No description available.

[pt] A ionosfera de baixas latitudes tem características que poderiam causar problemas à operação do GPS/SBAS. Entre elas se encontra a anomalia equatorial, cuja densidade eletrônica pode apresentar intensos gradientes horizontais (e, portanto, no índice de refração do meio). Estes gradientes podem ser intensos o suficiente para introduzir erros nas previsões resultantes do GPS/SBAS. Para avaliar este problema, foi desenvolvido um programa de simulação em computador que integra modelos para: (i) a previsão das posições dos satélites da constelação GPS; (ii) a evolução temporal e espacial da densidade eletrônica da ionosfera equatorial; e (iii) uma rede de estações de referência de posições fornecidas para analisar os efeitos da anomalia equatorial sobre os erros causados pela ionosfera nos sinais dos satélites GPS recebidos pelas estações. Em cada passo da simulação, diversos procedimentos são realizados. Estes procedimentos são repetidos um grande número de vezes e, ao final da simulação, estatísticas dos erros são apresentadas. Este programa de simulação em computador foi utilizado para analisar a influência do número de estações de referência, assim como de suas localizações, nos erros de posicionamento de aeronaves. / [en] The low-latitude ionosphere has some features that could cause problems even to the joint GPS/SBAS operation. Among them, one finds the equatorial anomaly, whose electronic density - and thus its refractive index - can present intense horizontal gradients. These gradients can be intense enough to induce errors in the predictions by the GPS/SBAS. To analyze this problem, a computer simulation program has been developed. This program integrates models for: (i) forecasting the satellite orbital positions of the GPS constellation; (ii) the temporal and spatial evolution of the electronic density of the low-latitude ionosphere; and (iii) a given network of reference stations to analyze the effects of the equatorial anomaly on the GPS satellite signals received by the stations and users. In each step of the simulation, several procedures are performed. These procedures are repeated several times and, at the end of the simulation, error statistics are presented. This computer simulation program has been used to analyze the influence of the equatorial anomaly and of the number and layout of reference stations upon the errors in aircraft positions provided by the GPS/SBAS.

Ionospheric scintillation is a phenomenon caused by varying concentrations of charged particles in the upper atmosphere that induces deep fades and rapid phase rotations in satellite signals, including GPS. During periods of scintillation, carrier tracking loops often lose lock on the signal because the rapid phase rotations generate cycle slips in the PLL. One solution to mitigating this problem is by employing decision-directed carrier recovery algorithms that achieve data wipe-off using differential bit detection techniques. Other techniques involve PLLs with variable bandwidth and variable integration times. Since nearly 60% of the GPS signal repeats between frames, this thesis explores PLLs utilizing variable integration times and decision-directed algorithms that exploit the repeating data as a training sequence to aid in phase error estimation. Experiments conducted using a GPS signal generator, software radio, and MATLAB scintillation testbed compare the bit error rate of each of the receiver models. Training-based methods utilizing variable integration times show significant reductions in the likelihood of total loss of lock.

Les satellites en orbite terrestre se déplacent dans le plasma ionosphérique, un mélange de particules chargées, et éventuellement de particules neutres. Des électrons et des ions issus de ce plasma, ainsi que les émissions Ultra-Violets(UV) en provenance du soleil, interagissent avec les surfaces du satellite et modifient sa charge électrostatique. Cette chargement peut induire elle-même des décharges électrostatiques aux conséquences allant de perturbations électromagnétiques (fausses commandes par exemple) à la perte du satellite. En orbites de basse altitude (LEO) l'énergie cinétique et thermique du plasma est généralement faible et donc, les satellites vont rarement présenter des décharges importantes. Néanmoins, les missions scientifiques qui embarquent des instruments très performants et précis peuvent être affectées par cette interaction satellite-plasma-émissions UV. Cette thèse s'intéresse particulièrement à ces phénomènes de charge des structures externes du satellite et à l'impact de ce chargement sur les mesures scientifiques effectuées à bord, i.e. mesures du champ électrique et de la densité du plasma thermique. / Earth-orbiting satellites travel in ionospheric plasma, a mixture of charged particles, and possibly neutral particles. Electrons and ions from this plasma, as well as Ultra-Violet (UV) emissions from the sun, interact with the surfaces of the satellite and modify its electrostatic charge. This loading can itself induce electrostatic discharges to the consequences ranging from electromagnetic disturbances (false commands for example) to the loss of the satellite. In low-Earth orbits (LEO), the kinetic and thermal energy of the plasma is generally low and therefore satellites rarely exhibit large discharges. Nevertheless, scientific missions that carry high-performance and accurate instruments can be affected by this satellite-plasma-UV-emissions interaction. This thesis is particularly interested in these phenomena of charge of the external structures of the satellite and the impact of this load on the scientific measurements carried out on board, i.e. measures of the electric field and the density of the thermal plasma.

