Ionospheric electron content across the Antarctic continent

Abstract

Observations of satellite passes monitored at Halley and Terra Nova Bay have been combined to produce for the first time measurements of ionospheric electron content spanning the Antarctic continent. Results are presented from a sequence of four successive passes made during a period of some two hours that illustrate the development of the ionosphere over this wide spatial region. The observations are discussed in terms of the convective behaviour of the ionization, using results from the PACE radar and a standard model of the plasma flow.