Upper Atmosphere Research in Antarctica

270 Pages·1978·10.48 MB·English

ANTARCTIC
Volume 29 RESEARCH
SERIES
Upper Atmosphere Researchi n Antarctica
L. J. Lanzerotti and C. G. Park, Editors
ANTARCTIC
Volume 29 RESEARCH
SERIES
UPPER ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH IN ANTARCTICA
L. J. LANZEROTTAI ND C. G. PARK, Editors
Copyright ¸ 1978 by the American Geophysical Union
1909 K Street, N.W.
Washington,D . C. 20006
Library of CongressC atalogingi n PublicationD ata
Upper atmospherer esearchi n Antarctica.
(Antarctic researchs eries;v . 29)
Includes bibliographies.
1. Geophysicalr esearch-Antarctic regions.
2. Atmosphere,U pper- Research- Antarctic regions.
I. Lanzerotti, Louis J. II. Park, C. G.
III. Series:A merican GeophysicaUl nion. Antarctic researchs eries;v . 29.
QC807.6.A55U66 551.5' 14'09989 77-20960
ISBN 0-87590-141-7
Publishedb y the
AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
With the aid of a grant from the
National Science Foundation
Printed by
WAVERLYP RESS,I NC.
Baltimore, Maryland
THE ANTARCTIC RESEARCH SERIES
The Antarctic ResearchS eries is a medium for authoritative reports on the ex-
tensives cientificr esearchb eing done in Antarctica. The seriesh as elicited contri-
butionsf rom leading scientistsi;t seekst o maintain high scientifica nd publication
standards.T he scientifice ditor for each volume is chosenf rom among recognized
authorities in the disciplineo r theme that it represents,a s are the reviewers on
whom the editor relies for advice.
Researchr esultsa ppearingi n this seriesa re original contributionst oo long or
otherwise inappropriate for publication in standard journals. The material is
directed to specialistsa ctivelye ngagedi n the work, to graduates tudents,t o scien-
tists in closelyr elated fields, and to laymenv ersedi n the environmentals ciences.
Some volumesc omprisea singlem onograph.O thers are collectionso f papersw ith
a common theme.
In a sense, the series continues a tradition dating from the earliest scientific
expeditions: expeditionary volumes that set forth everything that was seen and
studied. This tradition is not necessarilyo utmoded, but thesed ays, one expedition
blendsi nto the next, and it is no longerm eaningfult o separatet hem. Nevertheless,
antarcticr esearchh as coherence,a nd it deservesa modern counterparto f the ear-
lier expeditionarvyo lumesT. he AntarcticR esearchS eriesi s sucha counterpart.
Aided by a grant from the National ScienceF oundation in 1962, the American
GeophysicalU nion begant he Antarctic ResearchS eriesa nd appointedt he Board
of AssociateE ditors. Supplementagl rantsr eceivedi n subsequenyt earsa nd income
from salesh ave enabledt he seriest o continue.T he responseo f the scientificc om-
munity and the favorable commentso f reviewers causet he board to look forward
with optimism to continuings uccess.
To represent the broad scientific nature of the series, board members are chosen
from all fields of antarcticr esearcha nd are rotated regularly. The current board
includesA lbert P. Crary, Chairman, Charles R. Bentley, Avery A. Drake, Jr.,
Robert H. Eather, Louis S. Kornicker, Worth D. Nowlin, Jr., and Bruce Parker.
Fred G. Alberts, Secretaryt o the U.S. Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names,
givesv aluable assistancien verifying place names,l ocations,a nd maps.
BOARD OF ASSOCIATE EDITORS
ANTARCTIC RESEARCH SERIES
iii
PREFACE
This is a secondv olume in the American GeophysicalU nion's notable serieso n
antarctic researcht hat is devoted to upper-atmospherer esearch.T he first volume,
Geomagnetisma nd Aeronomy, was publishedi n 1965 and was a collectiono f IGY-
related papers edited by A. H. Waynick.
