UH Space Physics Data Base

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Contents

• Contents
• Past Campaigns
• 1978-79 Siple Rocket
• 1980-81 Siple Balloon Rocket
• 1985-86 South Pole Balloon
• Polar Patrol Balloons
• Atmospheric Electricity at South Pole
• 1999 Sprites Balloon Campaign
• Ozone Studies
• Other Rocket Campaigns
• Other Balloon Campaigns
• Data Base Format Description
• File Locations

Past Campaigns

1978-79 Siple Rocket Campaign

1980-81 Siple Balloon-Rocket Campaign

Several types of rockets and high-altitude balloons were launched during the period December 1, 1980, to January 14, 1981, from Siple Station, Antarctica (60 45' S, 8 9' W geomagnetic; 75 56' S,84 15' W geographic). The purposes of this campaign were to perform simultaneous multiplatform studies of the wave-particle interactions produced by operation of the Siple VLF transmitter, to measure the electric field and bremsstrahlung X ray flux, and to study various aspects of the dynamics of the plasmapause region. There were seven rockets launched during the campaign (3 Nike-Tomahawks and 4 Super-Arcases) and 11 balloon payloads. The ground-based Siple station instruments included a fluxgate magnetometer, a search-coil magnetometer, a VLF transmitter, VLF broadband receiver and a 30 MHz riometer.

3 Nike-Tomahawk (N-T) and 4 SuperAcras rocket flights were launched during this campaign. The N-T payload Project Scientist and Project Scientist for entire campaign was David Matthews from the University of Maryland The objectives of these payloads were to investigate energetic particle preciptation produced by natural and artificial wave particle interactions in the region between 90 and 190 km. The N-T vehicles had two electron detectors, an electrostatic analyzer for the energy range 0.1-16 keV and a solid-state detector for higher energies. The N-T payloads also carried a complement of vector ac and dc electric and magnetic field detectors. All three of the N-T flights were accompanied by SuperArcas rockets. The launches were conducted at on December 12, 1980 at 1720 UT; on December 20, 1980 at 1733 UT; and January 10, 1981 at 1822 UT

The balloon payloads carried several detectors. All of the balloon payloads carried an X ray detector. The balloon X ray detector consisted of an uncollimated 7.6 cm-diameter thallium-activated sodium iodide scintillation counter. An electric field detector was flown on five of the twelve flights. It consisted of two orthogonal pairs of electric field probes in the horizontal plane, one probe suspended vertically below the payload and an electronics unit to measure the potential difference between the probes.The horizontal probes were either square plates measuring 30 cm on a side, or hollow spheres measuring 30 cm in diameter. The vertical probe was a 30 cm x 30 cm square plate. Each probe was mounted on a 2.5 m insulating phenolic boom.The probes were made of aluminum and coated with a colloidal carbon suspension called Aquadag. The balloon payload was connected to the balloon through a rotator by about 50 m of woven ropes. The rotator was used to spin the payload at a nominal rate of 4 rpm. Attached to the payload body were 4 Aquadag-coated aluminum plates used as a reference ground.Three of the five electric field flights (Flights 3, 5 and 7) were successful and obtained 57.5 hour-worth data. An intense magnetic storm occurred during Flight 5. This storm is known to be one of 5 strongest storms measured in the spacecraft era.

Balloon Flight Table

Flight No.	Launch Date (Year, DOY) and Time	Float Altitude Reached	Loss of Signal
3	1980 347 0620 UT	1980 347 0931 UT	1980 348 2131 UT
5	1980 354 0920 UT	1980 354 1115 UT	1980 354 0945 UT
7	1980 366 1600 UT	1980 366 1810 UT	1981 001 1415 UT

Selected References

• Quiet-time electron precipitation at L=4 in the South Atlantic Anomaly, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, H. Leverenz, J.L. Roeder and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 189-200 (1983).
• Diurnal modulation of the quiet-time penetrating electron flux, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook and C.G. Gelpi, J. Geophys. Res., 90, 548-552 (1985).
• X-ray microbursts and VLF chorus, J.L. Roeder, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 90, 10975-10982 (1985).
• Electron precipitation near L=4 : Longitudinal variation,W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, H. Leverenz, J.L. Roeder, and E.G. Stansbery, Adv. Space Res., 7(8), 49-52 (1987).
• Conjugate ionospheric electric field measurements, E.A. Bering and J.R. Benbrook, Annales Geophysicæ, (Series A), 5A, 485-502 (1987).
• Observations of the stratospheric conductivity and its variation at three latitudes, G.J. Byrne, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, D.M. Oró, C.O. Seubert and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 3879-3892 (1988).
• Longitudinal differences in electron precipitation near L=4, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, H. Leverenz, J.L. Roeder, E.G. Stansbery, and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 11385-11404 (1988).
• Rocket investigations of electron precipitation and VLF waves in the Antarctic upper atmosphere, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, and E.A. Bering, Rev. Geophys., 26, 519-534 (1988).
• The effect of mid-latitude electron precipitation on the geoelectric field, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, and G.J. Byrne, J. Atmos. Terr. Phys., 50(10/11), 1019-1023 (1988).
• Solar radiation (190-230 nm) in the stratosphere: Implications for photoelectric emissions from instrumentation at balloon altitudes, G.J. Byrne, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, and D. M. Oró, J. Geophys. Res., 95, 5557-5566 (1990).
• The intense magnetic storm of 19 December 1980: Observations at L=4, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, R. Haacke, J.R. Dudeney, L.J. Lanzerotti, C.G. Maclennan and T.J. Rosenberg, J. Geophys. Res., 96, 5597-5617 (1991).

