Proposed Continued Operation of an ELF/VLF Radiometer at Arrival Heights, Antarctica

在南极洲到达高地监测极低频/极低频无线电噪声（频率范围在5赫兹到32千赫之间）的项目将持续三年，这将使观测记录延长到25年以上，并将使噪声统计的估计和限制更加精确。该辐射计于1984-5年南方夏季首次安装在其目前位置，并提供了南极极低频/极低频噪声的记录，其连续性和持续时间是前所未有的。与此同时，在格陵兰岛的sondrestrom峡湾和斯坦福大学校园里，同样的系统也在运行。这些额外的系统提供了北极和中纬度地区的比较数据。由于极低频/极低频无线电噪声的主要来源是发生在热带地区的雷暴，这三个系统提供了发生在热带地区的雷暴活动的互补视图。长期统计数据可以提供关于全球变化的独立信息。到达高地记录中的低背景进一步允许确定舒曼共振，存在于地球电磁腔（地球表面和电离层之间的空间）中的准驻波。这些共振频率的时间变化可能与电离层特性的变化有关。由于进行长期观测非常困难，特别是在偏远地点，随着辐射计继续运行，到达高度测量的科学价值正在增加。

This three year continuation of a program to monitor ELF/VLF radio noise (frequencies in the range 5 Hz to 32 kHz) at Arrival Heights, Antarctica, will extend the observational record to more than twenty-five years, and will allow more precise estimates of and limits on noise statistics. The radiometer was first installed at its present location during the austral summer of 1984-5 and has provided a record of ELF/VLF noise in the Antarctic that is unprecedented in its continuity and duration. In parallel with this system, identical ones are currently in operation at Sondrestromfjord, Greenland, and on the Stanford University campus. These additional systems provide comparison data for the arctic and for mid-latitudes.Since the predominant sources of ELF/VLF radio noise are thunderstorms occurring in the tropical regions, these three systems provide complementary views of the thunderstorm activity occurring in the tropics. The long-term statistics can then provide independent information about global change. The low background in the Arrival Heights record further allows the determination of Schumann resonances, quasi-standing waves that exist in the Earth's electromagnetic cavity (the space between the surface of the Earth and the Ionosphere). Temporal changes in these resonant frequencies can be related to variations in the characteristics of the ionosphere. Because of the great difficulty of making long-term observations, particularly at remote locations, the Arrival Heights measurements are increasing in scientific value as the radiometer continues in operation.