100 days of ELF/VLF generation via HF heating with HAARP

نویسندگان

  • M. B. Cohen
  • M. Gołkowski
چکیده

[1] Extremely low frequency/very low frequency (ELF/VLF) radio waves are difficult to generate with conventional antennas. Ionospheric high frequency (HF) heating facilities generate ELF/VLF waves via modulated heating of the lower ionosphere. HF heating of the ionosphere changes the lower ionospheric conductivity, which in the presence of natural currents such as the auroral electrojet creates an antenna in the sky when heating is modulated at ELF/VLF frequencies. We present a summary of nearly 100 days of ELF/VLF wave generation experiments at the 3.6 MW High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) facility near Gakona, Alaska, at a variety of ELF/VLF frequencies, seasons, and times of day. We present comprehensive statistics of generated ELF/VLF magnetic fields observed at a nearby site, in the 500–3500 Hz band. Transmissions with a specific HF beam configuration (3.25 MHz, vertical beam, amplitude modulation) are isolated so the data comparison is self-consistent, across nearly 5 million individual measurements of either a tone or a piece of a frequency-time ramp. There is a minimum in the average generation close to local midnight. It is found that generation during local nighttime is on average weaker but more highly variable, with a small number of very strong generation periods. Signal amplitudes from day to day may vary by as much as 20–30 dB. Generation strengthens by 5 dB during the first 30 min of transmission, which may be a signature of slow electron density changes from sustained HF heating. Theoretical calculations are made to relate the amplitude observed to the power injected into the waveguide and reaching 250 km. The median power generated by HAARP and injected into the waveguide is 0.05–0.1 W in this baseline configuration (vertical beam, 3.25 MHz, amplitude modulation) but may have generated hundreds of watts for brief durations. Several efficiency improvements have improved the ELF/VLF wave generation efficiency further.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

On the generation of ELF/VLF waves for long‐distance propagation via steerable HF heating of the lower ionosphere

[1] ELF/VLF radio waves (300 Hz to 30 kHz) have been successfully generated via modulated HF (3–10 MHz) heating of the lower ionosphere in the presence of natural currents, most recently with the HAARP facility in Alaska. Generation is possible via amplitude modulation or via two techniques involving motion of the HF beam during the ELF/VLF cycle, known as beam painting and geometric modulation...

متن کامل

HF beam parameters in ELF/VLF wave generation via modulated heating of the ionosphere

[1] ELF/VLF (0.3–30 kHz) wave generation is achievable via modulated HF (3–30 MHz) heating of the lower ionosphere in the presence of natural currents such as the auroral electrojet. Using the 3.6 MWHigh Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) facility near Gakona, AK, we investigate the effect of HF frequency and beam size on the generated ELF/VLF amplitudes, as a function of modulat...

متن کامل

Geometric modulation: A new, more effective method of steerable ELF/VLF wave generation with continuous HF heating of the lower ionosphere

ELF/VLF waves can be generated via amplitude modulated HF heating of the auroral electrojet, which turns a patch of ionospheric currents into a radiating antenna. A new, more powerful technique, termed `geometric modulation', involves scanning the HF beam in geometric patterns with no power modulation. Utilizing results obtained from the HAARP facility, we show that geometric modulation enhance...

متن کامل

Analysis of time‐of‐arrival observations performed during ELF/VLF wave generation experiments at HAARP

[1] Modulated high frequency (HF) heating of the lower ionosphere in the presence of auroral electrojet currents has become an important method for generating electromagnetic waves in the extremely‐low frequency (ELF) and very‐low frequency (VLF) bands. Recent research efforts focus on improving the efficiency of ELF/VLF wave generation. One method to do so involves the spatial mapping of modul...

متن کامل

Observations of amplitude saturation in ELF/VLF wave generation by modulated HF heating of the auroral electrojet

[1] We present detailed observations of the onset of amplitude saturation in ELF/VLF waves generated via modulated HF heating of naturally-forming, large-scale current systems, such as the auroral electrojet. Broadband ELF/VLF measurements at a ground-based receiver located near the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) HF transmitter in Gakona, Alaska, exhibit variations in si...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره   شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2013