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1985-86 South Pole Balloon Campaign

A balloon campaign occurred during the 1985-86 austral summer comprising the flight of eight stratospheric balloon payloads from Amundsen-Scott Station, South Pole, Antarctica. The campaign was a collaboration between the UH Space Physics Group and the University of Maryland.

The primary experimental tools used in this balloon program were unmanned stratospheric balloon payloads. The balloons used were helium-filled and had a volume of 5100 m. The payloads had a mass of 24.5 kg, giving a nominal float altitude of 32 km. The payloads were instrumented with three-axis, double probe field detectors and X-ray scintillation counters. Secondary instrumentation on-board measured the stratospheric conductivity, the ambient temperature and pressure. Three of the payloads also included tone-ranging transceivers. Equally essential to the program were the ground based data from the South Pole Station Cusp Lab, the Iqaluit conjugate observatory, the Goose Bay HF radar, the Søndrestrøm radar, and satellite data from the DMSP, DE and IMP-8 spacecraft.

In the month starting on 16 December, 1985 and ending 16 January, 1986, 8 successful balloon flights were conducted, ranging in duration from 6 h to 103 h. A total of 468 h 30 min of data were obtained under a wide range of geophysical conditions. Periods of particular interest include 19 December, 1985, 30 December, 1985, 2-3 January, 1986, and 7-8 January, 1986.

Flight Table

Selected References

1. The 1985-86 South Pole Balloon Campaign, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, J.M. Howard, D.M. Oró, E.G. Stansbery, J.R. Theall, D.L. Matthews and T.J. Rosenberg, Proceedings of the Nagata Symposium on Geomagnetically Conjugate Studies and the Workshop on Antarctic Middle and Upper Atmosphere Physics Which Were Held at SCAR XIX, Memoirs of the National Institute of Polar Research, Japan, Special Issue No. 48, 313-317 (1987). Dayside energetic electron precipitation over the South Pole ( = 75), D.L. Matthews, T.J. Rosenberg, E.A. Bering, and J.R. Benbrook, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 12941-12945 (1988).
2. Observations of ionospheric flux ropes above South Pole, Z. M. Lin, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, G.J. Byrne, D. Liang, B. Liao, and J.R. Theall, in Physics of Magnetic Flux Ropes, AGU Geophysical Monograph 58, pp 581-590 (1990).
3. Solar radiation (190-230 nm) in the stratosphere: Implications for photoelectric emissions from instrumentation at balloon altitudes, G.J. Byrne, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, and D. M. Oró, J. Geophys. Res., 95, 5557-5566 (1990).
4. Solar wind properties observed during high-latitude impulsive perturbation events," with L. J. Lanzerotti, J. R. Benbrook, Z.-M. Lin, C. G. Maclennan, A. Wolfe, R. E. Lopez, and E. Friis-Christensen, Geophys. Res. Lett., 17, 583-586 (1990).
5. Balloon measurements above the South Pole: Study of ionospheric transmission of ULF waves, E.A. Bering, B. Liao, J. R. Benbrook, G.J. Byrne, J. R. Theall, L. J. Lanzerotti, and C. G. Maclennan, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 7807-7820, (1995).
6. Statistical studies of impulsive events at high latitudes, Z. M. Lin, J. R. Benbrook, E.A.Bering, III, B. Liao, L. J. Lanzerotti, C. G. Maclennan, A. Wolfe, and E. Friis-Christensen, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 7553-7566, (1995).
7. Intense 2.3 Hz electric field pulsations in the stratosphere at high auroral latitude, E.A. Bering, III, J.R. Benbrook, J. Geophys. Res. , 100, 7791-7806, (1995).
8. Ionospheric electric fields from stratospheric balloon-borne probes, R.H. Holzworth and E.A. Bering, III, Geophysical Monograph Series : Measurement Techniques for Space Plasmas, edited by R. Pfaff, J. Borovsky, and D. Young, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC (1998), pp 79-84.
9. Simultaneous electric and magnetic field observations of Pc 1-2, and Pc 3 pulsations, E. A. Bering, III, J. R. Benbrook, M. J. Engebretson, and R. L. Arnoldy Jr., J. Geophys. Res., 103, 6741-6761, 1998.
10. Multi-station studies of the simultaneous occurrence rate of Pc 3 micropulsations and magnetic impulsive events, D. W. Shields, E. A. Bering, III, A. Alaniz, S. E. M. Mason, W. Guo, R. L. Arnoldy Jr., M. J. Engebretson, W. J. Hughes, D. L. Murr, L. J. Lanzerotti, and C. G. Maclennan, J. Geophys. Res., 108(A6), 1225, doi:10.1029/2002JA009397, 2003.

