JULIA radar studies of electric fields in the equatorial electrojet

Abstract

First results from the JULIA radar at Jicamarca are presented. These include coherent scatter observations of the equatorial electrojet and of 150-km echoes. Interferometry is used to measure the zonal drift rate of kilometer scale waves in the electrojet as functions of altitude. A technique for estimating the background zonal electric field from the interferometry data is described. The electric field estimates can be calibrated against the Doppler speed of the 150-km echoes when the latter are present. The kilometer-scale wave drifts sometimes exhibit large-amplitude, periodic height variations with vertical wavelengths of about 10 km. These signatures are reminiscent of the wind profiles measured with chemical release techniques in the lower thermosphere during the Guará campaign. Copyright 1997 by the American Geophysical Union.