Revitalization of the Arecibo incoherent scatter radar data: contemporary analyses, database expansion, and multi-variable studies of traveling ionosphere disturbances

Miami University, Oxford OH

Investigators

Abstract

The project supports efforts to obtain the most accurate ionospheric measurements and use them to study traveling ionosphere disturbances. The first objective of the proposal is to analyze and archive all the available coded-long-pulse (CLP) data collected by the Arecibo incoherent scatter radar (ISR). The geophysical parameters derived from the CLP data will include ion and electron temperatures (Ti, Te), vector ion velocity (Vi), electron density (Ne), and ion composition from 130 to 650 km. With advances in computing power, the research team has developed an exhaustive fitting method using the ion-line spectra to obtain Ti, Te, Vi, Ne, and molecular ion fractions simultaneously with the best accuracy yet. The new method will be extended to the upper F-region to obtain He+ and H+ fractions and more accurate Ti and Te. Combining the ion-line and plasma-line data allows the measurement of the antenna near-field gain for the first time since 1992, which makes it possible to measure Ne accurately below ~200 km and obtain high-resolution Te/Ti. Using modern AI techniques, the team expects to increase the efficiency of CLP Ne measurement by 10-fold. The project will revitalize the Arecibo database in terms of not only improved accuracy and resolution but also additional data types not available previously. Owing to Arecibo’s unsurpassed signal-to-noise ratio and the optimized fitting method used, the newly archived data is expected to set the gold standard for ISR-derived parameters at Arecibo or elsewhere. The second objective focuses on multi-variable studies of traveling ionosphere disturbance (TID) using the newly analyzed data. The team will delineate the relationships between TID’s manifestations in Ti, Te, Vi and Ne. The study will provide detailed vertical and horizontal characteristics of TID. The availability of high-quality data will improve our understanding of space weather phenomena and climatology. The proposed study on TID, a ubiquitous phenomenon at Arecibo, will showcase Arecibo’s capability and highlight the coupling processes between the different state variables over a large altitude range. The project will help train young scientists and students in radar signal processing and aeronomy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.