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Polar Patrol Balloon Campaigns

Since 1984, the National Institute of Polar Research and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan have studied the feasibility of a long-term circumpolar balloon experiment, called the Polar Patrol Balloon (PPB) project. This project aimed at establishing a PPB system to bring scientific payloads into the stratosphere over the Antarctic region. Three test flights in 1987 and 1990 at Syowa Station convinced the project team that the PPB would have a good chance of coming back to the launching area, provided that we utilize the advantage of having no sunset during the summer over Antarctica. Six PPB experiments were carried out in 1990 to 1993 as an Antarctic STEP project. PPB #1 accomplished a complete circumpolar flight over Antarctica. The second flight (#2) was launched on January 5, 1991 to make measurements of auroral X-rays, magnetic and electric fields. The electric field experiment was provided by the University of Houston Space Physics Group. The third flight (#3) was carried out on September 23-28, 1991 when the Antarctic ozone hole was well developed, in order to investigate the chemical source and sink of ozone. PPB#4 and #5, with payloads of vector magnetic and electric fields and auroral X-rays, were launched on December 26 and 30, 1992, respectively. PPB #6 aimed at studying the elemental and isotopic composition of galactic cosmic rays, solar energetic particles and cosmic gamma ray bursts, and was launched on January 5, 1993.

The Polar Patrol Balloon Project performed long duration circumpolar balloon experiments over Antarctica using zero pressure balloons with an auto-ballast control. With the advantage of no sunset during the summer in Antarctica, a long duration flight over a few weeks is possible using a long duration balloon. Two PPB experiments with scientific instruments: a proton magnetometer, a dc electric field double probe and an X-ray detector were subsequently carried out during the austral summer of 1990 to 1991, as one of the STEP projects in Japanese Antarctic research work. The PPB #2 flight, was launched on January 5, 1991 with scientific payloads for auroral X-rays, magnetic and electric fields. Though this balloon did not complete a circumpolar trajectory, it also floated for a long period, approximately one month.

In the second series of STEP PPB experiments, three flights (PPB #4, #5, and #6) were carried out in 1992 to 1993. PPB #4 and #5 were launched a few days apart (see Table), with a tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer, proton magnetometer, 3-axis double probes and X-rays in the region of the auroral zone, the polar cap, the polar cleft/cusp and the geomagnetic south pole. We obtained different patterns of ionospheric convection velocity vectors deduced by the electric field detectors aboard PPB #2, #4, and #5, over the entire magnetic local time at high latitude. The data are being used to study the dependence on the interplanetary conditions and balloon location.

A third series of PPB experiments (PPB #7, #8, #9, and #10) were carried out in 2002 to 2003. National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) conducted these long-duration balloon experiments in Antarctica from the end of December 2002 to late January 2003, in collaborations with the Balloon Engineering Division, Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences, and other scientists from Universities, including the University of Houston We named this experiment the "Polar Patrol Balloon" (PPB).

4 balloons were be launched; one for astrophysical observation, and 3 for geophysical observation. The balloon was 50,000~100,000 cubic meters in volume, and the payload weight was 400~500 kg, including ballast. The balloons went around the Antarctica at 69 S in 14 days from east to west, or counter clockwise. Altitude of the balloons was 32-35 km, maintained by auto ballast control.

Power consumption of the balloon system was 70W, and it was supplied by solar cells. Observed data was directly transferred to Japan by Iridium satellite telephones, as well as telemetered to the ground at Rothera and Zhongshan Stations in Antarctica, in collaboration with UK and Chinese Antarctic Research Expeditions.

Three balloons with identical instrumentation were be launched from Syowa Station successively with longitudinal separation of about 300 km (0.5 hour in MLT). Trajectory of these balloons  traversed the magnetic latitude range of 60-80 degrees, crossing various boundary regions in the magnetosphere such as plasma pause, LLBL, PSBL and the cusp. The formation flight of these balloons should enable us to separate spatial and temporal variations of the phenomena that occurred in these boundary regions.

Onboard instruments

Onboard instruments are ULF~LF wave receiver, aurora X-ray imager, DC electric field instrument, 3-axis fluxgate magnetometer, and the ionospheric total electron content measurement using GPS. Specifications of these instruments are as follows.

EMW: Electromagnetic wave in ULF~LF range
PI: H. Yamagishi (NIPR), T. Okada (Toyama Prefectural University)
Air-core loop antenna with a diameter of 40 m
Step Frequency Analyzer: 5, 10, 20, 36 kHz, 0.5 s/step
Multi-channel Analyzer: 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, 2.4 kHz, 2Hz sampling
Waveform transfer: 0.2~4 Hz, 10 Hz sampling


EFD: Electric field vector
PI: A. Kadokura(NIPR), E. A. Bering (University of Houston)
3-axis double spherical probe,
Resolution: 0.2 mV/m (horizontal), 0.8 mV/m (vertical), 1 Hz sampling
Atmospheric conductivity and current density at every 10 min.


MGF: Magnetic field vector
PI: F. Tohyama (Tokai University)
3-axis fluxgate magnetometer
Attitude determination: 2-axis clinometer, 8 sun-sensors
Resolution: 0.25 nT, 0.2'(sun), 0.3'(clino), 1 Hz sampling


AXI: Auroral X-ray Image
PI: M. Nakagawa (Osaka City University)
Medium energy image: 4x4 NaI sensors, 30~180 keV, 5ch, FOV 110 deg.
High energy spectrum: BGO sensor, 100~800 keV, 5ch, FOV 155 deg.
Time resolution: Energy spectrum 20 s, Integrated Intensity 2 s.


