Aircraft Induced Ionospheric Disturbances

Experiments were conducted to determine whether acoustic waves could propagate from the lower atmosphere into the ionosphere and be detected by hf radio waves. A supersonic aircraft was flown on a trajectory designed to focus the shock wave energy, generated over a long flight path, into a relatively small region of the daytime E-layer which was being probed by a phase path vertical sounder. Three series of tests, consisting of four flights each, were made. In each series, perturbations were found in the frequency spectrum of reflected radio waves that could be well correlated with the expected disturbance from aircraft-generated shock waves. (Author).

The major emphasis of this book is on physical mechanisms and sources of the ULF/ELF natural electromagnetic fields noises. In the course of this text, some of these mechanisms of magnetospheric origin will be treated in detail and others in a more sketchy fashion, while the global electromagnetic resonances excited by lightning activity and other sources are the priority. The interested reader is referred to the books cited in the text for details about the ULF/ELF fields of magnetospheric origin. Much emphasis is put on studies of electromagnetic phenomena caused by rock deformation/fracture including the ULF/ELF effects possibly associated with tectonic activity, earthquakes and other natural disasters. One of the challenges of this research is to fully understand electromagnetic effects and physical processes in the rocks deep in the Earth’s crust.

Especially due to the increasing environmental problems there is a need to collect as many data as possible in the upper atmosphere. This book serves as a general multidisciplinary guide and introduction for a more effective use of the large amount of now available data from the Earth's atmosphere. It also shows the problems of the use of large amounts of time series data - for basic science as well as for environmental monitoring - and the related information systems. The book is aimed for scientists and students interested in the Earth's atmosphere which is vital for the understanding of environmental changes in the global system Earth.