Simulation and measurement of the plasmaspheric electron content. Final report, 1 October 1974--30 September 1976

Two techniques are used to measure the plasmaspheric electron content. The Faraday effect, which is weighted by the Earth magnetic field, is insensitive to electrons in the plasmasphere. The differential group delay is equally sensitive to all electrons along the radio path. Therefore, by combining these techniques, the plasmaspheric content can be measured. However, the sensitivity of the techniques depend on the ionospheric parameters. Therefore, in order to obtain consistent results from the data, computer simulations investigating the sensitivity of the techniques to different ionospheric models are carried out and discussed. The equipment contribution and effects to the measurements are also investigated. Results of the measured plasmaspheric content from the ATS-6 data under normal geomagnetic conditions and during magnetic storms are presented. The possible causes of the observed behavior are also presented