TEC: Total Electron Content in the ionosphere
PI: A. Kadokura(NIPR)
Dual-frequency GPS signal receiver (time, L1, P1, L2, P2)
Time resolution: 1 min. elevation>10 deg., 3 satellites/min

Flight Table

Selected References

1. Experimental results of Polar Patrol Balloon project in Antarctica, M. Ejiri, H. Akiyama, R. Fujii, M. Hayashi, Y. Hirasima, A. Kadokura, H. Kanzawa, M. Kodama, H. Miyaoka, H. Murakami, M. Nakagawa, M. Namiki, J. Nishimura, S. Ohta, H. Suzuki, F. Tohyama, Y. Tonegawa, N. Yajima, T. Yamagami, H. Yamagishi, M.D. Yamanaka, and E.A. Bering, III, Proc. NIPR Symp. Upper Atmos Phys., 8, 60-64, (1995).
2. Ionospheric response to the IMF variation,Y. Ebihara, F. Tohyama, Y. Tonegawa, A. Kadokura, N. Sato, M. Ejiri, Y. Hirashima, M. Namiki, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, and PPB WG, Mem. Nat. Inst. Polar Res., Jpn., (1995). (in press)
3. Studies of ionospheric convection in the southern hemisphere using long duration balloons, E.A. Bering, III, J.R. Benbrook, C. Clarady, R. Fujii, and A. Kadokura, Antarct. J. U. S., 28(5), 329-332, (1993).
4. ``Global coherence and cross-scale coupling of the ionospheric and atmospheric electric field,'' with J. R. Benbrook, R. Chadwick, K. Lee, A. A. Few, E. N. Cleary, G. A. Morris, G.J. Byrne, R. Fujii, A. Kadokura, R. H. Holzworth, H. Hu, K. Norville, S. J. Malachowski, K. D. Cole, G. B. Burns, M. H. Hesse, S. K. Parcell, and L. Symmons, presented to XXIII Meeting of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Working Group on Solar Terrestrial and Astrophysical Research, Rome, Italy, August, 1994.
5. ``Polar patrol balloons (PPB) launched from Syowa during austral summer in 1992-93,'' N. Sato, M. Ejiri, Y. Tonegawa, A. Kadokura, Y. Hirasima, N. Yajima, T. Yamagami, T. Hirasawa, and E.A. Bering, presented to XXIII Meeting of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Working Group on Solar Terrestrial and Astrophysical Research, Rome, Italy, August, 1994.
6. Multi-site observations of the ionospheric response to an IMF variation, Y. Ebihara, Y. Tonegawa, F. Tohyama, A. Kadokura, M. Ejiri, PPB WG, E.A. Bering, III, J.R. Benbrook, R.H. Holzworth, ELBBO WG, A.A. Few, and E.N. Cleary, XXI General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, Abstracts, B, 100, Boulder, Colorado, July 2-15, (1995).
7. Observations of ionospheric convection in the Southern Hemisphere, E.A. Bering, III, J.R. Benbrook, Y. Ebihara, Y. Tonegawa, F. Tohyama, A. Kadokura, M. Ejiri, PPB WG, R.H. Holzworth, and ELBBO WG, EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 76(46 Fall Meeting Supplement), F511, 1995.
8. A convection enhancement event observed with the Polar Patrol Balloon #4, Y. Ebihara, A. Kadokura, Y. Tonegawa, F. Tohyama, N. Sato, Y. Hirasima, M. Namiki, E.A. Bering, III, J. R. Benbrook, and M. Ejiri, Proc. NIPR Symp. Upper Atmos Phys., 9, 12-24, (1996).
9. The Kp and IMF dependence of the PPB and ELBBO electric field data, E. A. Bering, III and R. H. Holzworth, paper presented at the 1998 U.S.-Japan Workshop on Studies of Upper Atmospheric Physics Using Long Duration Balloons, Tokyo, Japan, February 24-27, (1998).
10. Vertical Fields and Currents at High Latitudes from PPB, ELBBO, and South Pole Data, R. H. Holzworth and E. A. Bering, III, paper presented at the 1998 U.S.-Japan Workshop on Studies of Upper Atmospheric Physics Using Long Duration Balloons, Tokyo, Japan, February 24-27, (1998).
11. Rapid decrease of dawnside convection electric field due to precipitation of substorm injection particles: Observation by PPB #5, A. Kadokura, M. Ejiri, N. Sato, Y. Ebihara, F. Tohyama, Y. Tonegawa, Y. Hirashima, H. Suzuki, E. A. Bering, III, and J. R. Benbrook, paper presented at The 25^th Symposium on coordinated Observations of the Ionosphere and the Magnetosphere in the Polar Regions, National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan, 30-31 July, 2001.
12. Variation of the stratospheric vertical electric field associated with ionospheric potential variation: Observation by the PPB#4, A. Kadokura, M. Ejiri, N. Sato, Y. Ebihara, F. Tohyama, Y. Tonegawa, Y. Hirashima, H. Suzuki, E. A. Bering, III, and J. R. Benbrook, paper presented at The 26^th Symposium on coordinated Observations of the Ionosphere and the Magnetosphere in the Polar Regions, National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan, 30-31 July, 2002.
13. Polar Patrol Balloon experiment in Antarctica during 2002-2003, A. Kadokura, H. Yamagishi, N. Sato, M. Ejiri, H. Hirosawa, T. Yamagami, S. Torii, F. Tohyama, M. Nakagawa, T. Okada, and E. A. Bering, Adv. Polar Upper Atmos. Res., 16, 157-172, 2002.
14. Polar Patrol Balloon (PPB) experiment in Antarctica during 2002-2003, H. Yamagishi, A. Kadokura, N. Sato, M. Ejiri, H. Hirosawa, T. Yamagami, S. Torii, F. Tohyama, M. Nakagawa, T. Okada, E. A. Bering III, Eos Trans. AGU, 83(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract SH21A-0519, 2002.

