Coordinated digisonde and incoherent scatter radar F region drift measurements at Sondre Stromfjord

Comparison of drift measurements made at Sondre Stromfjord show that the apparent velocities measured by the digisonde (DGS) are in good agreement with the drift velocities observed by the collocated incoherent scatter radar (ISR). Data from December 5 to 9, 1991, show the mean DGS velocities to be within 50 m s−1 of the ISR velocities, that is, within the uncertainty levels of each instrument. The analysis highlights the dominance of the electric field in controlling the plasma motion. The measured velocities are generally height independent, as would be expected for an E field mapped along the magnetic field lines from high altitudes to ionospheric heights. In addition, the comparative analysis is used to study an ionospheric event where a large section of ionization was removed from the daytime cusp region by a strong anti-Sunward drift when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz component changed orientation.

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