<p>This PhD thesis deals with phenomena which are closely related to the unique thermal structure of the polar summer mesosphere, namely Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes (PMSE). PMSE are strong radar echoes commonly observed by VHF MST radars from thin layers in the 80-90 km altitude interval at high latitudes during summer. They follow a seasonal pattern of abrupt appearance in late May and a gradual disappearance in mid-August. This period corresponds roughly to the time between the completion of the summer time cooling of the polar mesopause to the time of reversal of the mesospheric circulation to autumn condition. In this connection, PMSE are associated with the extremely low temperatures, i.e. below 140 K, which are unique to the polar summer mesopause. Traditional theories of radar (partial) reflection and scattering have been unable to explain the PMSE and the exact mechanism for their occurrence remains unclear despite the steadily increasing interest in them over the past 20 years. Currently accepted theories regarding the mechanism giving rise to PMSE agree that one of the conditions needed for enhanced radar echoes is the presence of low-mobility charge carries such as large cluster ions and ice aerosols which capture the ambient electrons. It has been established that the PMSE are in some way associated with noctilucent clouds (NLC), layers of ice crystals, which constitute the highest observed clouds in the earth’s atmosphere. PMSE occurrence and dynamics are also found to be closely connected with the planetary and gravity waves.</p><p>Observations of PMSE presented in this thesis have been carried out by the Esrange MST radar (ESRAD) located at Esrange (67°56’N, 21°04’E) just outside Kiruna in northernmost Sweden. The radar operates at 52 MHz with 72 kW peak power and a maximum duty cycle of 5%. The antenna consists of 12x12 array of 5-element Yagis with a 0.7l spacing. During the PMSE measurements the radar used a 16-bit complementary code having a baud length of 1mS. This corresponds to height resolution of 150 m. The sampling frequency was set at 1450 Hz. The covered height range was 80-90 km. The presence of PMSE was determined on the basis of the radar SNR (signal-to-noise ratio). The PMSE measurements have been made during May-August each year since 1997.</p><p>PMSE seasonal and diurnal occurrence rates as well as dynamics have been studied in connection with tidal winds, planetary waves, temperature and water vapor content in the mesosphere (Papers I, IV and VI). Simultaneous and common-volume observations of PMSE and noctilucent clouds have been performed by radar, lidar and CCD camera (Paper V). Correlation between variations in PMSE and variations in extra ionization added by precipitating energetic electrons or high-energy particles from the Sun has been examined (Papers II and III). Possible influence of transport effects due to the electric field on PMSE appearance has been studied during a solar proton event (Paper III).</p>

This PhD thesis deals with phenomena which are closely related to the unique thermal structure of the polar summer mesosphere, namely Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes (PMSE). PMSE are strong radar echoes commonly observed by VHF MST radars from thin layers in the 80-90 km altitude interval at high latitudes during summer. They follow a seasonal pattern of abrupt appearance in late May and a gradual disappearance in mid-August. This period corresponds roughly to the time between the completion of the summer time cooling of the polar mesopause to the time of reversal of the mesospheric circulation to autumn condition. In this connection, PMSE are associated with the extremely low temperatures, i.e. below 140 K, which are unique to the polar summer mesopause. Traditional theories of radar (partial) reflection and scattering have been unable to explain the PMSE and the exact mechanism for their occurrence remains unclear despite the steadily increasing interest in them over the past 20 years. Currently accepted theories regarding the mechanism giving rise to PMSE agree that one of the conditions needed for enhanced radar echoes is the presence of low-mobility charge carries such as large cluster ions and ice aerosols which capture the ambient electrons. It has been established that the PMSE are in some way associated with noctilucent clouds (NLC), layers of ice crystals, which constitute the highest observed clouds in the earth’s atmosphere. PMSE occurrence and dynamics are also found to be closely connected with the planetary and gravity waves. Observations of PMSE presented in this thesis have been carried out by the Esrange MST radar (ESRAD) located at Esrange (67°56’N, 21°04’E) just outside Kiruna in northernmost Sweden. The radar operates at 52 MHz with 72 kW peak power and a maximum duty cycle of 5%. The antenna consists of 12x12 array of 5-element Yagis with a 0.7l spacing. During the PMSE measurements the radar used a 16-bit complementary code having a baud length of 1mS. This corresponds to height resolution of 150 m. The sampling frequency was set at 1450 Hz. The covered height range was 80-90 km. The presence of PMSE was determined on the basis of the radar SNR (signal-to-noise ratio). The PMSE measurements have been made during May-August each year since 1997. PMSE seasonal and diurnal occurrence rates as well as dynamics have been studied in connection with tidal winds, planetary waves, temperature and water vapor content in the mesosphere (Papers I, IV and VI). Simultaneous and common-volume observations of PMSE and noctilucent clouds have been performed by radar, lidar and CCD camera (Paper V). Correlation between variations in PMSE and variations in extra ionization added by precipitating energetic electrons or high-energy particles from the Sun has been examined (Papers II and III). Possible influence of transport effects due to the electric field on PMSE appearance has been studied during a solar proton event (Paper III).

