C/NOFS and the Air Force Research Laboratory's Conjugate Point Study

The Air Force Research Laboratory's Conjugate Point Study (CPS) seeks to leverage a unique opportunity with the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) to make coincident measurements from the satellite and an ever-expanding network of ground stations that can be used to specify effects of atmospheric wave activity on the structure of the ionospheric F-layer. The primary objective of CPS is to integrate plasma density and drift measurements from C/NOFS with ground-based observations of disturbances within magnetic flux tubes to address outstanding scientific questions regarding relationships between plasma fluctuations in the topside ionosphere and wave-like structures generated at bottomside altitudes where satellites have little or no direct access. This project has the potential to generate new insights into the dynamics of ionosphere-neutral atmosphere interactions known to affect operational systems. This could prove particularly valuable in areas where there are no ground stations. Initial results are quite promising, but there is still much work to be done in understanding the mechanisms that couple the topside and bottomside of the ionosphere.