The present volume consistso f seven technical papers sandwichedb etween an
introductionb y L. J. Lanzerotti and C. G. Park and a final chaptero n the early
history of upper-atmospherep hysicsr esearchi n Antarctica. This volume is timely,
first, because it describesp resent research activities and their much increased
sophisticationi n the last decade and, second,b ecauset he historical accountb rings
to light much important researchh itherto unpublished.
The entire collectiono f papers reveals the uniquenesso f Antarctica as a locale
for upper-atmospherer esearch. Indeed there is no aspecto f this researchw hich
does not demand for its completion data which can come only from Antarctica.
This volume not only illuminates the past and the present but points the way for
future research.
LAURENCE M. GOULD
Director of U.S. IGY Antarctic Program
Chairman, Committee on Polar Research,
National Academy of Sciences1 958-1972
Antarctic Research Series Upper Atmosphere Research in Antarctica Vol. 29
FOREWORD
This volume reviews the highlights of recent upper-atmosphere research in
Antarctica with emphasis on the results of the U.S. Antarctic Research Program
since about 1965. The nine chapters that comprise this volume were written by 12
authors who have long been associated with antarctic research. The authors were
asked by the editors to review recent research results and to bring into focus the
unique opportunities Antarctica offers in their fields of expertise. They were asked
to emphasize but not to limit their discussions to U.S. programs.
The National Science Foundation is the federal agency charged with overall re-
sponsibility for the U.S. programs in Antarctica. The U.S. authors acknowledge
the foundation's financial and logistics support of their programs. They also ac-
knowledge the logistics support provided by the U .S. Naval Support Force, Antarc-
tica, the U.S. Navy Antarctic Development Squadron Six, the U.S. Coast Guard,
the U.S. Air Force Military Airlift Command, and Holmes and Narver, Inc. The
British authors thank the British Antarctic Survey and the Natural Environment
Research Council for the support of their research activities.
The editors thank the Polar Information Service of the National Science Founda-
tion and the American Geophysical Union for assistance with the production of this
volume.
Copyright American Geophysical Union
CONTENTS
The Antarctic Research Series
Board of Associate Editors ...................................... iii
Preface
Laurence M. Gould ............................................
Foreword
L. J. Lanzerotti and C. G. Park .................................. vii
1. Introduction
L. J. Lanzerotti and C. G. Park ..................................
, Cosmic Rays
M. A. Pomerantz .............................................. 12
3. Energetic Particle Precipitation From the Magnetosphere
T. J. Rosenberga nd J. R. Barcus ................................ 42
4. Very Low Frequency Radio Waves in the Magnetosphere
C. G. Park and D. L. Carpenter ................................. 72
5. Controlled Wave-Particle Interaction Experiments
R. A. Helliwell and J. P. Katsufrakis ............................. 100
6. Studies of GeomagneticP ulsations
L. J. Lanzerotti ................................................ 130
_
7. Recent Progressi n Antarctic Auroral Studies
S.-I. Akasofu .................................................. 157
8. Antarctic Ionospheric Research
J. R. Dudeney and W. R. Piggott ................................ 200
9. Early History of Upper Atmospheric PhysicsR esearchi n Antarctica
C. Stewart Gillmor ............................................. 236
Glossary .......................................................... 263
Antarctic Research Series Upper Atmosphere Research in Antarctica Vol. 29
INTRODUCTION
L. J. LANZERO(cid:127)I
Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey0 7974
C. G. PARK
RadioscienceL aboratory, Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305
CONTENTS an outline as well as a brief description of certain
aspects of the present-day understanding of the
1. Earth's outer environment ......................... 1 magnetospherea nd ionosphere.F ollowing this will
2. Antarctic research locations ........................ 4 be a discussiono f some of the important reasonsf or
3. United States research stations ..................... 6 antarctic upper atmospherer esearch,p articularly in
4. Future of upper atmospherer esearchi n Antarctica ... 8
the context of the geomagnetic locations of the
stationsm aintained by the United States and other
A previous volume in the Antarctic Research
nations.
