Prof. L.Kersley, Dr N.J.Mitchell, Dr S.E.Pryse and Dr A.Breen. A further two senior appointments are to be made in late 1999 Aberystwyth is involved in studying many links in the chain of solar-terrestrial physics that starts at the Sun and ends with the Earth's atmosphere. Comparison of scintillation induced in the radio signal by structure within the solar wind observed by the different telescopes allows solar-wind velocities to be investigated well within the orbit of Mercury and over all solar latitudes. The Mesosphere-Thermosphere Neutral Dynamics Group operates VHF radars in the UK and Scandinavia to measure the drift of meteor trains carried by the flow of the upper atmosphere. These drifts reveal the coupling and dynamics of a region dominated by atmospheric gravity, tidal and planetary waves of large amplitude.
Related studies examine aspects of meteor astronomy and space debris.
The Radio and Space Physics Group uses radio signals from satellites received at high latitudes to study the ionosphere. A chain of receivers at locations in the Arctic Ocean is used to study the temporal and spatial structure of polar-cap ionospheric plasma. All groups are actively involved in international and national collaboration and students are expected to take part in measurement campaigns, often in northern Scandinavia. The Atmospheric Physics Group is concerned with transport and dynamics in the troposphere and stratosphere. This region of the atmosphere is of great interest as man- made gases perturb the natural chemical and radiative balance.