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Global Circuit Studies 

One aspect of these related projects involves making the nearly three decades of Antarctic atmospheric electricity data available to more workers. Measurements of the vertical electric field and air-earth current density made at the Earth's surface in Antarctica have recently been shown to be of considerable interest to scientists interested in monitoring short-term Sun-Earth connections and long term climate change. Such measurements have been made off and on for more than three decades, primarily at Vostok and South Pole stations. There is no single place where all of these data can be obtained via the Internet in a contemporary format. The work proposed here will attempt to remedy this deficiency as much as possible. Data we know to be presently available include data from South Pole, 1982-86 and 1991-1993, and Vostok station, 1997-present. Data were taken at South Pole and Vostok in the 60's and 70's, but these may prove difficult to obtain in digital form. At present, only the University of Houston's 1991-1993 data are available on the Web. Unfortunately, they are stored on a server slated for retirement. Also, they are written VAX binary floating point, using the UCLA/Stanford/Michigan flatfile format, which is obscure to some users. We are in the midst of combining and reformating  the three available data sets plus any others we can obtain onto a newer server. We will use three formats, NetCDF, ASCII, and the PC version (IEEE floating point) of FLATDBMS. Archival copies will be burned onto CD media. Finally we will register these data with the appropriate NASA data systems.

Atmospheric Electricity at South Pole Station

We have constructed instruments to measure the atmospheric conduction current and the atmospheric electric field: two fundamental parameters of the global-electric circuit. The instruments were deployed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in January 1991 and are designed to operate continuously for up to one year without operator intervention. The atmospheric current is measured by a sensor that uses a split-hemispheric conducting shell of 17.8-cm radius, separated by a thin Teflon insulating disk. The detection electronics are inside the sphere. In principle, the atmospheric current flows into one hemisphere, through the electronics where it is measured, and out the other hemisphere. The electric field is measured by a field mill of the rotating dipole type. The electric field sensing elements are two 30-cm-long antennas, driven to rotate in the vertical plane at 1800 rotations per minute. Two arrays of identical instruments have been deployed, separated by 600 m, in order to distinguish between atmospheric electrical signals of local and global origin. The separation distance of the arrays was determined by the climatology of the Antarctic plateau. Sample data from the first days of operation at the South Pole indicate variations in the global circuit over time scales from minutes, to hours, to days.

Data presently available in the archive comprises most of 1991 and 1993, along with December, 1992.

Atmospheric Electricity at Vostok Station

An electric field mill similar to those operated at South Pole was installed at Vostok Station in 1997.  A comparable Air Earth Current meter was built in 2002 and will be operational starting in January 2004. High, dry regions with no thunderstorms, such as the Antarctic plateau, are ideal for monitoring the global geoelectric circuit. Additional solar influences on the geoelectric field occur at high latitudes, via the same processes that generate the aurora. In conjunction with Russian and Australian colleagues, we presently measure the geoelectric field at the Russian station, Vostok, on the Antarctic plateau. We have shown that solar variability can influence the geoelectric field measured at ground level in polar regions, and are continuing to develop research instrumentation and methods of testing the viability of a solar variability influence on weather and climate through modulation of the geoelectric circuit.  The data from these instruments will be incorporated in the new global circuit data base mentioned above.

Related Links

• Can solar variability influence climate?
• Antarctic Science Project # 974, Geoelectric environment - Vostok
• Metadata record giving full details of the dataset that this project created

