The single-polynomial method for ionogram analysis is adapted to give a least-squares procedure in which the number of scaled virtual heights is greater than the number of terms in the real-height polynomial. The general principles are described in detail and the procedure is applied to the valley problem in bottomside ionogram analysis. It is shown that only a single parameter, the integrated valley ionisation, is obtainable from typical ionograms. The least-squares technique is then applied to the problem of topside ionogram analysis where the facility for using any mixture of ordinary and extraordinary ray virtual depth data is very useful. The method is shown to offer many advantages over the more traditional methods. The effects of horizontal ionisation gradients on bottomside and topside ionograms are extensively investigated by a new technique for synthesising ionograms corresponding to a given model of a moving disturbance in the ionosphere. A number of interesting and important ionogram characteristics are identified and explained. Finally, the specific problem of a large disturbance seen on total electron content records during summer nights is briefly re-examined using topside ionogram data. It is suggested that the disturbance is not primarily a topside phenomenon as originally supposed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/275228 |
| Date | January 1975 |
| Creators | Lobb, R. J. (Richard J.) |
| Publisher | ResearchSpace@Auckland |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated., http://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm, Copyright: The author |
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