Pulse Sounding with Closely Spaced Receivers as a Tool for Measuring Atmospheric Motions and Fine Structure in the Ionosphere. Iv. Wave-Like Structure in the E-Region Derived from Drift Experiments

摘要

A modification of the familiar fading experiment with three or more receivers measures phase fluctuations in addition to the amplitude fluctuations. This information can be used in a generalized correlation and spectral analysis which describes the statistical behavior of the radio wave packet returned from the reflection level. The experimental results can be interpreted as a super-position of a finite number of wave packets, each representing reflection from a rough surface. The different reflection surfaces are located in somewhat different directions and show different doppler shifts. All samples analyzed so far show a remarkable linear behavior in the phase of the cross-spectrum which can only be interpreted as a consequence of the wave-like structure of the reflecting regions. Velocity and direction of propagation can be measured; however, the structure is not well-enough behaved for easy measurement of wavelength and frequency. A comparison between this generalized analysis and the customary full correlation analysis of amplitude data reveals agreement in direction but with higher velocities by a factor of about two. (Author)