High resolution 2-D maps of OI 630.0 nm thermospheric dayglow from equatorial latitudes

The first-ever high resolution 2-D maps of OI 630.0 nm dayglow obtained from equatorial latitudes clearly reveal the movement as a large-scale feature of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). These also show the presence of wave-like features classified as gravity waves presumably originating at the crest of the EIA, similar to the equatorial electrojet acting as a source of these waves. These results are presented and discussed.     

Ion composition measurements and modelling at altitudes from 140 to 350 km using EISCAT measurements

This work aims at processing the data of CP1 and CP2 programs of EISCAT ionospheric radar from 1987 to 1994 using the –full profile method which allows to solve the –temperature-composition ambiguity problem in the lower F region. The program of data analysis was developed in the CEPHAG in 1995–1996. To improve this program, we implemented another analytical function to model the ion composition profile. This new function better reflects the real profile of the composition. Secondly, we chose the best method to select the initial conditions for the –full profile procedure. A statistical analysis of the results was made to obtain the averages of various parameters: electron concentration and temperature, ion temperature, composition and bulk velocity. The aim is to obtain models of the parameter behaviour defining the ion composition profiles: z₅₀ (transition altitude between atomic and molecular ions) and dz (width of the profile), for various seasons and for high and low solar activities. These models are then compared to other models. To explain the principal features of parameters z₅₀ and dz, we made an analysis of the processes leading to composition changes and related them to production and electron density profile. A new experimental model of ion composition is now available.     

Comparison of Multimission Altimetric Sea-Surface Heights with Tide Gauge Observations in the Southern Baltic Sea

One possible technique to validate the observations of altimeter missions is the comparison with sea-surface heights measured by tide gauges. In our investigation, we compared observations of the two tide gauge stations, Sassnitz and Warnemünde, which are located at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, with sea-surface heights obtained from the altimeter missions Geosat, ERS-1, ERS-2, and TOPEX/Poseidon. For this purpose, the compared sea-surface heights were related to a common reference system and extrapolated to a common location. GPS observations, leveling data, regional geoid information, sea-surface topography, and postglacial rebound were included in the analysis. Considering the uncertainties of all model components, a more reliable estimation of the error budget (source, type, and magnitude of the errors) was performed. The obtained absolute altimeter biases are (-243 - 32) mm for Geosat, (467 - 19) mm for ERS-1, (76 - 19) mm for ERS-2, and (13 - 18) mm for TOPEX.     

Wide field X-ray monitor on board the High Energy Transient Experiment (HETE)

The High-Energy Transient Experiment (HETE) is designed for the multiwavelengths study of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) in UV, X-ray and gamma-ray range with three scientific instruments. The X-ray instrument, Wide-field X-ray Monitor (WXM), consists of four units of one-dimensional position sensitive gas proportional counters and two perpendicularly oriented one-dimensional coded apertures. The WXM has a wide FOV of 1.5 steradian together with the capability to locate GRBs with 10 arcmin accuracy, and covers photon energies of 2 to 25 keV with an energy resolution of typically 18 % at 6 keV, measuring wide band spectra together with the gamma-ray spectrometer (FREGATE). The coded X-ray image will be deconvolved on board and the GRB location will be provided to the UV camera within 1 sec . GRB locations will also be broadcast in real time to ground-based observers for follow-up observations.     

HEIFE辐射仪器的标定及资料精度分析

本文对HEIFE期间中方3站所用的辐射仪器在试验前和试验中所进行的各次标定结果以及观测资料的精度进行了较详细的分析。结果表明在HEIFE中所使用的辐射仪器性能稳定，所取得的观测资料接近或达到了国际上太阳辐射野外观测的精度要求。文中还对所取得的红外辐射资料的订正进行了讨论。     

Analysis of RHESSI Flares Using aRadio Astronomical Technique

We have used Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) modulation profiles in the 25 – 300 keV range to construct high-fidelity visibilities of 25 flares having at least two components. These hard X-ray visibilities, which are mathematically identical to the visibilities of radio imaging, were input to software developed for mapping solar flares in the microwave domain using the Maximum Entropy Method (MEM). We compared and contrasted the MEM maps with Clean and Pixon maps made with RHESSI software. In particular, we assessed the reliability of the maps and their morphologies for future investigations of the symmetry of bipolar electron beaming in the sample set.     

Interhemispheric observations of field line resonance frequencies as a continuous function of ground latitude in the auroral zones

In the austral summer of 2006–2007, the 48th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-48) installed two unmanned low-power magnetometers to form a closely spaced magnetometer network in combination with the permanent sites at Japan's Syowa Station in Antarctica. To identify field line resonances (FLRs), gradient methods are applied to the data from three adjacent sites in Antarctica and data from conjugate points in Antarctica and Iceland. By analyzing the data from the Antarctic and Icelandic sites individually, the structure of FLRs with high coherence is clearly identified. However, by analyzing the data from closely spaced Antarctic sites, it is more difficult to identify the signature of FLRs because of the inclusion of multiple signals related to the local geomagnetic pulsations over a broad frequency range. The frequency and resonance width of FLRs are determined by applying the amplitude phase gradient method (APGM) to the data from Antarctic sites. This yields the eigenfrequency as a continuous function of ground latitudes in the area surrounding Syowa Station. The mass density in the equatorial region at the L of the auroral zones is estimated from the obtained FLR frequency by numerically solving the standing Alfvén wave equation. The mass density thus obtained is consistent with observational results from previous in situ measurements by spacecraft. The results of the present study demonstrate that data from geomagnetic conjugate points are helpful in identifying FLR in cases in which the magnetometers are too close to each other to enable identification. Once FLR is identified, APGM can be applied to the identified FLR, yielding the FLR frequency as a continuous function of ground latitudes. Therefore, the magnetospheric equatorial mass density is readily estimated with high spatial resolution.