This thesis has two major objectives. The first objective is to investigate the seasonal and diurnal variations in occurrence of HF coherent echoes. We assess F-region echo occurrence rates for the PolarDARN HF radars at Inuvik (INV) and Rankin Inlet (RKN) and the auroral zone SuperDARN radars at Saskatoon (SAS) and Prince George (PGR) for the period of 2007-2010. We show that the INV and RKN PolarDARN radars show comparable rates of echo occurrence all the time and they detect 1.5-2.5 times more echoes through ½-hop propagation mode (MLATs=80°-85°) than the SAS and PGR SuperDARN radars through 1½-hope propagation mode (MLATs=75°-80°). For all four radars, the winter occurrence rates are about ~2 times higher than the summer rates. For observations in the dusk, midnight and dawn sectors, equinoctial maxima are evident. The pattern of echo occurrence in terms of MLT/season is about the same for all radars with clear maxima near noon during winters and summers and enhanced (as compared to other time of the day) occurrence rates during equinoctial dusk and dawn hours. Additionally, to investigate the effect of solar cycle on occurrence of F-region echoes, we consider the near noon and near midnight echo occurrence rates for the Saskatoon radar over the period of 1994-2010. We show that there is a strong, by a factor of ~10, increase in SAS night-side echo occurrence towards solar maximum. The effect does not exist for the dayside echoes; moreover, a decrease in number of echoes, by a factor of ~2, was discovered for the declining phase of the solar cycle. The second objective is to evaluate the electron density and the electric field as factors controlling the occurrence of F-region echoes. We use observations of these two ionospheric parameters measured by CADI ionosonde and RKN observations of echo occurrence rates over Resolute Bay (MLAT=83°). We show that there is a correlation in changes of echo occurrence and electron density changes for 3 years of radar-ionosonde joint operation (2008-2010). The comparison of radar-ionosonde data shows that the enhanced echo occurrence at near noon hours during summer months correlate with the enhanced electric field during these periods.

In this thesis, the relationship between several high-latitude phenomena and the ionospheric conductance in both hemispheres is studied theoretically and experimentally. </p>Theoretically, the high-latitude electrodynamics is studied by considering currents in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system resulting from the ionospheric sheet current redistribution between the conjugate ionospheres. It is shown that strong flow between the conjugate ionospheres, the interhemispheric currents (IHC), can be set up if the conductance distribution is asymmetric in the conjugate ionospheric regions. Such conditions are typical for solstices owing to the differences in the solar illumination. Analytical and numerical modeling shows that IHCs can appear in the regions of strong conductance gradient, more specifically around the solar terminator line, and that the intensity of the IHCs can be comparable to the intensity of the well known Region 1/Region 2 currents. The effect of IHC excitation on observable magnetic perturbations on the ground is investigated. It is shown that in the vicinity of the solar terminator line, the pattern of magnetic perturbation can be such that an apparent equivalent current vortex can be detected. In addition, strong conductance gradients are shown to affect significantly the quality of the ionospheric plasma flow estimates from the ground-based magnetometer data. </p>Experimentally, the effect of the nightside ionospheric conductance on occurrence of substorms, global storm sudden commencement and radar auroras is investigated. To characterize substorm occurrence, new parameters, the derivatives of the classical AE and AO indices, are introduced. It is shown that the seasonal and diurnal variations of these parameters are controlled by the total nightside ionospheric conductance in the conjugate regions. The substorm onsets preferentially occur at low levels of the total conductance, which is consistent with the idea of the substorm triggering through the magnetosphere-ionosphere feedback instability. It is hypothesized that the total conductance affects the global storm onsets as well. To check this idea, the 33-year sudden storm commencement (SSC) data are considered. The semiannual, annual, semidiurnal, and diurnal variations in the SSC occurrence rate are found to be significant and these components exhibit a strong relationship with the total conductance of the high-latitude ionospheres. Finally, the SuperDARN midnight echo occurrence is shown to correlate, for some radars, with the total conductance minima and presumably with electric field maxima, which is consistent with general expectation that the F-region irregularities occur preferentially during times of enhanced electric fields. The gradients of the high-latitude conductance can also lead to significant errors in the plasma convection estimates from the ground-based magnetometers, and to investigate this effect a statistical assessment of the difference between the true plasma convection (SuperDARN) and the magnetometer-inferred equivalent convection direction is performed. The largest differences are found for the transition region between the dark and sunlit ionospheres and in the midnight sector where strong conductance gradients are expected due to particle precipitation. Consideration of regular conductance gradients due to solar illumination improves the agreement between the radar and magnetometer data. Finally, an attempt is made to demonstrate the effects of conductance upon the properties of traveling convection vortices (TCVs). Joint SuperDARN and magnetometer data reveal that there is resemblance between the magnetometer and radar inferred TCV images on a scale of thousands of kilometers. However, on a smaller scale of hundreds of kilometers, significant differences are observed.

