PH45760

Module Identifier	PH45760
Module Title	STUDIES IN THE UPPER POLAR ATMOSPHERE
Academic Year	2000/2001
Co-ordinator	Dr Eleri Pryse
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-Requisite	Successful Completion of Year 3 of the MPhys Scheme
Course delivery	Lecture	130 lectures
	Seminars / Tutorials	30 exercises
Assessment	Combined	AGF301 Written Examination + Project Report	50%
	Combined	AGF302 Oral Examination + Field Report	20%
	Oral examination		30%

Module description
The module, which is provided at UNIS, Longyearbyen, consists of 2 parts:
AGF-301 Upper Polar Atmosphere
AGF-304 Radar Diagnostics of Space Plasma

These qualify for 15 Norwegian Credits which are equivalent to 60 Aberystwyth Credits.

Learning outcomes
After taking this module students should be able to:

understand the relationship between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere.
identify the different regions in the polar and auroral zones.
recognise the different phases of an auroral substorm.
describe the main electric current systems relating the magnetosphere and the ionosphere.
understand the range of techniques available for remote sensing of the neutral and ionised atmosphere including lidars, spectrometers, microwave radiometers and incoherent-scatter radar.

Additional learning activities
Observations carried out at the Adventdalen Auroral Station, the EISCAT Svalbard Radar and the Koldewey Arctic Station at Ny Alesund.

Outline syllabus
AGF-301 The Upper Polar Atmosphere

(15 ECTS ~ 30 Aberystwyth Credits)
This course describes the interaction between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere and the consequences of these processes for the ionised region of the upper atmosphere i.e. the ionosphere. Energy, particles and momentum transferred from the solar wind manifest themselves in the upper polar atmosphere, particularly as the aurora, but also in terms of powerful electric currents and wind systems (ion winds as well as winds in the neutral gas). Central Elements in this course are the descriptions of the Earth's magnetic field, the magnetosphere, ionisation processes and the formation of the ionosphere.

AGF-304 Radar Diagnostics of Space Plasma

(15 ECTS Credits ~ 30 Aberystwyth Credits)
This course contains fundamental theories of signal processing and incoherent scattering processes and gives an introduction to radar technology. A technical description of the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) including transmitter, receivers and antenna design is given. On the basis of theoretical models for incoherent scattering cross-section a presentation will be given on the main principles for conducting plasma experiments by an incoherent scatter radar and what plasma parameters can be described from the autocorrelation functions observed by such a radar.

Reading Lists
Books
A Brekke. Physics of the Polar Upper Atmosphere.
R M Measures. Laser remote Sensing, Fundamentals and Applications.
M A Janssen. Atmospheric remote sensing by microwave radiometry.
T Nygren. Introduction to incoherent scatter measurements.