DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16848449
title: Plasma Drift Velocity Observation Data and Simulation Results

description: The repository contains MATLAB code, data and some additional documentations associated with the article: “Plasma Drift Velocity Estimation Technique for Ionosondes with Flexible Antenna Geometry” by O. Koloskov, A. Kashcheyev, P. T. Jayachandran. It includes: 

·         Numerical simulation results characterizing plasma drift velocity reconstruction errors as functions of the prescribed drift velocity magnitude, drift velocity azimuth, and angular extent of the reflecting ionospheric region (SimulationAdditionalFigures.pdf).

·         MATLAB tools for visualization and post-processing of simulation data generated using the forward and inverse modeling algorithms described in the article.

·         A description of experimental testing of the plasma drift velocity estimation algorithm using data from a prototype modular ionosonde (Observations.pdf).

·         MATLAB tools for visualization and analysis of experimental ionosonde measurements and derived plasma drift velocity parameters.

The provided MATLAB code reproduces all figures presented in the article and its supplemental materials. The code was tested under Microsoft Windows 11 using MATLAB R2024b.




Simulation and figure datasets



SimulationAdditionalFigures.zipContains the folder SimulationAdditionalFigures, which includes:


o    SimulationAdditionalFigures.pdf with additional simulation results illustrating drift velocity reconstruction errors as functions of initial drift velocity, drift velocity azimuth, and angular dimensions of the reflecting region.

o    SimulationAdditionalFigures/Fig/ — image files corresponding to these simulation results.



FIG_02.zipContains:



FIG_02/Fig/ — output figures.

FIG_02/Code/ — MATLAB code for calculating and plotting plasma drift velocity resolution as a function of sounding duration T for both vertical and horizontal components.To generate the figures, run Run_CalcPlot_VdRes_via_dFd.m.


FIG_03.zipContains:



FIG_03/Fig/ — output figure.

FIG_03/Code/ — MATLAB code for calculating and plotting phase error as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).To generate the figure, run Calc_dPhas_via_SnR_Estimation.m.


FIG_04.zipContains:



FIG_04/Fig/ — output figure.

FIG_04/CodeData/ — MATLAB code and data (SimulationDataFIG04.mat) for calculating and plotting phase error and angular displacement errors as functions of SNR over sounding frequencies from 2 MHz to 8 MHz.To generate the figure, run Run_CalcAndPlotDisplacement.m.


FIG_05.zipContains:



FIG_05/Fig/ — output figures.

FIG_05/CodeData/ — MATLAB code and data (SimulationDataFIG05.mat) for calculating and plotting drift velocity estimation errors as functions of SNR for both horizontal and vertical components.To generate the figures, run Run_CalcAndPlot_VdErrorbar_via_FreqSNR.m.


FIG_06.zipContains:



FIG_06/Fig/ — output figures.

FIG_06/CodeData/ — MATLAB code and data (SimulationDataFIG06.mat) for analyzing the influence of zenith angle on drift velocity estimation errors for horizontal and vertical components.To generate the figures, run Run_CalcPlot_VdHZ_Errorbar_via_SNR_TETA0.m.


FIG_07.zipContains:



FIG_07/Fig/ — output figures.

FIG_07/CodeData/ — MATLAB code and data (SimulationDataFIG07.mat) for calculating and plotting error asymmetry (ratio of underestimation to overestimation) in drift velocity estimation as a function of SNR.To generate the figures, run Run_CalcPlotAssymetry_via_SNR_TETA0.m.






Experimental data



Observations.pdfProvides a detailed description and analysis of experimental testing of the plasma drift velocity estimation algorithm. The testing was performed using a prototype modular ionosonde developed at the Radio and Space Physics Laboratory, the University of New Brunswick.Plasma drift velocities derived from this prototype were compared with standard drift velocity estimates obtained from a simultaneously operating Digisonde DPS-4D located at the Millstone Hill, Haystack Observatory, USA.

FIG_S1.zipContains:



FIG_S1/Fig/ — output figures.

FIG_S1/CodeData_Blissville/ — MATLAB code and data (Bliss_20240126_0315.mat) for loading, processing, and plotting drift velocity data collected at the Blissville site from 27 January to 15 March 2024.To generate the figures, run PlotSynchroDiurnalVelocitiesBlissFig.m.

FIG_S1/CodeData_MillstoneHill/ — MATLAB code and data (MH_20240126-0315.mat) for processing and plotting synchronized drift velocity data from the Millstone Hill Digisonde over the same period.To generate the figures, run PlotSynchroDiurnalVelocitiesMHfig.m.