Air Force Technology Tracks “Sporadic E”

Researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in New Mexico have discovered a new way to track and characterize a phenomenon called “Sporadic E” that naturally occurs in the upper atmosphere where large structures of dense plasma form. These plasma structures, which occur at mid-latitude locations around the world, disrupt radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves (or simply “radio waves”) and impact both DoD and civilian radio systems in positive and negative ways, depending on the application.

“Previous methods to observe these structures were insufficient for identifying and tracking these structures over large regions,” said Ken Obenberger, research physicist at AFRL. “It would be advantageous to actively identify where these structures are, where they are going, and how dense they are and we thought we could find a better way.”