Selected References

1. Ground based instrumentation for measurements of atmospheric conduction current and electric field at the South Pole, G.J. Byrne, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, A.A. Few, G.J. Morris, W.J. Trabucco, and E.W. Paschal, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 2611-2617 (1993).
2. The global circuit: Passive load, proxy variable or active element?, E. A. Bering, iII, Rev. Geophys., 33(Supplement), 845-862 (1995) (U.S. National Report to International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics 1991-1994).
3. The global circuit, E.A. Bering, III, A. A. Few and J. R. Benbrook, Physics Today, Physics Today, 51(10), 24-30, 1998.
4. The geoelectric field - a link between the troposphere and the ionosphere, G. B. Burns, A. V. Frank-Kamenetsky, O. A. Troshichev, E. A. Bering III, and V. O. Papitashvili, Ann. Glac.,103, 6741-6761, 1998.
5. On the hourly contribution of global lightning to the atmospheric electric field, M. Füllekrug, A. C. Fraser-Smith, E. A. Bering, III and A. A. Few, J. Atmos. Solar Terr. Phys., 61, 745-750, 1999.
6. The geoelectric field at Vostok, Antarctica, Corney, R.C., G.B. Burns, K. Michael, A. V. Frank-Kamenetsky, O.A. Troishichev, E.A. Bering, V.O. Papitashvili, and A. Breed, J. Atmos. Solar Terr. Phys., 65, 345-354, 2003.
7. Seasonal variations of atmospheric electricity measured at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, B. N. Reddell, J. R. Benbrook, E. A. Bering III, E. N. Cleary, and A. A. Few, J. Geophys. Res., 108,, 2004. (submitted to)

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 1999 Sprites Balloon Campaign

The possibility that visible light emissions can occur in the mesosphere and ionosphere above thunderstorms has been the subject of speculation and rumor for many years. The development of fast low-light level video recording technology has revolutionized this field of study. Exciting new observations have confirmed the existence of such emissions, which have become known as red sprites, blues jets, elves, and anomalous optical events (AOE's). These observations have generated an enormous amount of interest in these emissions and have raised several important scientific and technical questions. These questions include the following: (1.) How are the emissions excited? In particular, what is the nature of the electromagnetic fields involved in the excitation process? (2.) How much dc electric current, if any, do sprites, jets, elves and AOE's deliver to the ionosphere? (3.) What produces the differences between the three types of event? (4.) Are the reported atmospheric gamma ray bursts associated with sprites? (4.1) If so, are the causative energetic electrons locally accelerated or are they precipitated trapped radiation belt particles? (5.) What is the effect of electric fields radiated by lightning strokes and sprites on the ionosphere? A range of effects have been suggested that include optical emissions that are distinctly different from sprites, heating, density enhancements, electron acceleration and gamma ray emission. (6.)What is the role of sprites, jets, elves and AOE's in the excitation of the global circuit? (7.)Which of the rapidly proliferating set of models of these events are correct? This project built a set of balloon and airborne experiments that can make a contribution to answering these questions. The balloon payloads carried three axis broad band electric field and magnetic field detectors with sufficient dynamic range and bandwidth to resolve the expected sprite excitation field and to distinguish between ac and dc excitation mechanisms. A gamma ray spectrometer consisting of a scintillation counter and a pulse height analyzer was also flown. These payloads were flown during the summer of 1999, in conjunction with the continuing activities of other investigators.

FLIGHT TABLE

Selected References

1. The hundred year hunt for the red sprite, W. A. Lyons, R.A. Armstrong, E. A. Bering, III, and E. R. Williams, EOS, Trans. AGU., 81(33), 373-377, 2000.
2. Sprite and elve electrodynamics, E. A. Bering, III, J. R. Benbrook, J. A. Garrett, A. Paredes, E. M. Wescott, D. R. Moudry, D. D. Sentman, H. C. Stenbaek-Nielsen, W. A. Lyons, Adv. Space Res., 30, 2585-2595, 2002.
3. The electrodynamics of sprites, E. A. Bering, III, J. R. Benbrook, J. A. Garrett, A. Paredes, E. M. Wescott, D. R. Moudry, D. D. Sentman, H. C. Stenbaek-Nielsen, W. A. Lyons, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 10.1029/2001GL013267, 2002.
4. Observations of transient luminous events (TLEs) associated with negative cloud to ground (-CG) lightning strokes E. A. Bering, III, J. R. Benbrook, L. Bhusal, J. A. Garrett, A. M. Paredes, E. M. Wescott, D. R. Moudry, D. D. Sentman, H. C. Stenbaek-Nielsen, W. A. Lyons, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31(5), L05104, doi10.1029/2003GL018659, 03 March 2004.
5. Statistics and properties of TLE’s found in 1999 sprites balloon campaign, L.Bhusal, E.A.Bering, III, J.R.Benbrook, J.A.Garrett, A.M. Paredes, E.M.Wescott, D.R.Moudry, D.D.Sentman, H.C.Stenbaek-Nielsen, W.A.Lyons, Adv. Space Res., 33, 2004. (In press)
6. The results from the 1999 sprites balloon campaign, E. A. Bering, III, L. Bhusal, J. R. Benbrook, J. A. Garrett, A. P. Jackson, E. M. Wescott, D. R. Moudry, D. D. Sentman, H. C. Stenbaek-Nielsen, and W. A. Lyons, Adv. Space Res., 33, 2004. (In press)

