OSCILLATIONS IN IONOSPHERIC VIRTUAL HEIGHT, ECHO AMPLITUDE AND DOPPLER VELOCITY - THEORY AND OBSERVATIONS

Applying perturbation theory to the Appelton-Hartree formulas, a detailed derivation of ionospheric parameters for ionospherically reflected echoes shows that: 1) oscillations of Doppler velocity, virtual height and echo amplitude have the same power spectrum; 2) the temporal variations in Doppler velocity lead or lag those in phase height by 90-degrees; and 3) the phase difference between the variations in echo amplitude and those in virtual height is either 0-degrees or 180-degrees. The analysis of experimental data obtained using a digital HF ionosonde (Dynasonde) confirms that oscillations in Doppler velocity, virtual height and echo amplitude have nearly identical power spectra and the phase difference is in good agreement with the derived theory. It is concluded that several different parameters measured by or derived from ionospheric soundings can be used to study ionospheric variations.