Series, Geomagnetisma nd Aeronomy [Waynick,
1965], was devoted to certain aspectso f United
1. EARTH'S OUTER ENVIRONMENT
States upper atmospherer esearcha ctivities in the
Antarctic. Since the publication of this book over a Early ionosphericre searchw ass tronglym otivated
decade ago, the level and sophistication of our by applicationsi n long-distancer adio communica-
understandingo f the upper atmosphere and space tion. The need for improved communicationh elped
environment surroundingt he earth, including the to accelerate the development and deployment of
influenceso f solar phenomenau pon the earth, have ionospherics ounders( ionosondes)a t a large num-
increased significantly. It is fitting therefore that ber of stationsa round the world for the purposeso f
this present volume describe and outline in some monitoringa nd forecastingp ropagationc onditions.
detail the current research activities in the Antarctic These stationsa lso providedv aluable scientificd ata
and how these activities are related to our present- for regional and global studieso f the ionosphere.
day overall understandingo f natural phenomena in Today ionosphericr esearchr emainsa s vital as ever
the spacea roundt he earth. Further, it is hoped that but with some shifts in emphasis.F or example, on
this present book will provide some insight into the practical side the development of alternative
future directions for antarctic research. communications ystemsh as greatly reduced the de-
It is appropriate to outline briefly the upper pendenceo n high-frequency(H F, 3-30 MHz) radio,
atmospherer esearcha ctivitiest hat were being con- which requires a reflecting ionosphere to reach
ducted in the Antarctic in the early 1960's and to distant receivers. In the case of satellite communi-
place this researchi n the contexto f our understand- cation systems,h owever, the ionosphere is still
ing of the outer reacheso f the earth'ss pacee nviron- important because it now representsa n obstacle
ment at that time. This introduction provides such between super-high-frequenc(yS HF, 3-30 GHz)
Copyright American Geophysical Union
2 Antarctic Research Series UPPEURp pAeTrM AOtmSPoHspEhReEr e RREeSsEeAaRrcChH i nI NA nAtaNrTctAicRaCTICA Vol. 29
satellite channels and ground stations. Small-scale pheric research in the mid-1970's has been aimed at
irregularities in the ionospherec an sometimesc ause the study of electrons and protons with energies
serious signal fading and has become an area of from a fraction of an electron volt (eV) to several
intensified research. keV (the energy interval of the magnetospheric
Scientifically, regular variations in the ionosphere plasma that containst he bulk of the particle energy
under the influence of solar radiation, chemical density) and the physicale ffectst hat result from the
reactions, and diffusion are reasonably well under- existence of these charged particles in the magnet-
stood. New challengesa nd opportunities lie in un- ized space. In the mid-1960's the existenceo f these
derstanding the anomalous behavior of the iono- energetic plasma particles was only beginning to be
sphere in terms of the dynamicso f the upper atmo- measured, and the overall distributions were very
sphere as a whole. The ionosphere is a weakly incompletely known. Spacecraft particle detectors
ionized plasma (about 1% ionized at peak electron [Gringauz et al., 1960] had revealed evidenceo f a
density) and responds strongly to wind, tempera- plasma 'void' in the outer magnetosphere.G round-
ture, and composition changesi n the neutral atmo- based whistler measurements [Carpenter, 1962,
sphere. Thus radio probing of the ionosphere can 1963] had identified the location of the important
greatly aid studieso f the neutral atmosphere,w hich plasma boundary, now called the plasmapause,t hat
is difficult to observe directly. Dynamical processes marks the inner edge of the void. However, little
in the magnetospheret ransmit their effects to the was known about the dynamical behavior of this
underlying ionosphere through the geomagnetic boundary and its importance in many magnetos-
field, which guidest he flow of particles and energy pheric and ionosphericp rocesses.
