Analysis of the E-Region Low-Altitude Quasi-Periodic Event in Low-Latitudes of China

Abstract

The low-altitude quasi-periodic (LQP) E-region echoes observed with the upgraded Hainan COherent scatter Phased Array Radar (HCOPAR) located in Hainan Island of China (19.5°N, 109.1°E) are presented. With the interferometry technique, interferometry equations were developed to investigate the structures of the irregularities. The results show that the plasma structures of the LQP echoes with a negative slope mainly drifted southwestward almost horizontally, but they also drifted southeastward in some striations. According to the movement of the plasma structures, we found strong wind shear in the region in which the LQP echoes were produced. Meanwhile, the periodicity of the LQP echoes may have been related to the strength of the wind shear. It is proposed that the plasma structures were most likely produced by the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI).

Keywords

• low-latitude ionosphere
• LQP echoes
• plasma instability