Space Weather: Monitoring and Forecasting Equatorial Spread-F from the Pohnpei Radar

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ATM-0001678Tsunoda, RolandThe PI proposes to conduct a three-year research program to develop a short-term forecasting capability that can predict the occurrence of equatorial spread F (ESF). SRI proposes to augment the cluster of sensors at the Pohnpei Radar Observatory (PRO) with an oblique-incidence backscatter (OIB) sounding capability so that the PRO can be used to collect the much-needed simultaneous measurements of electric field and plasma-density distribution. The PRO already houses a 50 MHz backscatter radar, a frequency-agile radar (FAR), and a magnetometer; all are capable of contributing estimates of the equatorial electric field at different (but overlapping) times of the day. The OIB sounder would provide a description of the plasma-density distribution in both hemispheres. With this set of sensors, the PRO would become an ideal prototype for an integrated, ESF space-weather monitoring station. SRI envisions the proposed research to be a synergistic one that will enable physics-based models to be run with critical data sets, and data to be properly interpreted with the assistance of model outputs.