Accepted author manuscript, 3.04 MB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY-NC: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Rights statement: ©2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
Final published version, 1.67 MB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Ionospheric electron number densities from CUTLASS dual-frequency velocity measurements using artificial backscatter over EISCAT
AU - Sarno-Smith, Lois K.
AU - Kosch, Michael Jurgen
AU - Yeoman, Timothy
AU - Rietveld, Michael
N1 - ©2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2016/8
Y1 - 2016/8
N2 - Using quasi-simultaneous line-of-sight velocity measurements at multiple frequencies from the Hankasalmi Cooperative UK Twin Auroral Sounding System (CUTLASS) on the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), we calculate electron number densities using a derivation outlined in Gillies et al. (2010, 2012). Backscatter targets were generated using the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) ionospheric modification facility at Tromsø, Norway. We use two methods on two case studies. The first approach is to use the dual-frequency capability on CUTLASS and compare line-of-sight velocities between frequencies with a MHz or greater difference. The other method used the kHz frequency shifts automatically made by the SuperDARN radar during routine operations. Using ray tracing to obtain the approximate altitude of the backscatter, we demonstrate that for both methods, SuperDARN significantly overestimates Ne compared to those obtained from the EISCAT incoherent scatter radar over the same time period. The discrepancy between the Ne measurements of both radars may be largely due to SuperDARN sensitivity to backscatter produced by localized density irregularities which obscure the background levels.
AB - Using quasi-simultaneous line-of-sight velocity measurements at multiple frequencies from the Hankasalmi Cooperative UK Twin Auroral Sounding System (CUTLASS) on the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), we calculate electron number densities using a derivation outlined in Gillies et al. (2010, 2012). Backscatter targets were generated using the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) ionospheric modification facility at Tromsø, Norway. We use two methods on two case studies. The first approach is to use the dual-frequency capability on CUTLASS and compare line-of-sight velocities between frequencies with a MHz or greater difference. The other method used the kHz frequency shifts automatically made by the SuperDARN radar during routine operations. Using ray tracing to obtain the approximate altitude of the backscatter, we demonstrate that for both methods, SuperDARN significantly overestimates Ne compared to those obtained from the EISCAT incoherent scatter radar over the same time period. The discrepancy between the Ne measurements of both radars may be largely due to SuperDARN sensitivity to backscatter produced by localized density irregularities which obscure the background levels.
M3 - Journal article
VL - 121
SP - 8066
EP - 8076
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
SN - 2169-9402
IS - 8
ER -