Articles | Volume 38, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-575-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-575-2020
Regular paper
 | 
24 Apr 2020
Regular paper |  | 24 Apr 2020

Plasma density gradients at the edge of polar ionospheric holes: the absence of phase scintillation

Luke A. Jenner, Alan G. Wood, Gareth D. Dorrian, Kjellmar Oksavik, Timothy K. Yeoman, Alexandra R. Fogg, and Anthea J. Coster

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Cited articles

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Short summary
The boundary of regions with a plasma density much lower than background was investigated in the northern polar cap using observations of ionospheric plasma density. Similar regions with an above-background density have been linked to fluctuations in phase and amplitude in radio waves traversing the density gradient at their boundary. These fluctuations were absent through the gradient in the below-background regions; thus, a minimum of both density and gradient are required for scintillation.