An Investigation of Whistlers and Chorus at High Latitudes

Abstract

The whistlers and chorus received at College, Alaska during the period from December 1955 through March 1958 are studied particularly with respect to temporal variations. The diurnal curves for whistler activity show maxima after midnight local time while the seasonal variation peaks during the winter. It appears that these variations in whistler activity are in part explainable in terms of very low frequency propagation conditions. The diurnal variation of chorus shows a maximum at about 1400 hours local time. By the use of data from lower latitude stations a dependence of this time of diurnal maximum on the geomagnetic latitude of the station is shown. The coefficients of correlation for chorus activity versus magnetic activity were determined on a monthly basis. A seasonal variation in these correlations is indicated which appears to be unique for the geomagnetic latitude of College. A preliminary statistical study of one of the more easily measured characteristics of chorus is discussed. The characteristic chosen is the mid-frequency in an element of chorus. A diurnal variation in this parameter is indicated.