Radar Studies of the Equatorial Ionosphere

高频雷达观测到的回波由来自电离层“不规则”的强烈“相干”信号和来自等离子体背景热结构的微弱“非相干”信号组成。后一种回波给出了等离子体浓度、成分、电子和离子温度，并且是由于来自各种来源的等离子体波，包括流过等离子体的电流和穿过中性大气传播的重力波。在中纬度地区看到的一层薄薄的回声，现在在赤道也没有得到解释。在短波无线电通信和地面与卫星通信链路中，这些不规则现象会造成失真和干扰。该奖项授予秘鲁Jicamarca天文台的雷达研究。将对中间层（50-85公里高度）和低层热层（85-120公里高度）的不规则和波动进行测量，以更好地了解产生它们的机制的性质。

The echoes seen by high frequency radars consist of intense "coherent" signal returns from "irregularities" in the ionosphere and weak "incoherent" returns from the background thermal structure of the plasma. The latter echoes give the plasma concentration, composition, electron and ion temperatures, and are due to plasma waves from a variety of sources, including electrical currents flowing through the plasma and gravity waves propagating through the neutral atmosphere. A thin layer of echoes seen at mid-latitudes and now at the equator has not been explained. The irregularities cause distortion and interference in short wave radio communication, and in ground to satellite communication links. This award is for radar studies at the Jicamarca Observatory in Peru. Measurements will be made of irregularities and waves in the Mesosphere (50-85 km altitude) and in the Lower Thermosphere (85-120 km altitude) to better understand the nature of the mechanisms producing them.