Magnetic zenith enhancement of HF radio-induced airglow production at HAARP

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 1169 - n/a
• Main Authors: Pedersen, T. R., McCarrick, M., Gerken, E., Selcher, C., Sentman, D., Carlson, H. C., Gurevich, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union 01-02-2003; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Active experiments; Airglow and aurora; Atmospheric Composition and Structure; Instruments and techniques; Ionosphere; Wave propagation; Wave/particle interactions
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2002GL016096

Airglow production at various beam positions relative to the magnetic field was investigated as part of an optics campaign at HAARP in February 2002. Strong emissions up to several hundred Rayleigh at 630.0 nm and more than 50 R at 557.7 nm were produced in a small spot approximately 6° in diameter located near the magnetic zenith when the transmitter beam was directed up the magnetic field. This effect was observed hundreds of times over a wide range of frequencies and ionospheric conditions. The spot at HAARP appears on average just equatorward of the nominal magnetic field direction, deflects somewhat toward the beam center when the beam is scanned, and varies slightly in size with transmitter frequency. Red‐to‐green ratios as low as 3 were observed, with both wavelengths showing significant onset delay. Identifiable enhancements in red‐line emission were produced down to 2 MW ERP in a power ramp experiment.