Study of Non-linear Phenomena in the Polar Ionosphere Induced by the SPEAR Heating Facility, 2010-2012

This proposal seeks to build up a close collaboration in Svalbard in upper atmosphere physics between the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) in Longyearbyen and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) from St. Petersburg, Russia. The focus of this project is to study non-linear phenomena in the upper polar atmosphere above Svalbard using available Norwegian and Russian radio instrumentation in Longyearbyen and Barentsburg. The UNIS operated SPEAR heating facility will be used for ionospheric modification experiments to generate ionospheric irregularities, and the EISCAT Svalbard Radar will be used to monitor the behaviour of plasma parameters. Russian radio equipment operated by AARI in Barentsburg will be used for studies of intensive stimulated electromagnetic emissions (SEE) phenomenology in the HF modified polar ionosphere. Remote diagnostics will be performed with use of the long-distance diagnostics radio equipment at the AARI observatory in St. Petersburg.
The project research focus was to utilize a high power atmospheric radar to induced small scale changes in the atmosphere.
These changes were then monitored by other instruments. In several cases the other instruments have ownership rights to them, such as the data collected during the experiments by the
EISCAT Svalbard Radar. The summary data is generally available to browse through from several data servers.