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出现的大尺度不规则特征。高纬度电离层的等离子体在数百公里到几米的空间尺度上高度结构化。这些不规则性的影响在雷达、导航和通信等技术系统中很明显。SuperDARN(超级双极光雷达网)系统的雷达从分米尺度的不规则性中探测后向散射，由此可以推断更大尺度的结构的行为。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更大尺度电离层特征(如斑块、斑点和极帽弧形)的关系的信息。由于SuperDARN雷达广泛分布在北极和南极地区，这些数据在追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得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的演变的模型。调查人员将提供对数据产品的社区访问，这些产品将帮助其他调查人员研究特定事件的违规特征。这些观测带来的科学研究将有助于发展空间气象模型，以具体说明和预测可能影响技术系统运行的电离层条件。

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.