Jicamarca Radio Observatory - Summary of Scientific Contributions and Milestones (since 1961)

Summary of Scientific Contributions and Milestones (since 1961)

• 1961. First observations of incoherent scatter echoes. First ISR in operation.
• 1961-63. Explanation of the physical processes behind the Equatorial electrojet plasma irregularities (Farley-Buneman instability.)
• 1962. First temperatures and composition measurements of the equatorial ionosphere.
• 1963 First electron density measurements of the equatorial Magnetosphere (the highest from ground based measurements even now).
• 1964.
  • First VHF radar echoes from Venus.
  • 1964. Discovery of the so-called 150 km echoes. The physical mechanisms behind these echoes are still (as of August 2008) a mystery.
• 1965. VHF radar measurements of the Moon’s surface roughness. Test run and used by NASA in 1969 for the Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong knew he was going to tread.
• 1965-69. Development of Faraday rotation and double pulse techniques. Jicamarca is the only ISR that uses this technique in order to obtain absolute electron density measurements in the ionosphere.
• 1967. Application of a complete theory about the incoherent spread that includes the effects of collisions between ions and the presence of the magnetic field. Gyro Resonance experiment that verified the complete theory of incoherent scatter.
• 1969. Development of the pulse-to-pulse technique to measure ionosphere Doppler shifts with very good rpecision. Later, the same technique was applied to Meteorological radars.
• 1969-72. First measurements of the zonal and vertical equatorial ionospheric drifts.
• 1971. Development of the radar interferometry technique to measure size and location of the echoing region.
• 1972-74. Development of the MST (Mesosphere, Stratosphere, Troposphere) radar to measure winds and clear air turbulence. Smaller versions of this type of radars are called wind profilers.
• Since 1974. Promotion and participation in international rocket campaigns to study atmospheric and ionospheric irregularities. JRO measurements complement the in-situ measurements perform with rockets launched from Punta Lobos, Peru.
• 1976. Explanation of the physics behind spread F irregularities
• 1981-82 Improvement of the radar interferometry technique to measure the zonal drifts of ionospheric irregularities (EEJ and ESF).
• 1987.
  • Development of the Frequency Domain Interferometry (FDI) technique that allows measurements of fine altitude structure of echoes.
  • 1987. Dr. Tor Hagfors, former JRO Director, received the URSI Balthasar van del Pol Gold Medal, for Contributions to radar engineering and the theory and experimental development of the incoherent scatter techniques”
• Since 1991. Development of the radar Imaging technique by Peruvian scientists and US colleagues. This technique permits the observation of fine angular structure inside the beam, and therefore discriminate between time and space ambiguities.
• 1993. Installation of the first MST radar in the Antarctica.
• 1994. First observations of Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes (PMSE) in the Antarctica and discovery of a significant asymmetry with respect to Arctic echoes.
• 1996. Prof. Donald T. Farley, former JRO Director and Principal Investigator, received the URSI Appleton Prize for “Contributions to the development of the incoherent scatter radar technique and to radar studies of ionospheric instabilities”.
• 1997. First VHF radar on board of a scientific ship (BIC Humboldt), which has allowed the study of the PMSE in different Antarctic latitudes.
• 1999. Dr. Ronald F. Woodman, former JRO Director, received the URSI Appleton Prize for “Major contributions and leadership in radar studies of the ionosphere and neutral atmosphere”.
• 2000. Radar technique to “compress” antennas, using binary phase modulation of the antenna modules
• 2001. First electron density measurements of electrons between 90 and 120 km of altitude using a small bistatic radar system.
• 2002.
  • First observation of pure two stream E region irregularities during counter electric field conditions.
  • Jicamarca 40th Anniversary Workshop.
• Since 2003. Improved perpendicular to the magnetic field observations, accompanied by refinements in theory and computations, to measure simultaneously drifts and electron densities.
• 2004.
  • Unambiguous measurements of the ESF spectra in the topside using aperiodic pulsing.
  • Discovery of 150 km echoes using beams pointing away from perpendicular to the magnetic field.
• 2005. First E region zonal wind profiles from Equatorial electrojet echoes.
• 2006. Multi-radar observations of EEJ irregularities: VHF and UHF, vertical and oblique beams, and radar imaging.
• 2007. Identification of sporadic meteor populations using 90 hours of JRO’s meteor head echoes.
• 2008.
  • First ISR full profile measurements of the equatorial ionosphere.
  • First observation of meteor shower from meteor-head echoes.
• 2009. Installation of a Fabry–Peort Interferometer at JRO (MeriHill Observatory).