Comparing F region ionospheric irregularity observations from C/NOFS and Jicamarca

Observations of plasma density irregularities associated with equatorial spread F (ESF) have been made using the Jicamarca Radio Observatory and the Plasma Langmuir Probe (PLP) and Vector Electric Field Instrument (VEFI) instruments on the Communications Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite during a close spatio-temporal conjunction. The radar data resolution is of the order of 1 km and a few sec. in space and time, respectively. We find that coherent scatter intensifications at these scales are coincident and collocated with plasma density depletions as determined by C/NOFS. The Doppler shifts of the localized echoes are also comparable to the vertical components of the E x B plasma drifts. The strongest backscatter does not necessarily come from the deepest or most rapidly convecting depletions. This implies a complex relationship between coherent backscatter and the underlying state parameters in the ionospheric plasma. Citation: Hysell, D. L., R. B. Hedden, J. L. Chau, F. R. Galindo, P. A. Roddy, and R. F. Pfaff (2009), Comparing F region ionospheric irregularity observations from C/NOFS and Jicamarca, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L00C01, doi:10.1029/2009GL038983.