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Ozone Studies

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Rocket Campaigns

INDEX Program

Selected References

1. Investigation of the electric field below 80 km from a parachute deployed payload, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 82, 1925-1932 (1977).
2. Correlative effects of VLF chorus activity and electron precipitation near the plasmapause, H. Leverenz, J.L. Roeder, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, and J. Lavergnat, J. Geomag. Geoelec., 30, 357-358 (1978).
3. Longitudinal variation in the high-altitude X-ray flux during quiet geomagnetic conditions, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, H. Leverenz and J.L. Roeder, Space Research, XIX, 347-350 (1979).
4. Artificial stimulation of auroral electron acceleration by intense field aligned currents, G. Holmgren, R. Boström, M.C. Kelley, P.M. Kintner, R. Lundin, U.V. Fahleson, E.A. Bering, and W.R. Sheldon, Geophysical Research Letters, 6, 789-792 (1979).
5. Problems with mesospheric electric field measurements, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook and W.R. Sheldon, Nature, 283, 695 (1980).
6. Trigger, an active release experiment that stimulated auroral particle precipitation and wave emissions, G. Holmgren, R. Boström, M.C. Kelley, P.M. Kintner, R. Lundin, U.V. Fahleson and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 5043-5053 (1980).
7. The results from the X-ray bremsstrahlung experiment of project Trigger, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, E.G. Stansbery, W.R. Sheldon and J.L. Roeder, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 5079-5095 (1980).
8. X-ray measurements during project ARAKS, J.L. Roeder, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering and H. Leverenz, Annales de Géophysique, 36, 401-409 (1980).
9. Evidence for beam stimulated precipitation of high energy electrons, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, J.L. Roeder and W.R. Sheldon, in Artificial Particle Beams in Space Plasma Studies, edited by B. Grandal, pp 147-157, Plenum Press, New York, N.Y., (1981).
10. Quiet-time electron precipitation at L=4 in the South Atlantic Anomaly, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, H. Leverenz, J.L. Roeder and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 189-200 (1983).
11. Diurnal modulation of the quiet-time penetrating electron flux, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook and C.G. Gelpi, J. Geophys. Res, 90., 548-552 (1985).
12. Waterhole auroral arc modification experiments: electrodynamic response, B.A. Whalen, A.W. Yau, F. Creutzberg, D.D. Wallis, A.G. McNamara, F.R. Harris, M.B. Pongratz, P.M. Kintner, J. Labelle, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, P.A. Forsyth, and R A. Kochler, J. Geophys. Res., 90, 8387-8396 (1985).
13. X-ray microbursts and VLF chorus, J.L. Roeder, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 90, 10975-10982 (1985).
14. Electron precipitation near L=4 : Longitudinal variation, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, H. Leverenz, J.L. Roeder, and E.G. Stansbery, Adv. Space Res., 7(8), 49-52 (1987).
15. Longitudinal differences in electron precipitation near L=4, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, H. Leverenz, J.L. Roeder, E.G. Stansbery, and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 11385-11404 (1988).
16. Rocket investigations of electron precipitation and VLF waves in the Antarctic upper atmosphere, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, and E.A. Bering, Rev. Geophys., 26, 519-534 (1988).
17. Comment on "Highly relativistic magnetospheric electrons: A role in coupling to the middle atmosphere?", W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, and E.A. Bering, Geophys. Res. Lett., 15, 1449-1450 (1988).
18. The effect of mid-latitude electron precipitation on the geoelectric field, W.R. Sheldon, J.R. Benbrook, and G.J. Byrne, J. Atmos. Terr. Phys., 50(10/11), 1019-1023 (1988).
19. Perturbations of the Antarctic upper atmosphere by energetic electron precipitation, W.R. Sheldon, Proceedings, Antarctic Research Symposium, 484-492, China Ocean Press (1989). Copies available from the author by request.
20. On the precipitation of relativistic electrons from the outer belt, W.R.Sheldon, J. Atmos. Terr. Phys., 53(1/2), 17-23 (1991).

Terrier-Malemute 13.007

Selected References

1. Simultaneous rocket and radar measurements of currents in an auroral arc, R.M. Robinson, R.R. Vondrak, H.R. Anderson, P. Cloutier and E.A. Bering, J. Geophys. Res., 86, 7703-7717 (1981).
2. A sounding rocket observation of an apparent wake generated parallel electric field, E.A. Bering, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 961-979 (1983).
3. Apparent electrostatic ion cyclotron waves in the diffuse aurora, E.A. Bering, Geophys. Res. Lett., 10, 647-650 (1983).
4. The plasma wave environment of an auroral arc, 1., Electrostatic ion cyclotron waves in the diffuse aurora, E.A. Bering, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 1635-1649 (1984).
5. The plasma wave environment of an auroral arc, 2, ULF waves on an auroral arc boundary, C. Gelpi and E.A.Bering, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 10847-10851 (1984).
6. The plasma wave environment of an auroral arc, 3. VLF hiss, E.A. Bering, J.E. Maggs, and H.R. Anderson, J. Geophys. Res., 92, 7581-7605 (1987).

