Abstract
It is shown that swept-frequency backscatter ionograms covering a range of azimuths can be used to study the dynamics of sporadic-E clouds. A simple technique based on analytic ray tracing can be used to simulate the observed narrow traces associated with Es patches. This enables the location and extent of the sporadic-E clouds to be determined. The motion of clouds can then be determined from a time sequence of records. In order to demonstrate the method, results are presented from an initial study of 5 days of backscatter ionograms from the Jindalee Stage B data base obtained during March-April 1990. Usually 2–3 clouds were observed each day, mainly during the evening and up to midnight. The clouds lasted from 1–4 h and extended between 30°–80° in azimuth and 150–800 km in range. The clouds were mostly stationary or drifted generally westward with velocities of up to 80 ms−1. Only one cloud was observed moving eastward.
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Houminer, Z., Russell, C.J., Dyson, P.L. et al. Study of sporadic-E clouds by backscatter radar. Annales Geophysicae 14, 1060–1065 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00585-996-1060-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00585-996-1060-0