American Geophysical Union Become an AGU Member
Subscribe to AGU Journals		 AGU Home AGU Publications

Subscriber Access to Full Article (Nonsubscribers may purchase for $9.00, Includes print PDF, file size: 407290 bytes)

RADIO SCIENCE, VOL. 39, RS3015, doi:10.1029/2003RS002963, 2004

F region plasma density estimation at Jicamarca using the complex cross-correlation of orthogonal polarized backscatter fields

Zhaomei Feng

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA


Erhan Kudeki

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA


Ronald F. Woodman

Radio Observatorio de Jicamarca, Instituto Geofísico del Perú, Lima, Peru


Jorge Chau

Radio Observatorio de Jicamarca, Instituto Geofísico del Perú, Lima, Peru


Marco Milla

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA


Abstract

The differential-phase method for Jicamarca F region density measurements has been modified to fit the real and imaginary components of the cross-correlation of orthogonally polarized radar returns. The original method [ Kudeki et al., 2003 ; Feng et al., 2003 ] based on fitting the cross-correlation phase could only make use of correlation data from lower F region heights since the phase noise in low-SNR upper F region returns is typically non-Gaussian. However, upper F region correlation data become useful in the modified method since the fluctuations in real and imaginary parts of cross-correlation remain Gaussian even under low-SNR conditions.

Received 19 August 2003; accepted 15 April 2004; published 16 June 2004.

Keywords: plasma density; complex cross-correlation; differential-phase method.

Index Terms: 2415 Ionosphere: Equatorial ionosphere; 2467 Ionosphere: Plasma temperature and density; 2494 Ionosphere: Instruments and techniques.

Subscriber Access to Full Article (Nonsubscribers may purchase for $9.00, Includes print PDF, file size: 407290 bytes)

Citation: Feng, Z., E. Kudeki, R. F. Woodman, J. Chau, and M. Milla (2004), F region plasma density estimation at Jicamarca using the complex cross-correlation of orthogonal polarized backscatter fields, Radio Sci., 39, RS3015, doi:10.1029/2003RS002963.