August 24, 2012, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

August 24, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Observations of Ionospheric and Plasmaspheric Disturbances with Radio-frequency Interferometers

Joseph Helmboldt, NRL

To produce images of cosmic sources, radio-frequency interferometric telescopes must contend with the negative impact of Earth's ionosphere, especially within the VHF regime. Consequently, robust techniques have been developed to correct for the effects of the ionosphere. I will present the results of recent efforts to adapt these techniques to study ionospheric disturbances. Using spectral analysis techniques, once can use observations of cosmic sources made with such an interferometer to study a variety of irregularities ranging from turbulence to traveling ionospheric disturbances to field-aligned plasmaspheric density fluctuations. Current results and plans for the future using archival and new data from existing telescopes as well as low-frequency radio telescopes currently under development are also discussed.