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Lunar tides in the E-region Kennelly-Heaviside layer

University of British Columbia

A number of Investigators have conducted research on the earth's atmosphere. Among them have been Laplace, Lord Kelvin and Simpson, who were interested, primarily, in pressure variations in the atmosphere; Pekeris and G. I. Taylor, who were Interested in the mechanism of atmospheric resonances; and Balfour-Stewart, Chapman, and Appleton and Weekes, who were interested in upper-atmosphere research. However, all these investigators had one idea in common; they sought to establish the presence of lunar and solar effects upon the earth's atmosphere. Even after the work which has been done on lunar tides in the E-region of the Kennelly-Heaviside layer by Appleton and Weekes and other investigators, there are still questions which remain unanswered on this subject. A description is given of an investigation performed at The University of British Columbia to determine the magnitude of a lunar tide in the E-region of the Kennelly-Heaviside layer. Details are Included of design considerations for a pulse-type communications receiver to operate in the 0.5 to 30 mc/s. band. The main differences between the unit discussed and a standard communications receiver lie in the band-pass, or selectivity characteristics and in the receiver recovery time after shock excitation by very strong radio frequency fields. Also included are details of the transmitting units, the antenna, and the calibration display unit used in the Investigation. Analysis of the data gathered during the investigation showed that there was no tide in the Kennelly-Heaviside layer Region-E of the magnitude or phase of that found by Appleton and Weekes in 1939. An analysis of the data gathered for the lunar tides Investigations produces strong evidence of daytime D-layer ionization between heights of 50 and 85 kilometers. This evidence is discussed and fields for future research are suggested. Comparisons are made between the results of Chapman's analysis of the lunar pressure oscillations at ground level and the accumulated data from the ionospheric lunar tide investigation of Appleton and Weekes and those from this investigation. The data derived from these widely differing sources are shown to be completely compatible.

Text

2012-02-23

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/40845

Electrical and Computer Engineering

University of British Columbia

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