Evaluation of the effect of sporadic-E on high frequency radio wave propagation in the Arctic

• Main Authors: T.G. Cameron, R.A.D. Fiori, D.R. Themens, E.M. Warrington, T. Thayaparan, D. Galeschuk
• Format: Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Uncategorized; High frequency radio wave propagation; Sporadic-EIonosphere; High-latitude; Arctic; Eureka
• Online Access: https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Evaluation_of_the_effect_of_sporadic-E_on_high_frequency_radio_wave_propagation_in_the_Arctic/19009118

High Frequency (HF) radio propagation, and applications such as Over-The-Horizon Radar (OTHR), is sensitive to ionospheric disturbances caused by space weather. Improved ionospheric modelling and monitoring techniques for the high-latitude and polar regions supports high quality OTHR long-range surveillance. One such ionospheric disturbance is Sporadic-E, a phenomenon in which a thin enhancement in E-region (approximately 90–150 km altitude) electron density acts as a strong reflector of HF radio waves. In this study, we perform a case study of the effect a sporadic-E layer has on HF radio propagation for a layer that was detected over Eureka on July 11, 2012. We study this event using HF radio receiver measurements for a path intersecting the layer, simultaneous ionosonde measurements of the layer, and a series of ray traces through a model ionosphere containing a model of the sporadic-E layer. Utilizing these measurements and simulations, we show how sporadic-E can aid HF radio propagation in some cases, and show that a simple Gaussian sporadic-E model can replicate real HF radio measurements. We also comment on how sporadic-E could affect OTHR operation.