Super Dual Auroral Radar Network Expansion and its Influence on the Derived Ionospheric Convection Pattern

Abstract

We identify changes in derived convection maps when PolarDARN and StormDARN are added, and show the impact of different processing• Derived convection parameters are highly susceptible to processing variables and which radars are included• We show how the number of backscatter echoes per map is critical to the integrity of the maps, and discuss how this impacts map quality

Super Dual Auroral Radar Network Expansion and Its Influence on the Derived Ionospheric Convection Pattern

“…The AE data are also available from the WDC for Geomagnetism, Kyoto (http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/wdc/Sec3.html) who prepared this index. The processed data used to make the figures in this paper are available via the (Walach, 2022).…”

Dusk‐Dawn Asymmetries in SuperDARN Convection Maps

“…To make SuperDARN convection maps we process the raw data using the Radar Software Toolkit (RST; SuperDARN Data Analysis Working Group et al., 2018), which can be broken down into the 5 steps summarized in Section 1.2 and described in detail in Walach et al. (2022). For Walach et al.…”

“…An aspect that was not covered by Walach et al. (2022) is the effect of the changes in the SuperDARN convection map data set on the dusk‐dawn asymmetries. Asymmetries in the electrostatic potential, as well as the location of the convection cells will affect the map morphologies and can therefore affect scientific conclusions drawn.…”

“…Using the same data set as in Walach et al. (2022), we study the strength and location of the negative and positive potential cells, as well as the size of the return flow region. This allows us to investigate any large‐scale dusk‐dawn asymmetries in the convection map data set.…”

“…Furthermore, the SuperDARN data availability and data processing have changed over the years and it is reasonable to assume that these may further affect measured asymmetries: Walach et al. (2022) conducted a large scale analysis of how changes to data availability and new mapping techniques has influenced derived convection maps over the history of SuperDARN operations. The authors found that the expansion of the radar network and processing decisions can have a measurable impact on the resulting convection map data set.…”