A technique for studying density gradients and motions of plasmaspheric irregularities

A method is developed which allows information to be extracted on the source regions of terrestrial myriametric radiation (TMR), generally agreed to emanate mainly from the plasmapause. This method utilizes the theory that the radiation has passed through a radio window. It is demonstrated that the radial and local-time positions of the TMR sources can be determined by accurate direction-finding measurements which take into consideration wave polarization effects, thereby allowing the tracking of plasmapause irregularities and regions of detached plasma which move around from the night side. If additional information such as an estimate from banded emissions of the source gyro-frequency is available, the latitudinal positions of the sources may also possibly be determined.