximum and spectral width is minimum. At altitudes slightly above and below, where SNR is relatively low, velocity is low but spectral width is maximum. Daytime observations of echoes extending to such a low altitude and associated structures akin to nighttime quasi-periodic echoes throughout the observational period are the most significant results, not reported earlier from Gadanki and other locations. Other notable results are large SNR (as high as 15 dB) and spectral width (as high as 70 m/s) at the bottommost altitudes, where collisional damping of the plasma waves is significant

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Citation: Patra, A. K., Sripathi, S., Rao, P. B., and Choudhary, R. K.: Gadanki radar observations of daytime E region echoes and structures extending down to 87 km, Ann. Geophys., 24, 1861-1869, 2006.   Bibtex   EndNote   Reference Manager