Space-Based Three-Dimensional Imaging of Equatorial Plasma Bubbles: Advancing the Understanding of Ionospheric Density Depletions and Scintillation.

摘要

Since their launches in October 2003 and October 2009, the SSUSI instruments on the DMSP F16 and F18 satellites have over 5 years of daily global observations of the nightside ionosphere. UV brightness observations at 135.6 nm are capable of imaging equatorial plasma bubbles. A bubble detection algorithm was applied to provide a multi-year plasma bubble climatology. A tomographic reconstruction technique was modified and applied to SSUSI data to reconstruct three-dimensional cubes of ionospheric electron density. These data cubes allowed for 3-D imaging of plasma bubbles and were used to drive HF propagation models to observe the effects of these depletions on communications. Data from the SSULI instrument on DMSP F18 was combined with SSUSI data to enhance the reconstruction, and these were validated with ALTAIR radar measurements. The relationship between SSUSI plasma bubble observations and scintillation at UHF and GPS frequencies was evaluated by scoring the correlation using ground-based scintillation data from 2006. An experimental prototype scintillation map from SSUSI observations was then developed for real- time support of warfighter communications in theater.