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In the years since the pioneering efforts of Sir Edward Appleton, M. A. F. Barnett, G. Breit, and M. A. Thve, many radio techniques have been employed to investigate the terrestrial ionosphere. The purposes of this book are to exam ine the basic physical interaction process of radio waves with the ionosphere, scrutinize each of the radio techniques currently in use, and describe the elements of each technique, as well as assess their capabilities and limitations. I have included some of the history of each technique, since we often tend to forget the efforts of the "pioneers". The interaction of radio waves with the terrestrial ionosphere has been described in considerable detail in several "classic" treatments, e.g., Ratcliffe (1959), Al'pert (1963), Budden (1961) and Davies (1965), Rishbeth and e.g., Flock (1979), Davies Garriott (1969), and in other more recent books, (1990), Hargreaves (1979), and Budden (1985). A few of the radio techniques have been described by Hargreaves (1979) and a book by Giraud and Petit (1978) has also included discussion of several of the techniques. The "WITS" handbook No. 2 (1989) also contains description of several radio techniques.
List of contents
I Introduction.- 1 Terrestrial Atmospheric Structure and Properties of Electromagnetic Waves.- 2 Radio Propagation in a Plasma.- II Earth-Based Radio Techniques.- 3 Vertical Sounders - the Ionosonde.- 4 Oblique Backscatter Sounders.- 5 Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) Systems.- 6 Ionospheric Modification by High Power Radio Waves.- 7 Methods of Measuring Ionospheric Absorption and Other D-Region Parameters.- III Satellite, Rocket, and Other Techniques.- 8 Earth Satellite Radio Studies of the Ionosphere.- 9 Other Radio Techniques.- 10 Epilog.- A.1 List of Principal Symbols, Constants, and Conversion Factors.- A.1.1 Principal Symbols.- A.1.2 Selected Physical Constants.- A.1.3 Some Selected Conversion Factors.- A.2 Acronyms.- A.3 A Radio Frequency Spectrum Chart Showing the ITU Nomenclature and Principal Uses.- A.4 Annotated Bibliography.- A.5 Selected Global Maps and Other Information on Electrical Noise.- A.6 Some Representative Values of Ground Electrical Characteristics.- A.7 Fresnel Zone Antenna Siting Fundamentals.- A.7.1 Introduction.- A.7.2 HF Antenna Siting Example.- A.7.3 The Fresnel Zone in Three Dimensions.- References.
