Radar interferometer calibration of the EISCAT Svalbard Radar and a additional receiver station

Schlatter, Nicola; Grydeland, T.; Ivchenko, Nickolay; Belyey, V.; Sullivan, J.; Hoz, C. La; Blixt, M.

doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2012.11.017

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…At high latitudes, satellites transiting the radar beam provide strong backscattering targets which make it possible to estimate the receiver phase offsets and the antenna baselines. Here, we have used the method by Schlatter et al (2013) to self-consistently solve for the baseline geometry and the phase offsets have been derived accordingly from satellite backscatter.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Auroral ion acoustic wave enhancement observed with a radar interferometer system

et al. 2015

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Measurements of naturally enhanced ion acoustic line (NEIAL) echoes obtained with a five-antenna interferometric imaging radar system are presented. The observations were conducted with the European Incoherent SCATter (EIS-CAT) radar on Svalbard and the EISCAT Aperture Synthesis Imaging receivers (EASI) installed at the radar site. Four baselines of the interferometer are used in the analysis. Based on the coherence estimates derived from the measurements, we show that the enhanced backscattering region is of limited extent in the plane perpendicular to the geomagnetic field. Previously it has been argued that the enhanced backscatter region is limited in size; however, here the first unambiguous observations are presented. The size of the enhanced backscatter region is determined to be less than 900 × 500 m, and at times less than 160 m in the direction of the longest antenna separation, assuming the scattering region to have a Gaussian scattering cross section in the plane perpendicular to the geomagnetic field. Using aperture synthesis imaging methods volumetric images of the NEIAL echo are obtained showing the enhanced backscattering region to be aligned with the geomagnetic field. Although optical auroral emissions are observed outside the radar look direction, our observations are consistent with the NEIAL echo occurring on field lines with particle precipitation.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Auroral ion acoustic wave enhancement observed with a radar interferometer system

et al. 2015

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The aperture synthesis imaging technique is already being used at the EISCAT Svalbard Radar, employing a small number of additional low-gain arrays distributed around the main radar site, an example of which is shown in Fig. 33 (see, for example, Schlatter et al 2013). The existence of a distributed receiving array, as planned for EISCAT_3D, with receiving elements located up to 2 km from the array centre, allows the reconstruction of ionospheric targets down to tens of metre scales, significantly smaller than the beam widths of the current generation of incoherent scatter radars (La Hoz and Belyey 2011).…”

Section: Observing Techniques and Measurement Philosophiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The science case for the EISCAT_3D radar

McCrea

Aikio

Alfonsi

et al. 2015

Prog. in Earth and Planet. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The EISCAT (European Incoherent SCATer) Scientific Association has provided versatile incoherent scatter (IS) radar facilities on the mainland of northern Scandinavia (the EISCAT UHF and VHF radar systems) and on Svalbard (the electronically scanning radar ESR (EISCAT Svalbard Radar) for studies of the high-latitude ionised upper atmosphere (the ionosphere). The mainland radars were constructed about 30 years ago, based on technological solutions of that time. The science drivers of today, however, require a more flexible instrument, which allows measurements to be made from the troposphere to the topside ionosphere and gives the measured parameters in three dimensions, not just along a single radar beam. The possibility for continuous operation is also an essential feature. To facilitatefuture science work with a world-leading IS radar facility, planning of a new radar system started first with an EU-funded Design Study (2005-2009) and has continued with a follow-up EU FP7 EISCAT_3D Preparatory Phase project (2010-2014). The radar facility will be realised by using phased arrays, and a key aspect is the use of advanced software and data processing techniques. This type of software radar will act as a pathfinder for other facilities worldwide. The new radar facility will enable the EISCAT_3D science community to address new, significant science questions as well as to serve society, which is increasingly dependent on space-based technology and issues related to space weather. The location of the radar within the auroral oval and at the edge of the stratospheric polar vortex is also ideal for studies of the long-term variability in the atmosphere and global change. This paper is a summary of the EISCAT_3D science case, which was prepared as part of the EU-funded Preparatory Phase project for the new facility. Three science working groups, drawn from the EISCAT user community, participated in preparing this document. In addition to these working group members, who are listed as authors, thanks are due to many others in the EISCAT scientific community for useful contributions, discussions, and support.

show abstract

“…A phase imbalance between receiving channels refers to as phase offset, or systematic phase error, or initial system phase bias. Much work has been performed to estimate the phase offset using different methods, e.g., generating a common signal that simultaneously fed each of two receivers and measuring the phase offset between them (Aso et al 1979;Vandepeer and Reid 1995;Valentic et al 1997), calculating the trajectory of an airplane flying routinely in the vicinity of the radar and comparing the observed phase differences of the radar echoes between difference receiving channels with the optical-recorded ones (Robertson et al 1953;Chen et al 2002), utilizing single or a set of artificial radio beacons placed at known locations in the far-field of the radar array and measuring the phase present at each channel (Glanz 1971;Valentic et al 1997;Chau et al 2008), receiving beacon signals transmitted by satellites and radio stars which transit across receiving arrays, then calculating their trajectories and comparing the phase differences of the beacon signals between difference channels with the theoretical ones (Glanz 1971;Clark 1978;Palmer et al 1996;Sullivan et al 2006;Chau et al 2008Chau et al , 2014Schlatter et al 2013), using meteor-head or -trail echoes collected during routine observations to do the self-survey phase calibration (Valentic et al 1997;Holdsworth et al 2004;Chau et al 2008), or comparing the distribution of sporadic E echoes with the expected echoing region which is determined in accordance with the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) model (Wang 1999;Wang and Chu 2001;Kuong et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radar phase offset estimate using ionospheric field-aligned irregularities and aircraft

Lin

Chu²,

Su³

et al. 2019

Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The phase imbalance between receiving channels of a phase array antenna, referred to as phase offset, is one of the most crucial parameters in positioning the targets in lower and upper atmospheres using spatial domain interferometry (SDI) technique. In this study, we develop a method of using commercial aircraft that equips with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system to estimate the system phase offsets of the Chungli VHF radar. The aviation data broadcasted from ADS-B system combined with the radar returns from the aircraft can obtain the system phase offset. The principle of the method and the algorithms of processing the ADS-B messages are described and the procedures of analyzing the aircraft echoes are also detailed in this article. On the basis of this method, multirotor equipped with a high precision GPS receiver is also employed to estimate radar system phase offset. The results show that the system phase offsets estimated by the aircraft and those from the multirotor are consistent. However, the aircraft/multirotor-derived system phase offsets are very different from those estimated from the radar returns of the 3-m ionospheric field-aligned plasma irregularities (FAIs) combined with International Geomagnetic Reference Field 12th generation (IGRF-12) model. The principle of the FAI method is introduced and the plausible causes of the discrepancies in the estimated system phase offsets between aircraft/multirotor and FAIs are discussed.

show abstract

Radar interferometer calibration of the EISCAT Svalbard Radar and a additional receiver station

Cited by 4 publications

References 12 publications

Auroral ion acoustic wave enhancement observed with a radar interferometer system

Auroral ion acoustic wave enhancement observed with a radar interferometer system

The science case for the EISCAT_3D radar

Radar phase offset estimate using ionospheric field-aligned irregularities and aircraft

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About