Abstract
Radio plasma imaging uses total reflection of electromagnetic waves from plasmas whose plasma frequencies equal the radio sounding frequency and whose electron density gradients are parallel to the wave normals. The Radio Plasma Imager (RPI) has two orthogonal 500-m long dipole antennas in the spin plane for near omni-directional transmission. The third antenna is a 20-m dipole along the spin axis. Echoes from the magnetopause, plasmasphere and cusp will be received with the three orthogonal antennas, allowing the determination of their angle-of-arrival. Thus it will be possible to create image fragments of the reflecting density structures. The instrument can execute a large variety of programmable measuring options at frequencies between 3 kHz and 3 MHz. Tuning of the transmit antennas provides optimum power transfer from the 10 W transmitter to the antennas. The instrument can operate in three active sounding modes: (1) remote sounding to probe magnetospheric boundaries, (2) local (relaxation) sounding to probe the local plasma frequency and scalar magnetic field, and (3) whistler stimulation sounding. In addition, there is a passive mode to record natural emissions, and to determine the local electron density, the scalar magnetic field, and temperature by using a thermal noise spectroscopy technique.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barry, G. H.: 1971, ‘A Low-Power Vertical-Incidence Ionosonde’, IEEE Trans. GE-9, 86–95.
Bibl, K. and Reinisch, B. W.: 1978, ‘The Universal Digital Ionosonde’, Radio Sci. 13, 519–530.
Bougeret, J.-L., Kaiser, M. L., Kellogg, P. J., Manning, R., Goetz, K., Monson, S. J., Monge, N., Friel, L., Meetre, C. A., Perche, C., Sitruik, L. and Hoang, S.: 1995, ‘Waves: The Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation on the WIND Spacecraft’, Space Sci. Rev. 71, 231–263.
Calvert, W., Benson, R. F., Carpenter, D. L., Fung, S. F., Gallagher, D. L., Green, J. L., Haines, D. M., Reiff, P. H., Reinisch, B. W., Smith, M. F. and Taylor, W. W. L.: 1995, ‘The Feasibility of Radio Sounding in the Magnetosphere’, Radio Sci. 30(5), 1577–1595.
Data Format Document for the Radio Plasma Imager: 1999, Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 900 Suffolk Street, Lowell, MA.
Davies, K.: 1990, Ionospheric Radio, Chapt. 8, Peter Peregrinus Ltd., London, U.K.
Fung, S. F. and Green, J. L.: 1996, ‘Global Imaging and Radio Remote Sensing of the Magnetosphere, Radiation Belts Models and Standards’, Geophysical Monogr. 97, AGU, Washington, D. C., 285–290.
Green, J. L., Fung, S. F. and Burch, J. L.: 1996, ‘Application of Magnetospheric Imaging Techniques to Global Substorm Dynamics’, Proc. Third International Conference on Substorms (ICS-3), Versailles, France, ESA SP-389, pp. 655–661.
Green, J. L., Taylor, W. W. L., Fung, S. F., Benson, R. F., Calvert, W., Reinisch, B. W., Gallagher, D. L. and Reiff, P. H.: 1998, ‘Radio Remote Sensing of Magnetospheric Plasmas, Measurement Techniques in Space Plasma: Fields’, Geophys. Monogr. 103, AGU, Washington, D. C., 193–198.
Green, J. L. et al.: 2000, ‘Radio Plasma Imager Measurements’, Space Sci. Rev. 91, 361–389 (this issue)
Gurgiolo, C.: 2000, ‘The IMAGE High-Resolution Data Set’, Space Sci. Rev. 91, 461–481 (this issue)
Gurnett, D. A., Persoon, A. M., Randall, R. F., Odem, D. L., Remington, S. L., Averkamp, T. F., Debower, M. M., Hospodarsky, G. B., Huff, R. L., Kirchner, D. L., Mitchell, M. A., Pham, B. T., Phillips, J. R., Schintler, W. J., Sheyko, P. and Tomash, D. R.: 1995, ‘The POLAR Plasma Wave Instrument’, Space Sci. Rev. 71, 597–622.
Hald, A.: 1962, Statistical Theory with Engineering Applications, Chapt. 5, J. Wiley, New York.
Huang, X. and Reinisch, B.W.: 1982, ‘Automatic Calculation of Electron Density Profiles from Digital Ionograms. 2. True Height Inversion of Topside Ionograms With the Profile-FittingMethod’, Radio Sci. 17(4), 837–844.
