Dual-Beam Incoherent Scatter Radar Study of the Mesosphere at Arecibo

阿雷西博天文台非相干散射雷达新的双波束能力被用来获取关于复杂电离层D区的输运和动量通量的前所未有的信息。 利用双波束技术，得到了该地区重力波的水平和垂直波长、传播方向以及水平相干性。 在观测方向上的小光束运动被用来消除水平波长确定中的历史模糊性。 在D区的动量通量和动量沉积确定在大浪事件的量化的条款，在现存的理论参数化。 重力波传播的特征时间常数的实验匹配或更好的一种新的4毫秒脉冲周期间采样技术。 D区输运表征是解开该区域复杂输运和化学耦合的核心第一步，该区域决定了观察到的温度和密度变化。

The new dual-beam capability of the Arecibo Observatory incoherent scatter radar is used to derive unprecedented information about transport and momentum flux in the complex ionospheric D-region. The horizontal and vertical wavelengths, the propagation direction, and the horizontal coherence of gravity waves in the region are derived using the dual-beam technique. Small beam motions in the observation direction are used to remove historical ambiguities in the horizontal wavelength determination. The momentum flux and momentum deposition in the D-region are determined during large-wave events by quantification of terms in extant theoretical parameterizations. The characteristic time constant of gravity wave propagation is experimentally matched or bettered by a novel 4 ms inter-pulse-period sampling technique. The D-region transport characterization is central first-step to untangling the complex transport and chemical coupling in the region that determines the observed variations of temperature and density.