HR: 0800h
AN: SA21B-0361    [Abstracts]
TI: Wallops HF Radar Observations of Penetrating Electric Fields and Plasma Structuring in the Mid-Latitude Ionosphere
AU: * Greenwald, R A
EM: ray.greenwald@jhuapl.edu
AF: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road , Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AU: Ruohoniemi, J M
EM: mike.ruohoniemi@jhuapl.edu
AF: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road , Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AU: Baker, J
EM: joseph.baker@jhuapl.edu
AF: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road , Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AB: The Earth's high-latitude ionosphere is subject to strong electric fields of magnetospheric origin that drive drifts of ionospheric plasma to speeds of kilometers per second. Such dramatic effects are usually absent from the ionosphere at mid- and low-latitudes and, consequently, the impact of large electric fields on plasma processes at sub-auroral latitudes has received less scientific attention. This has started to change with the realization that major space weather disturbances enable electric fields to penetrate into the mid- and low-latitude ionospheres and cause a variety of plasma disturbances that adversely impact the performance of technological systems. Understanding the onset and evolution of penetrating electric fields and their impact on mid-latitude ionospheric structure is a top priority for the U.S. National Space Weather Program and the NASA Living With a Star Initiative. In this paper, we describe a new HF radar, located at Wallops Island, Virgina, that was recently developed as a joint project of GSFC/Wallops Flight Facility and JHU/APL. The radar is based on the design of radars in the high-latitude SuperDARN network and will be used to study the penetration of high-latitude electric fields into the mid-latitude ionosphere and to characterize the impact of these fields on the generation of ionospheric plasma structure and small-scale irregularities. The radar was only recently put into observation so we will concentrate on initial observations of electric-field penetration and associated ionospheric structuring. Our observations will be discussed in the context of higher-latitude measurements with SuperDARN.
DE: 2411 Electric fields (2712)
DE: 2431 Ionosphere/magnetosphere interactions (2736)
DE: 2439 Ionospheric irregularities
DE: 2463 Plasma convection
DE: 2475 Polar cap ionosphere
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting