Njord is a novel plasma device in which a low-temperature plasma is produced by RF waves inductively coupled into a cylindrical, magnetized vacuum. The main part of this project is to carry out an experimental characterization of the plasma in this device. The plasma expansion and acceleration of the source plasma into the main chamber will be of specific interest. The ultimate aim will then be to ...

We present spectral measurements of PMSE under the influence of HF heating cycles. The data has been obtained with EISCAT VHF radar, during the EISCAT campaign 2004 in Tromsø. Examples where the PMSE overshoot appears when the electrons are heated with a specific cycle are shown. A detailed analysis of PMSE spectral width during the heating cycles concluded that there is no evidence of a possible ...

New to the ESR common programmes is the inclusion of plasma lines along with the standard ion power density spectrum. Using data from the IPY common programme, a programme that has been run all through the International Polar Year, we have gone through large amounts of analysed data trying to find periods in time that fulfils the known criteria for finding Naturally Enhanced Ion Acoustic Lines ...

Using a resonance lidar, atomic Na (sodium) can be observed in the 80-110 km altitude range of the atmosphere. Na belongs to the alkali metal group and is highly reactive, so one could expect that it would quickly react with other particles and leave its atomic state. Its actual behaviour however includes the formation of relatively dense layers which, from the perspective of a stationary lidar, ...

This work is focused on the three sounding rocket launches during the ECOMA Geminids campaign in December 2010: One before the Geminids meteor shower, one at its peak and one some days after the peak. In this work, the main emphasis is on analyzing the results from electron and ion probes on the rockets, obtaining electron and ion density profiles, and comparing them with the measurements of meteoric ...

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate Arctic cirrus clouds. In this work, data from the ground-based lidar system at ALOMAR, Andøya Space Center. and the spaceborne lidar onboard the CALIPSO satellite is used. Cirrus clouds are an important factor in modeling climate changes, which is one of the major research fields of this time. Most of the cirrus cloud research concentrates on investigating ...

The primary focus of this thesis is the installation and characterization of an electron bombardment ion source for a Space Simulation Chamber (SSC). The goal is that the chamber can be used to test satellite and sounding rocket instrumentation, thus be capable of producing ionospheric plasma conditions, along with an ion beam that can simulate the velocity of a rocket or satellite relative to the ...

Plasma cloud formation from arcing is experimentally studied. The arcs are formed by a high voltage set-up in the space simulation chamber at UiT. The plasma clouds are observed as large structures in the time series recorded by Langmuir probe and reference probe. By using the method of conditional averaging, the structures are accentuated. The electron cloud formed by arcing was found to be ...

This thesis starts with a review of the evolution of space debris, what is consists of, how it is made, how it is detected and tracked, and why it is such an important topic. Some of the worst collisions have contributed to causing 49% of the total space debris. If the launch rate continues, the "Kessler Syndrome" might become a reality destroying our future outlook for space communication and ...

Geomagnetic field models can be a useful tool for when and where there are no measurements available, or access is limited, because of a highly spatially uneven magnetometer network around the globe. The same can be said for altitudes above the ground, but below the ionospheric current layer, where there exist no in situ measurements at the point of writing. Modelled geomagnetic disturbances have ...