ACOUSTIC DISTURBANCE FROM AN UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR EXPLOSION AS A SOURCE OF ELECTROSTATIC TURBULENCE IN THE MAGNETOSPHERE

Abstract

Theory indicates that a highly efficient conversion of acoustic waves into magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) perturbation can occur in principle. The most convincing argument that acoustic waves can be efficiently converted into MHD waves is provided by the MASSA experiments. Thus, the MASSA experiment demonstrated that several stages in the conversion of acoustic waves into various types of electromagnetic waves occured in the ionosphere, accompanied by transfer of energy to higher frequencies. The development of physical models of such processes is being delayed less by the theoretical complexity of the problem than by the fact that all of the measurements were confined to isolated events. In this paper we attempt to use information from the satellite data base of the Goddard Space Center to find additional evidence that ionospheric electromagnetic turbulence is amplified by strong acoustic waves.