and serves as an efficient transmission line for elec- Even though the early measurements were lim-
tric fields. The ionosphere can be likened to a ited, the theoretical understandingo f the plasma in
projection screen that directly or indirectly reveals the magnetospherew as neverthelessb eing greatly
signatureso f complexe lectrodynamicp rocessesth at influenced at that time, as it is today, by a number
occur in the huge volume of distant space. In recent of fundamentalp apers. These include (1) the work
years, one of the main goals in upper atmosphere of Alfvdn [1942, 1950] on the existenceo f a type of
physics has been to relate the various ionospheric wave (hydromagnetic waves) that can exist in a
features to their counterpartsi n the magnetosphere. highly conducting plasma in a magnetic field (a
Ground-based ionosondes can probe the iono- magnetoplasma)a nd the applicationo f this concept
sphere only up to the altitude of maximum electron to the earth's outer 'envelope' by Dungey [1954],
density (typically about 300 km). With the advent (2) the work of Storey [1953] on the productionb y
of the space age it became possiblet o explore the lightning of certain types of very low frequency
topside ionosphere by using satellite-borne instru- (VLF) electromagnetics ignalsc alled 'whistlers,'( 3)
ments and to measure the total ionosphere density the discussionbs y Dungey [1961] on the possibility
by using satellite radio beacons.T he use of satellite- of the interconnectiono f magnetosphericm agnetic
based ionospheric probing techniques, combined field lines and interplanetary magnetic field lines,
with parallel advances in magnetosphericp hysics, and (4) the work of Axford and Hines [1961] on
made ionosphere-magnetospherec oupling a very the possible convection of magnetosphericp lasma
important area of study. (motion of the plasma acrossm agneticf ield lines)
The emphasiso f much magnetosphericr esearch produced through the viscousf low of the solar wind
in the 1960's, particularly that conductedo n space- around the magnetosphereb oundary.
craft, was on the characterization of the protons The International Geophysical Year (IGY) in
and electrons with energies of a few hundred to 1957-1958 provided the first opportunityf or exten-
several thousand kiloelectron volts (keV) that are sive continuous measurementso f the upper atmo-
trapped in the earth's magneticf ield (the 'radiation sphere conditions over Antarctica. Some of the
belt' particles that comprise the high-energy 'tail' of results based on the antarctic IGY data were sum-
the magnetosphericp lasma distribution). Substan- marized in the previousv olume, Geornagnetisrann d
tial emphasis remained on radiation belt research Aeronorny. Two chaptersi n this volume were de-
for the next several years (see, for example, Mc- voted to analyseso f geomagneticd isturbancei ndices
Corrnac [1966]). The originso f someo f the highest- as derived from magnetometer data acquired at
energy electrons, and perhaps even protons, found various antarctic stations [Rourke, 1965a, b]. The
trapped in the earth's field still remain somewhat of study of these indices provided extensive data that
an enigma. Nevertheless, the thrust of magnetos- significantlys upplementedt he work of Vestinea nd
Copyright American Geophysical Union
Antarctic Research Series Upper Atmosphere Research in Antarctica Vol. 29
LANZEROTTI AND PARK: INTRODUCTION 3
Snyder [1945], who had initially made estimateso f tirely motivated by the desire to interrelate ground-
the location of the southern auroral zone from much based observationst o the geophysicalp henomena
more limited setso f data. The variations in geomag- throughout the magnetosphere.T he unique loca-
netic activity at polar stations continue to receive tions of several antarctic stations are utilized for
considerable attention today, particularly because obtaining data about the magnetospherea nd inter-
of the discoveryt hat these variations are apparently planetary spacet hat could not readily be obtained
stronglyi nfluencedb y the direction of the interplan- in any other way.
etary magnetic field [e.g., Mansurov, 1969; Sval- A contemporaryv iew of the magnetospherei s
gaard, 1973]. shown in Figure 1.1. The earth with its magnetic
Other chaptersw ere devoted to studies of iono- field carves a huge cavity in the solar wind (an
spheric conditions in the Antarctic, largely deter- ionizedg asw ith protonso f about 1-keV energya nd
mined on a statisticalb asis.S ato [1965a] reported a electrons of a few hundred electron volts energy)
detailed examination of ionosphericd isturbancesa t continuallyf lowing radially away from the sun with
altitudes of approximately 300 km (the F2 region) an averagev elocityo f approximately4 00 km/s. The
during geomagnetics torms. We now know that the tail of the magnetosphere,p roduced by the solar
F2 region is intimately involved in plasma exchange wind interaction with the earth's field, has been
processesb etween the ionosphere and the magne- observedt o extend as far as 1000 earth radii (Re)
tosphere and also supplies the plasma that escapes beyond the earth. The solar wind provides the
from the earth along magnetic field lines in the driving energy sourcef or magnetosphericp rocesses.