In this thesis, the relationship between several high-latitude phenomena and the ionospheric conductance in both hemispheres is studied theoretically and experimentally. </p>Theoretically, the high-latitude electrodynamics is studied by considering currents in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system resulting from the ionospheric sheet current redistribution between the conjugate ionospheres. It is shown that strong flow between the conjugate ionospheres, the interhemispheric currents (IHC), can be set up if the conductance distribution is asymmetric in the conjugate ionospheric regions. Such conditions are typical for solstices owing to the differences in the solar illumination. Analytical and numerical modeling shows that IHCs can appear in the regions of strong conductance gradient, more specifically around the solar terminator line, and that the intensity of the IHCs can be comparable to the intensity of the well known Region 1/Region 2 currents. The effect of IHC excitation on observable magnetic perturbations on the ground is investigated. It is shown that in the vicinity of the solar terminator line, the pattern of magnetic perturbation can be such that an apparent equivalent current vortex can be detected. In addition, strong conductance gradients are shown to affect significantly the quality of the ionospheric plasma flow estimates from the ground-based magnetometer data. </p>Experimentally, the effect of the nightside ionospheric conductance on occurrence of substorms, global storm sudden commencement and radar auroras is investigated. To characterize substorm occurrence, new parameters, the derivatives of the classical AE and AO indices, are introduced. It is shown that the seasonal and diurnal variations of these parameters are controlled by the total nightside ionospheric conductance in the conjugate regions. The substorm onsets preferentially occur at low levels of the total conductance, which is consistent with the idea of the substorm triggering through the magnetosphere-ionosphere feedback instability. It is hypothesized that the total conductance affects the global storm onsets as well. To check this idea, the 33-year sudden storm commencement (SSC) data are considered. The semiannual, annual, semidiurnal, and diurnal variations in the SSC occurrence rate are found to be significant and these components exhibit a strong relationship with the total conductance of the high-latitude ionospheres. Finally, the SuperDARN midnight echo occurrence is shown to correlate, for some radars, with the total conductance minima and presumably with electric field maxima, which is consistent with general expectation that the F-region irregularities occur preferentially during times of enhanced electric fields. The gradients of the high-latitude conductance can also lead to significant errors in the plasma convection estimates from the ground-based magnetometers, and to investigate this effect a statistical assessment of the difference between the true plasma convection (SuperDARN) and the magnetometer-inferred equivalent convection direction is performed. The largest differences are found for the transition region between the dark and sunlit ionospheres and in the midnight sector where strong conductance gradients are expected due to particle precipitation. Consideration of regular conductance gradients due to solar illumination improves the agreement between the radar and magnetometer data. Finally, an attempt is made to demonstrate the effects of conductance upon the properties of traveling convection vortices (TCVs). Joint SuperDARN and magnetometer data reveal that there is resemblance between the magnetometer and radar inferred TCV images on a scale of thousands of kilometers. However, on a smaller scale of hundreds of kilometers, significant differences are observed.

High Frequency (3-30 MHz) (HF) Ionospheric Channel is used for military, civilian and amateur communications. By using Ionosphere, communication for distances beyond the line of sight is achieved. The main advantage of this type of communication is that it does not to require a satellite to communicate with a point beyond the line of sight. Actually the Ionosphere is used instead of a satellite. To use Ionosphere but not a satellite means independent communication for a country. The disadvantage of HF Ionospheric Communication is that the characteristics of the reflecting media (i.e. channel&rsquo / s transfer function) depends on many variables, e.g. sun spot number, hour of the day, season, solar cycles etc., so that mathematically modeling the channel is very difficult. Since military standards like STANAG 4538, STANAG 4285, STANAG 4415, MIL-STD-188-110A and MIL-STD-188-141A define the required performance of an HF modem in terms of Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Doppler Spread and Delay Spread according to desired conditions, a new approach to characterize the channel in terms of these three parameters is presented. In this thesis, HF Channel is considered as a system which involves various physical and chemical processes. A new method to characterize the HF channel to be used for modem performance evaluation is presented. In this study, it is aimed to relate modem/channel availability with the magnetic indices, which may be considered as the disturbances to the system. For this purpose the data taken from an HF communication experiment is used to model the channel to be used for modem availability calculations. The aim of the study is to asses the HF Channel Availability under Ionospheric Disturbances. This new technique will be a useful tool for HF Modem operators to select the optimum data rate or modulation method during HF Communication.