Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) Operations and Maintenance: The First Deployments

Sri International, Menlo Park CA

Investigators

Abstract

The awardee will operate and manage the Poker Flat and Resolute Bay Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) facilities. AMISR is a new incoherent scatter radar system designed and built through National Science Foundation support. Over the last four decades, incoherent scatter radar is the primary technique for measuring basic properties of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. The AMISR has significant scientific advantages over existing incoherent scatter radars, largely due to the rapid steering provided by the phased array antenna. The pulse-to-pulse steering capability promises to resolve many of the temporal/spatial ambiguities inherent in measurements from mechanically steered dish-based systems. In operating and managing the AMISR systems in Alaska and Canada, the awardee will focus on assisting the research community by 1) directing use of a state-of-the-art facility in unique parts of the world, 2) providing access to a knowledgeable staff of scientists and engineers for consultation and collaboration, 3) providing logistics support for campaigns and long-term measurement programs, 4) providing easy access to various levels of processed and analyzed radar data, and 5) participating in the training of students and assisting student advisors. Scientific activities related to the AMISR observations will focus on Earth's upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere, and their coupling to the solar wind. Although, knowledge of the Earth's geospace environment has advanced significantly during the second half of the twentieth century, detailed understanding of even the most basic processes remains somewhat vague. At times, important temporal scales can range from seconds through days. Similarly, the relevant spatial scales range from submeters through thousands of kilometers. AMISR fills the needs of the atmospheric science and magnetospheric science communities to study the dynamic processes that occur at high latitudes. There is evidence that much of the variability is due to advection of horizontally inhomogeneous structures, but it is also clear that the structures evolve with time. A phased array system such as AMISR would essentially support the short timescale imaging of such structures and the tracking of their evolution. A similar argument applies to the probing of auroral ionization structures. Another important attribute of the AMISR facilities is that they are remotely accessible, and the radar and ancillary instruments will be designed to produce real-time processed data that will be made publicly available and distributed to the user community over the Internet. The provision of user-friendly data and display capabilities, which meet the community's research needs, is an important part of AMISR operations. Support of a strong, distributed, and trained user community is very important to the overall scientific success of the AMISR project. The AMISR management team will work directly with graduate and undergraduate students and their advisors to assist with student training, experiment planning, and scheduling. It will also maintain a repository for contributed course materials, technical data, and facility instrument information.