polar regions. Ionospheric storm effects continue to Solar cosmicr ays,e mittedd urings olars torm( flare)
be areas of active research at all latitudes using events, are measured in the polar regions and can
both ground-baseda nd satellite techniques. provide informationo n the degree of interconnec-
Although small-amplitude( few parts in ten thou- tion of the interplanetarym agneticf ield, embedded
sand) variations of the earth's magnetic field have in the solar wind, to the earth's magnetic field.
been known to exist since the latter part of the 19th Inside the magnetosphericc avity is a complex
century, it is quite valid to say that the IGY enabled environment of electromagnetic and electrostatic
the investigationo f this phenomenon to be placed waves( coveringa frequencyr angef rom a few tenths
on a much firmer footing [Troitskaya, 1964]. The of a millihertz to many megahertz) and plasmas
morphology of the distribution of long-period mag- with particle energiesr anging from a few electron
netic field oscillations measured in Antarctica was volts to many MeV. Although even at this time the
discussedin a chapter of Geomagnetisma nd A eron- distributions(a nd especiallyth e time dependencies)
omy by Sato [1965b] in terms of the theory of of the wavesa nd plasmasa re not completelyu nder-
hydromagnetic waves in the magnetosphere.T his stood, it is clear that there are several important
theory was just beginning to be applied to such boundaries across which the distributions of waves
variations [Obayashi and Jacobs, 1958; Sugiura, and particlesc hangea bruptly.
1961], even though such a possibility had been The magnetopause( the outer boundary of the
proposeda s early as 1954 [Dungey, 1954].
As was noted above, several areas of interest in
PLASMA MANTLE
antarctic upper atmosphericr esearch in 1965 are PLASMA SHEET
PLASMA' , ........../. ...................
still active and important researcha reas today. For PUA$ (cid:127)
...(cid:127)..:.(cid:127).. .....i !(cid:127)(cid:127)i.:(cid:127).(cid:127) . .... ::i(cid:127)i(cid:127)i!?...:.(cid:127).i.(cid:127) .:.:::::(cid:127)'i:(cid:127) -."...."..(cid:127).i..(cid:127)-.!.:(cid:127).:.:(cid:127) (cid:127): (cid:127)!(cid:127)::::.'.:.".: -.'-'(cid:127)
example,a speciali ssueo f the Journalo f the Frank-
MAG
lin Institute in 1970 was devoted to topics in upper
atmosphere geophysicals tudies in both polar cap
VAAN ,.(cid:127) (cid:127):.2:..';(cid:127):::
regions. In addition to discussings everal of the
BELTS
researcha reasc overedi n Geomagnetisma nd Aeron-
omy the speciali ssueo f the jou?nala lsoc ontained
articles on cosmic ray research that illustrated the
unique location of the polar regionsf or these inves-
tigations.
In contrast to the somewhat limited geophysical HEr(cid:127) TH -(cid:127)::(cid:127)'(cid:127)
view of antarctic research that existed more than a
decade ago the upper atmosphere research now BOW SHOCK
being conductedi n the Antarctic is essentiallye n- Fig. 1.1. The earth's magnetosphere.
Copyright American Geophysical Union
Antarctic Research Series Upper Atmosphere Research in Antarctica Vol. 29
4 UPPER ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH IN ANTARCTICA
magnetosphere)a nd the collisionlesss hock wave, changesi n the physical phenomena connected with
standing upstream from the magnetopause,a re lo- the boundary. In situ measurementsi n the magne-
cales for energy transfer from the solar wind into tosphere and sophisticatedg round-basedm easure-
the magnetosphere. Other boundaries associated ments are complementary to one another. Each
with the solar wind interaction are the high-latitude type of measurementr equires the other in order to
cusp regions on the dayside of the magnetosphere best elucidate and unravel the spatial and temporal
and the plasma mantle, a region of plasma flow changesi n the complex magnetosphericp lasma en-
located near the boundary of the magnetotail. Other vironment.
