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East-west ionospheric drifts at the magnetic equator.
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1972
Year
GeophysicsMeteorologyRadarSatellite DragEngineeringSynthetic Aperture RadarAtmospheric ScienceMagnetic EquatorNeutral AtmosphereIonosphereSolar-terrestrial InteractionPlanetary MagnetosphereSpace WeatherMagnetospheric PlasmaF RegionGeodesy
A technique has been developed to measure the electromagnetic east-west drift velocity of the F region ionosphere by means of the Jicamarca incoherent scatter radar. Results show a fairly consistent behavior from day to day even during a magnetically disturbed day. Velocities are westward with a maximum of the order of 50 m/sec during the day, and eastward with a maximum of the order of 135 m/sec during the night. They are shown as experimental evidence for the superrotation of the neutral atmosphere at equatorial latitudes, but with a velocity smaller than the values inferred from satellite drag.