HR: 14:15h
AN: SA43A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: D-Region studies with PFISR
AU: * Janches, D
EM: jonathan.sparks@colorado.edu
AF: NWRA/CoRA Div., 3380 MItchell Lane, Boulder, CO 80301, United States
AU: Nicolls, M J
EM: michel.nicolls.@sri.com
AF: SRI International, 333 Ravesnwood Av., Menlo Park, CA 94025, United States
AU: Fritts, D C
EM: diego@cora.nwra.com
AF: NWRA/CoRA Div., 3380 MItchell Lane, Boulder, CO 80301, United States
AU: Heinselman, C
EM: craig.heinselman
AF: SRI International, 333 Ravesnwood Av., Menlo Park, CA 94025, United States
AB: We present observations of the polar D-region performed with the new Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR). The observations were performed during a 24-hr period near summer solstice covering the 40 to 140 km altitude range and were designed to measure the radar return from 4 pointing directions, ~10 degrees east, south, north and west from zenith. We utilized a 13-baud, 130 us Barker code (1.5 km resolution) and a 2 ms IPP in order to obtain precise spectral information from this region of the ionosphere. The results indicate that PFISR will be a powerful tool to study the high latitude D region. We will show and discuss results that include meridional and zonal wind profiles extending from 65 to 95 km as well as estimates of the vertical flux of both the zonal and meridional momentum, measurements that are facilitated by PFISR's ability to steer on a pulse-to- pulse basis. We will also show characteristics of the spectra before, during and after the occurrence of polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSE). In particular, we find that clear and narrow D-region spectra seem to be measured only around the times when PMSE are present. We investigate and discuss possible reasons for this correlation.
DE: 2455 Particle precipitation
DE: 2494 Instruments and techniques
DE: 7849 Plasma interactions with dust and aerosols (2461)
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting