09:00 - 10:20
Room: Conference room
Oral presentations
Multi- VHF frequency, multi-angle and multi-location studies of polar mesospheric summer echoes using KAIRA and MAARSY
Jorge Chau1, Nikoloz Gudadze1, Derek McKay2, Juha Vierinen2, Thomas Ulich3, Ralph Latteck1
1Leibniz-Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Rostock University, Kuhlungsborn, Germany
2UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromso, Norway
3Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory, Sodankyla, Finland

Polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSE) have been studied with radar and in-situ probes since more than 20 years and their existence is well understood. On-going efforts are devoted to use them as tracers of the background dynamics and to understand their spatial and temporal evolution. Recently, Sommer and Chau [2016] has shown, using aperture synthesis radar imaging, that scattering from irregularities associated to PMSE is mainly isotropic and they are mainly organized in patches smaller than 5 km in horizontal extension (i.e., smaller than typical illuminated areas). To further validate this finding, common volume observations with different observing angles are needed. In this work we present preliminary results of such measurements, using MAARSY (Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System) and KAIRA (KilpisjƤrvi Atmospheric Imaging Receiver Array). KAIRA is a radio receiver array (Low-frequency Array - LOFAR) with one of its arrays operating in the 10 to 80 MHz VHF band. Our results are based on a campaign conducted in August 2016. Besides using MAARSY for transmission and reception (at 53.5 MHz), we have also used the Andenes specular meteor radar for transmission and reception (at 32.55 MHz). Both frequencies were received simultaneously at KAIRA, located approximately 190 km east from MAARSY. We also present results from different frequencies and different locations using these multi-static configurations. Our multi-angle results indicate that indeed PMSE is not as aspect sensitive as previously thought.


Reference:
Observations 3-O-04
Session:
PMSE
Presenter/s:
Jorge Chau
Topic:
1) Mesospheric clouds and related sciences, including noctilucent clouds (NLCs), polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs), and polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs).
Presentation type:
Oral communication 15 min
Room:
Conference room
Chair/s:
Markus Rapp
Date:
Wednesday, 20 September
Time:
10:00 - 10:20