HR: 0800h
AN: SA31A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Characterization of Ionospheric Scintillation Using Simultaneous Formosat-3/COSMIC Radio Occultation Observations and AFRL SCINDA Ground Scintillation Measurements
AU: * Starks, M J
EM: michael.starks@hanscom.af.mil
AF: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/VSBXI 29 Randolph Rd, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731, United States
AU: Lin, C S
EM: chin.lin@hanscom.af.mil
AF: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/VSBXI 29 Randolph Rd, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731, United States
AU: Groves, K M
EM: keith.groves@hanscom.af.mil
AF: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/VSBXI 29 Randolph Rd, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731, United States
AU: Pedersen, T R
EM: todd.pedersen@hanscom.af.mil
AF: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/VSBXI 29 Randolph Rd, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731, United States
AU: Basu, S
EM: santimay.basu@hanscom.af.mil
AF: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/VSBXI 29 Randolph Rd, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731, United States
AU: Syndergaard, S
EM: ssy@ucar.edu
AF: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, UCAR P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, United States
AU: Rocken, C
EM: rocken@ucar.edu
AF: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, UCAR P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, United States
AB: Ionospheric scintillation at low latitudes has been studied using ionospheric radio occultation (RO) measurements by the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC micro-satellites in conjunction with ground-based data from the Scintillation Network Decision Aid (SCINDA) station at Kwajalein Atoll. The Air Force Research Laboratory has developed the SCINDA network for monitoring low-latitude ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and scintillation associated with equatorial spread F. The network currently consists of sixteen stations distributed around the globe and the data have been used to conduct numerous studies on the characteristics and climatology of equatorial scintillation. The present study focuses on COSMIC RO and SCINDA data during the three COSMIC campaigns in 2006. Radio occultation events are selected by requiring that ionospheric scintillation was detected by the SCINDA VHF scintillation monitor at Kwajalein, and that the occultation ray path intersected the Kwajalein longitude below the satellite altitude, which varied from 500 to 800 km for the six FORMOSAT-3 satellites. In order to exclude tropospheric effects, only GPS signal amplitudes from FORMOSAT-3 with ray path tangent altitudes above 100 km are considered. Locations of ionospheric scintillation are estimated by triangulation using the satellites and the SCINDA ground station. Airglow images at Kwajalein are also used to confirm occurrence of equatorial ionospheric scintillations. For the selected events, large amplitude L1 and L2 scintillations tend to occur at altitudes below 200 km at frequencies around 0.5 Hz. The results are discussed as a potential path toward better specifying the occurrence of equatorial scintillations.
DE: 2439 Ionospheric irregularities
DE: 2487 Wave propagation (0689, 3285, 4275, 4455, 6934)
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly