AN INVESTIGATION OF LONG-PERIOD OSCILLATIONS IN BACKSCATTER RANGE AS SEEN BY THE SANAE SUPERDARN RADAR

• Main Authors: E. Mravlag, A. D. M. Walker
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: SANAE; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.516.3851; http://www.ursi.org/Proceedings/ProcGA05/pdf/GP1.13(0228).pdf

Oscillations in backscatter range with periods of the order of 1 to 2 hours are routinely observed with the SANAE SuperDARN radar in Antarctica. They usually appear in mid-range, 1000 to 1500 km from the radar as a narrow band of backscatter, mostly during the day time. Their amplitude can reach about 1000 km peak to peak and they usually persist for several hours at a time. A one-dimensional simulation of the ray paths through the ionosphere along the magnetic meridian has been carried out. The results indicate that internal gravity waves generate horizontal electron density fluctuations in the E-region which lead to a tilt of the ionosphere at the point of entry of the radar energy. INTRODUCTION AND OBSERVATIONS During the last few years the SuperDARN network of HF ionospheric radars has become a major contributor to the ionospheric monitoring effort. SuperDARN is ideal for monitoring the high-latitude ionosphere on a continuous basis, as the radars have a large field of view and are almost all deployed in pairs, overlooking the same area. This allows the