CEDAR: Characterization of Plasma Structures in the High-Latitude Ionosphere with SuperDARN HF Radar Observations

研究人员将研究高频雷达观测中看到的宏观不规则特征。 高纬度电离层的等离子体在从数百公里到几米的空间尺度上具有高度的结构。 这些不规则性的影响在雷达、导航和通信等技术系统中是显而易见的。 SuperDARN（超级双极光雷达网）系统的雷达探测来自十米尺度不规则结构的后向散射，由此可以推断出更大尺度结构的行为。 因此，观测将提供有关不规则现象的发生频率、空间分布和运动及其与斑块、斑点和极冠弧等较大尺度电离层特征的关系的信息。 由于SuperDARN雷达广泛分布在北方和南方极地地区，这些数据在跟踪等离子体结构的起源和动力学行为方面特别有用。 观测结果还将与同时导出的对流图进行比较，以测试描述斑块在高纬度电离层中移动时演变的模型。 调查人员将向社区提供数据产品，以帮助其他调查人员研究特定事件的不规则特征。 这些观测所促成的科学研究将有助于开发空间气象模型，以确定和预测可能影响技术系统运行的电离层状况。

The investigators will study the macroscale irregularity features seen in high frequency radar observations. The plasma of the high-latitude ionosphere is highly structured on spatial scales from hundreds of kilometers to meters. The effects of these irregularities are readily apparent in technical systems, such as radar, navigation, and communication. The radars of the SuperDARN (Super Dual Auroral Radar Network) system detect backscatter from decameter-scale irregularities, from which behavior of larger scale structures may be inferred. Thus, the observations will provide information about the occurrence frequency, spatial distribution and motion of the irregularities and their relation to larger scale ionospheric features such as patches, blobs, and polar cap arcs. Because the SuperDARN radars are widely distributed over the northern and southern Polar Regions, the data is especially useful in tracking the origin and dynamic behavior of plasma structures. The observations will also be compared with simultaneously derived convection maps to test models that describe the evolution of patches as they move through the high latitude ionosphere. The investigators will provide community access to data products that will help other investigators study irregularity features for specific events. The scientific studies enabled by the observations will contribute to the development of space weather models that specify and predict ionospheric conditions that might impact the operation of technical systems.