1. Science Focus and Justification: The objective of this
effort is to
better understand the occurrence of thin metallic layers (specifically
the
relationship between sudden neutral layers and thin ion layers, i.e.,
sporadic E) in the high-latitude, lower E region. This is of
interest,
because the metallic species can serve as "tracers" for the study of
ionospheric/thermospheric dynamics.
2. Measurements:
a. Rocket:
* metallic ion and neutral composition
* electric field (dc)
* neutral winds (not essential)
b. Ground-based:
(1) Sondrestrom ISR (selection of mode will depend on
the
number of rocket shots and the instrumentation onboard a given rocket
experiment)
(a) Mode 1 (dwell mode)
* height-resolved (600-m resolution)
electron density
(b) Mode 2 (scanning mode)
* height-resolved (600-m resolution)
electron density
* long-pulse observations of the F region
for determination of convection electric fields
(2) Sondrestrom resonant lidar
* height-resolved Na and/or Fe density (Fe
preferred)
3. Time Period:
a. Day/Season: mid-July through mid-August
b. Time of Day: 2300-0100 UT
c. Scheduling: Measurements at the same time of day
for several
consecutive days would be desirable in order to explore the variability
of
the "background" metallic ion and atom layers.
4. Conditions required: none