Transcript Document

SAS Radar Science Highlights
Outline:
– The equivalent talk last year presented one difficult scientific goal,
and then showed how improvements in our science program would allow
it to be achieved, involving staff, hardware, and techniques, or people,
tools, and ideas in current NSF language, and this year…..
– We discuss progress (results) in meeting this goal, and show how
our improving capabilities ‘spin-off’ into other projects.
– We look at staff and budget issues.
– We also discuss progress in meeting some of our challenges with our
aging hardware, in particular, the 430 MHz transmitter, and the digital
receiver, which will replace many old analog components .
– HF Facility: proposal will be withdrawn, resubmitted; talk later in day
– And finally describe the aeronomy and radar school from last summer.
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Staff Issues (SAS in general)
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SAS staff:Sixto, Mike, Craig, Nestor, Jose, Hein, Shikah, Ryan
Coming: Johannes, Paloma
NSF Funded users: John Mathews, John Noto, Xin Shao, Diego Janches,
Lara Waldrop
Students: Romina Nikoukar, Mike Nicolls
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Budget Issues
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EAS initiative moves to Jicamarca budget. (little practical significance)
FY 2006 will bring a small cut in the SAAS budget from NSF UAF.
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Our Goal: Routine Molecular ion
Measurements in the World Day
Periods
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Both ion and plasma line measurements required (Day time only technique)
New ion line technique with modern inverse technique
New amplitude codes for reducing statistical errors added by inversion
Optimization of these codes still under way
Coded long pulse technique for plasma line: computations on cluster
Simultaneous dual NLLS fitting technique after inversion of ion line
It must be all put together into a practical, standard technique.
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Plasma Line Measurement
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Measuring F1 region ion composition and temperatures with plasma line and
ion line data at Arecibo
Nestor Aponte, Michael P. Sulzer,
Romina Nikoukar, Michael J. Nicolls and
Sixto A. Gonzalez
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Combination of ion line and plasma line
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Arecibo April 3, 2004 at 14:52
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Spin-off Effects
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
The MIT Experiment
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Min Chang Lee and Students have been looking for the interaction of
guided whistler waves with the ionospheric plasma using a variety of
diaagnostics.
One of these is the ionospheric plasma line (enhanced, at night).
The availability of the coded long pulse experiment, recording raw data
for later analysis, has allowed a group of MIT undergraduates working
with Professor Lee to take data and AO analysis software back to MIT.
They have found a surprising night time E region plasma line associated
with sporadic E.
(I have repeated their analysis and see it also.)
This potential result requires careful verification, but the characteristics
of the CLP technique make “false” observations of this kind unlikely.
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Transmitter Discussion Points
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Although we have lost a significant amount of time in the last year due to
problems with the 430 MHz transmitter, most of these problems are
solved, or the solution is underway.
Limitation in average power due to high body current (since the new type
of Klystron was installed) have been solved with the correct magnet
current tuning procedure.
We have had some power monitoring problems. The upstairs power meter
now works correctly. The high voltage monitoring resistor tower has been
replaced, but this is probably not the permanent solution.
4-400A tubes in the modulator are checked and replaced more frequently;
they seem to be “life-time challenged”.
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
New Digital Receiver
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Plot of Ryan’s first power profile goes here with a disucssiom of the
status.
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005
Arecibo PARS Summer School
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Description and pictures
NAIC Visiting Committee Meeting
February 15-16, 2005