CEDAR: Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) and Imaging Radar Studies of the Auroral Electrojet

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

This is an experimental and theoretical investigation of plasma irregularities in the auroral electrojet, their effect on the background environment, and their potential utility for monitoring fine structure in the auroral convection pattern by remote sensing. The investigation also seeks to quantify space-time variability in the convection pattern during quite and disturbed periods. This variability contributes to Joule heating and is, along with wave heating, a significant but neglected aspect of magnetospheric-ionospheric coupling. The investigators will investigate the following questions: Does contemporary theory fully account for wave heating due to Farley Buneman instabilities? How does the Doppler shift of type 1 radar echoes depend on electron and ion temperature? How do the Doppler shifts of type 1 and 2 auroral echoes depend on the convection velocity? On what do the spectral widths of auroral echoes depend? What are the effects of neutral winds? How much can variability in the convection electric field contribute to the Joule heating rate? The study will make use of common volume observations from the AMISR incoherent scatter radar near Fairbanks and a coherent scatter radar imager in Anchorage. Together, they form a powerful diagnostic tool for studying auroral E region plasma waves and wave effects with minimal ambiguity. The broader impact the research will come in the form of the experimental tools and codes that will be developed for AMISR and made available to the aeronomy community, the development and validation of radar imaging techniques which are applicable outside the immediate field of interest, and the education and training of graduate and undergraduate students in radio science and engineering. Furthermore, the work will expand the experimental site in Anchorage which is an ideal research and training venue, given its proximity to the AMISR and the Poker Flat Range.