EFFECT OF SMALL-SCALE PLASMA TURBULENCE ON ALTITUDE PROFILES OF ELECTRON-DRIFT VELOCITY IN THE EQUATORIAL ELECTROJET - AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY

Recent theoretical developments on the irregularities in the equatoria l electrojet (EEJ) brought out the effect of small-scale turbulence on the large-scale dynamics of the EEJ. We have studied this aspect expe rimentally using VHF backscatter radar observations. It is found that the effect of turbulence is to shift the altitude of maximum of the el ectron drift velocity upward. The ratio of anomalous (manifestation of turbulence) to normal collision frequency of electrons has been deriv ed from the observations. The experimental findings on the effect of t urbulence on EEJ structure are, in general, in accordance with theoret ical results.