Joint radar-satellite determination of the effective recombination coefficient in the auroral<i>E</i>region

Abstract

This paper reports on the experimental determination of the effective recombination coefficient α in the auroral E region. The technique consists of obtaining measurements, time coincident and nearly space coincident, of electron density from the Chatanika incoherent scatter radar and of electron production rate from the 1971-089A satellite. Electron density profiles are determined along the radar beam, and electron production profiles are field aligned. The horizontal separation caused by these and other factors can give rise to uncertainties in the presence of horizontal gradients in electron density or production. Values of a obtained by this technique are nevertheless in reasonable agreement with the results of others. Since the technique offers the possibility of frequent and routine determinations of α profiles (typically, four per day), it clearly represents a powerful means for providing synoptic studies of this ionospheric parameter.