Issautier, K., Meyer-Vernet, N., Moncuquet, M. and Hoang, S.: 1999, ‘Quasi-Thermal Noise in a Drifting Plasma: Theory and Application to Solar Wind Diagnostic on Ulysses’, J. Geophys. Res. (in press).
Jackson, J. E.: 1969, ‘The Reduction of Topside Ionograms from the Bottomside and Topside’, J. Atmos. Terr. Phys. 27, 917–941.
Kelso, J. M.: 1964, Radio Ray Propagation in the Ionosphere, Chapt. 2, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Kraus, J. D.: 1988, Antennas, Ch. 5, McGraw Hill, New York.
Lund, E. J., Labelle, J. and Treumann, R. A.: 1995, ‘On Quasi-Thermal Noise Fluctuations Near the Plasma Frequency on the Outer Plasmasphere: A Case Study’, J. Geophys. Res. 99, 23,651–23,659.
Meyer-Vernet, N. and Perche, C.: 1989, ‘Toolkit for Antennae and Thermal Noise Near the Plasma Frequency’, J. Geophys. Res. 94, 2405.
Meyer-Vernet, N., Hoang, S. and Moncuquet, M.: 1993, ‘Bernstein Waves in the Io Torus: a Novel Kind of Electron Temperature Sensor’, J. Geophys. Res. 98, 21,163–21,176.
Meyer-Vernet, N., Moncuquet, M. and Hoang, S.: 1995, ‘Temperature Inversion in the Io Plasma Torus’, Icarus 116, 202–213.
Meyer-Vernet, N., Hoang, S., Issautier, K., Maksimovic, M., Manning, R., Moncuquet, M. and Stone, R.: 1998, ‘Measuring Plasma Parameters with Thermal Noise Spectroscopy’, in E. Borovsky and R. Pfaff (eds), Geophysical Monograph 103: Measurements techniques in Space Plasmas, pp. 205–210.
Moncuquet, M., Meyer-Vernet, N., Bougeret, J. L., Manning, R., Perche, C. and Kaiser, M. L.: 1995, ‘WIND Passes Through the Outer Plasmasphere: Plasma Diagnosis from the Quasi-Thermal Noise Spectrum Measured by the Waves Experiment’, Supp. to Eos 76, 17, 221.
Patenaude, J., Bibl, K. and Reinisch, B. W.: 1973, ‘Direct Digital Graphics, the Display of Large Data Fields’, American Laboratory, pp. 95–101.
Poole, A. W. V.: 1985, ‘Advanced Sounding 1, the FMCW Alternative’, Radio Sci. 20, 1609–1620.
Rawer, K. and Suchy, K.: 1967, ‘Radio Observations of the Ionosphere, in S. Flügge (ed.), Encyclopedia of Physics, XLIX/2, Geophysics III/2, Sect. 7, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Reinisch, B. W., Buchau, J. and Weber, E. J.: 1987, ‘Digital Ionosonde Observations of the Polar Cap F Region Convection’, Physica Scripta 36, 372–377.
Reinisch, B. W.: 1996, ‘Modern Ionosondes, in Modern Ionospheric Science’, in H. Kohl, R. Rüster and K. Schlegel (eds), European Geophysical Society, 37191 Katlenburg-Lindau, ProduServ GmbH Verlagsserie, Berlin, Germany, pp. 440–458.
Reinisch, B. W., Haines, D. M., Bibl, K., Galkin, I., Huang, X., Kitrosser, D. F., Sales, G. S. and Scali, J. L.: 1997, ‘Ionospheric Sounding in Support of OTH Radar’, Radio Sci. 32(4), 1681–1694.
Reinisch, B. W., Sales, G. S., Haines, D. M., Fung, S. F. and Taylor, W. W. L.: 1999, ‘Radio Wave Active Doppler Imaging of Space Plasma Structures: Angle-of-Arrival, Wave Polarization, and Faraday Rotation Measurements with RPI’, Radio Sci. 34(6), 1513–1524.
Rood, R. B. and Stobie, J. G.: 1993, ‘Data Assimilation and EOSDIS’, NASA Internal Report. Shawhan, S. D.: 1970, ‘The Use of Multiple Receivers to Measure the Wave Characteristics of Very-Low-Frequency Noise in Space’, Space Sci. Rev. 10, 689–736.
Yeh, K. C., Chao, H. Y. and Lin, K. H.: 1999, ‘A Study of the Generalized Faraday Effect in Several Media’, Radio Sci. 34(1), 139–153.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reinisch, B., Haines, D., Bibl, K. et al. The Radio Plasma Imager investigation on the IMAGE spacecraft. Space Science Reviews 91, 319–359 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005252602159
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005252602159