important boundarieso f the magnetospherein clude Figure 2.1 shows the locations of major year-
the plasma sheet in the center of the magnetotail round stations in Antarctica that have contributed
region separating the oppositely directed geomag- significantly to upper atmosphere research during
netic field lines and the more or less well defined the past decade or so. The observational programs
inner and outer radiation belts deep within the at these stations are summarized in Table 2.1. The
magnetosphere.P erhaps one of the most important map in Figure 2.1 showst hat most of these stations
boundaries in the inner magnetospherei s the plas- are located on the antarctic coast. This largely arises
mapause, where the low-energy plasma density from logistical considerations;t he inland stations
drops abruptly from typical values of ---100 elec- must be resupplied by air (in the case of U.S.
trons/cma to a few electronsp er cubic centimeter in stations) or by air and overland traverses( in the
radial distancess mall in comparisont o 1 R(cid:127). case of the USSR station at Vostok).
The plasma boundaries in the magnetosphere In addition to the stations listed in Table 2.1,
have received considerable attention because such Campbell Island (New Zealand), Macquarie Island
spatial boundariesa re regions where plasma insta- (Australia), and Ile Kerguelen (France) in the ant-
bilities can be expected to occur. Physical processes arctic waters have made significantr esearchc ontri-
associatedw ith several of these boundaries( such as butions through numerous ground-based, balloon,
the cuspr egion and the plasmapause)c an be moni- and rocket programs (see Table 2.1 and Figure
tored by ground-based instruments for extended 2.1a of Chapter 8 for the locationso f theses tations).
periods of time. The inner edge of the plasma sheet More detailed information about international activ-
appears to map into a region of 'diffuse' auroral ities in Antarctica can be found in the Scientific
emissionso n the low-latitude side of the nighttime Committee on Antarctic Research Bulletin pub-
auroral oval. (The auroral oval is the instantaneous lished by the Scott Polar ResearchI nstitute in Cam-
global location of auroral activity, whereas the au- bridge, England, and by the Instituto Antarctico
roral zone is the locus of the midnight position of Argentino in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
auroral activity and correspondsa pproximately to a The central importance of many antarctic upper
circle at 67ø geomagneticl atitude.) Photographso f atmospherer esearch stations can be illustrated by
the aurora taken by optical scanningi nstrumentso n mappingt he auroral oval and plasmapausere gions
satellitesa ppear to show that the nightside auroral to the ground, as illustrated in Figure 2.2. In this
oval merges continuously into the dayside aurora, figure, selecteda ntarctic stationsa re shownr elative
the location of which is determined by the cusp. to these regions at four different universal times.
The location of the auroral oval over Antarctica
2. ANTARCTIC RESEARCH LOCATIONS
showsc learly that not only can nightsidea urora be
A principal rationale for much of the present studied by properly sited stations such as Syowa
upper atmosphere research in Antarctica can be and Byrd, but also dayside aurora can be investi-
related to the mapping of several of the magneto- gated on an essentially continuous basis at the
sphericb oundariess hown in Figure 1.1 to the iono- Amundsen-Scott South Pole station. In fact, no-
sphere and to the ground along geomagneticf ield where else in the world is it possible to monitor
lines. These boundaries are quite dynamic, and dayside auroral phenomena through many months
ground measurementsp lay an extremely important of continuousd arkness( see Chapter 7).
role in the study of their spatial and temporal There is a large displacemenot f the magneticd ip
behavior. The passaget hrough a boundary region pole (where the magnetic field is perpendiculart o
by a single spacecraft( or even dual spacecrafta s the earth's surface) relative to the geographicp ole
are planned for the International Sun-Earth Ex- in the southernh emisphere,t he dip pole lying near
plorer missionsin late 1977) is insufficientt o distin- the Hobbs Coast. This fact has been especially
guish completely between temporal and spatial important for antarctici onospherer esearcha nd for
Copyright American Geophysical Union