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Balloon Campaigns

Roberval

Selected References

1. Some aspects of the interrelationship of magnetospheric substorm-associated particle precipitation and thunderstorm electric fields, E.A. Bering, T.J. Rosenberg, D. Detrick, J.R. Benbrook, D.L. Matthews and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geomag. Geoelec., 30, 359-360 (1978).
2. On the relationship of ~3 mHz (Pc5) electric, magnetic, and particle variations, C. G. Maclennan, L.J. Lanzerotti, A. Hasegawa, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, W.R. Sheldon, T.J. Rosenberg and D.L. Matthews, Geophysical Research Letters, 5, 403-406 (1978).
3. Electric fields, electron precipitation, and VLF radiation during a simultaneous magnetospheric substorm and atmospheric thunderstorm, E.A.Bering, T.J. Rosenberg, J.R. Benbrook, D. Detrick, D.L. Matthews, M.J. Rycroft, M.A. Saunders and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 55-72 (1980).
4. Conjugate ionospheric electric field measurements, E.A. Bering and J.R. Benbrook, Annales Geophysicæ, (Series A), 5A, 485-502 (1987).
5. Observations of the stratospheric conductivity and its variation at three latitudes, G.J. Byrne, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, D.M. Oró, C.O. Seubert and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 3879-3892 (1988).
6. Long term changes in the electrical conductivity of the stratosphere, E. A. Bering, III, J. R. Benbrook, R. H. Holzworth, G. J. Byrne, and S. P. Gupta, Adv. Space Res., 32, 1725-1735, 2003.

Palestine

Selected References

1. Measured electric field in the vicinity of a thunderstorm system at an altitude of 37 km, J.R. Benbrook, J.W. Kern, and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 79(34), 5289-5295, (1973).
2. Investigation of the electric field below 80 km from a parachute deployed payload, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook, and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 82, 1925-1932 (1977).
3. Problems with mesospheric electric field measurements, E.A. Bering, J.R. Benbrook and W.R. Sheldon, Nature, 283, 695 (1980).
4. Observations of the stratospheric conductivity and its variation at three latitudes, G.J. Byrne, J.R. Benbrook, E.A. Bering, D.M. Oró, C.O. Seubert and W.R. Sheldon, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 3879-3892 (1988).
5. Long term changes in the electrical conductivity of the stratosphere, E. A. Bering, III, J. R. Benbrook, R. H. Holzworth, G. J. Byrne, and S. P. Gupta, Adv. Space Res., 32, 1725-1735, 2003.

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Data Base Description

File Naming Convention

ABCnnXZY... . *

where

A stands for file type

R: Raw data

I: Intermediate processing stage

A: Analyzed or ascii data

F: Flatfiles (usually analyzed data)

P: Plotting files or Power Spectra

S: Spectral Matrices

 

B stands for data source

G: Ground based (may include tracking data)

B: Balloon payload

R: sounding Rocket payload

S: Satellite

 

C stands for Project ID

P: 1980-81 Siple Station Balloon-Rocket Campaign

R: 1985-86 South Pole Balloon Campaign

T: South Pole Atmospheric Electricity Data

U: Polar Patrol Balloons

V: University of Washington ELBBO Campaign

X: MACCS Data used in Pc3-TCV Micropulsation Study

Y: 1999 Sprites Balloon Campaign

Z: MINIS Balloon Campaigns

 

nn stands for flight number

if nn has more than two digits, it usually corresponds to DOY and year.

 

XYZ is a freeform field that usually describes what type of analysis has been done, e.g.

2MAV means 2 minute averages

HAV means half-hour averages, etc

 

* is, as usual, the filetype extension

.HED, .HDR: Header files containing data descriptions

.DAT: the data, usually in VAX binary or ASCII

.PLT: plot files, usually in either pre-GKRN NCAR Metacode or Tek 4014 commands

.NC : NetCDF files

       

Rules of the Road

We have, of course, posted our data to the Web in the hope and expectation that people will use them. We are not, therefore, going to impose impossible conditions for their use. We have three basic requirements that are common to all data bases. First, please show us what you have done with our data prior to journal submission. We ask this in order to avoid the proliferation of papers about bad data intervals. Second, please acknowledge your source. Third, we have a nice list of Grant numbers for your acknowledgements section. Please ask.

Data from the PPB and Sprites projects are still in the early stages of publication by our group. You are still welcome to use these data. However, we do still regard these data as proprietary. Thus, we require that you offer us and the other team members co-authorship of any paper that uses these data.

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List of Data File FTP Links

Main Directory

1999 Sprites Balloon Campaign

Polar Patrol Balloon Program

MINIS Balloon Program

Siple Balloon-Rocket Campaign

South Pole Programs 

There is a parent sub-directory for all of our South Pole based programs at http://gc.phys.uh.edu/data/Other_UH_Experiments/SOUTH_POLE/.

1985-86 South Pole Balloon Campaign.

The data from the 1985-86 South Pole Balloon Campaign are in http://gc.phys.uh.edu/data/Other_UH_Experiments/SOUTH_POLE/85-86_BALLOON/.

Ground Based Atmospheric Electricity Data

The data from the 1991-1993 atmospheric electricity project at South Pole are in a separate web site of http://globalcircuit.phys.uh.edu/.

Ozone Measurements

RISO

The data from recent RISO flights can be found in http://gc.phys.uh.edu/data/Other_UH_Experiments/Ozone/. They are not in FLATDBMS form. Please ask Prof. J. R. Benbrook for a roadmap.

At this point, you can go to the Top of the page, the UH Space Physics Group Web Site, my personal Home Page, or the middle of my vita page just after the link to this page. Questions about the data or possible collaborative papers may be addressed to me at <eabering@uh.edu>.

Copyright 1999, 2004, University of Houston
For problems or questions regarding this web contact eabering@uh.edu.
Last updated: Friday, April 23, 2004