2007 Incoherent Scatter Coordinated Observation Days

2007 Incoherent Scatter Coordinated Observation Days
URSI-ISWG

Data collection on these Incoherent Scatter Coordinated Observation Days is to start no later than 1600 UT on the indicated day. (Since setup and warmup times vary from site to site, appropritate re-configuration time must be scheduled prior to this time so that data is actually being acquired by 1600 UT.)

On behalf of the URSI ISWG, the EISCAT Svalbard radar plans to run continuously for the entire International Polar Year (IPY) starting 2007 March 1. The Jicamarca Radio Observatory plans to run about 5000 hours per year in its low power mode in addition to its normal ISR modes. The other ISRs will contribute additional data as resources permit.

In the following table, columns 1 and 2 give the start dates of the experiments, column 3 lists the lengths of the experiments, column 4 shows the dates of new moon, and column for lists the experiment titles. See special notes associated with each World Day period.

2007 Incoherent Scatter Coordinated Observation Days *Final*
Month	Starting Day	Observation Length (days)	New Moon	Experiment
January	20	2-2/3	19	Latitude dependence of TIDs
February	6 1st Opt	10	17	Dynamics driven by sudden stratospheric Warmings Start of period TBD...see notes
March	1	366 (for ESR) 5 (Other ISRs)	19	Start of IPY TEC Mapping
April			17
May	1 AGU?	1-2/3	16	Synoptic
June	19	3-2/3	15	MST/ISR Synoptic
July			14
August			12
September	11	1-2/3	11	Synoptic
October			11
November			9
December	10 2nd Opt	10	9	Dynamics driven by sudden stratospheric Warmings Start of period TBD...see notes
Total		Variable
Schedule last updated: Wednesday, 2006 July 26

Real-Time Data Links (when available)
Jicamarca	Arecibo	Millstone Hill	Sondre Stromfjord	EISCAT
EISCAT Svalbard	Kharkov	Irkutsk	MU	SuperDARN

Send comments, questions and proposals for the World Day schedule to Wes Swartz at wes@ece.cornell.edu.

World Day Facts

Establishing "World Day" schedules for coordinating the operations of the incoherent scatter radars around the world is one of the activities of the Incoherent Scatter Working Group (ISWG) of Commission G of URSI. These schedules are published yearly as part of the International Geophysical Calendar. Here are some of the facts about world days:

World Days (WD) provide for coordinated operations of two or more of the incoherent scatter radars (ISRs) for some common scientific objective. (Experiments that require only 1 UAF should be set up separately and directly with those in charge of that UAF.)
World Days should be scattered throughout the calendar year.
World Day data is to be promptly submitted to the CEDAR database and/or made available through other online databases as appropriate.

The World Day Schedule for 2006 can be found at http://people.ece.cornell.edu/wes/URSI_ISWG/2006WDschedule.htm

Procedures for requesting World Day experiments

Instructions and guidlines for submitting World Day proposals are available at: http://people.ece.cornell.edu/wes/URSI_ISWG/RequestingWD07.doc.
A template for the the 2007 World Day schedule is now available at: http://people.ece.cornell.edu/wes/URSI_ISWG/2007WDschedule.htm.
A sample proposal for requesting special World Days will be available at: http://people.ece.cornell.edu/wes/URSI_ISWG/SampleWDproposal.htm.

Notes on World Day observations proposed for 2007

International Polar Year: Continuous, year long observations with the EISCAT Svalbard ISR (ESR)

Key Objectives:

To provide an unprecedented data set with multiple applications.
To provide correlative data for other instrumentation and models committed to the IPY.

Background Conditions: Anything that comes along.
ISRs Needed: ESR, and others as resources permit.
Parameters to Measure: Standard.
Further information: Link.
Contact: Tony van Eyken.

TEC Mapping: ISR/GPS Coordinated Observation of Electron Density Variations

Key Objectives:

To study latitudinal variations of the ionosphere in the America longitude sector.
To examine time and latitudinal variations of electron content in the plasmasphere.
To test the GPS TEC mapping function.

Background Conditions: A range of magnetic activity is preferred but not required. Later March or earlier April is preferred for year 2007. We plan similar experiments for years ahead so that we can pick up different months for different years.
ISRs Needed: All.
Parameters to Measure: Standard ISR basic parameters, e.g., Ne, Ti, Te and line-of-sight ion velocity Vo. Inferred parameters, such as meridional thermospheric winds and local electric fields, are desirable at least for Millstone Hill.
For our analysis, we need good height coverage and height/range resolution. The idea is to have a good ISR profile for both the bottomside and topside. Our intent is to determine the plasmaspheric content from the difference between the GPS TEC and the integrated ISR electron content. Because of this, the value of the F2 peak, and of the electron density above and below it, are very important for our analysis. Using a single very long pulse to make ISR measurements may result in significant smearing effects and would cause measurements below 200 km unusable for our study. We suggest either a short pulse with a long dwell (integration) time or a long pulse with interleaved Alternating Code. A time resolution of up to 30 min is acceptable. We will use Millstone Hill's zenith and MISA data, taken almost simultaneously, to test how the slant TEC is mapped to the vertical TEC. So both local measurements and wide coverage are requested. The elevation scan is preferred.
ESR and EISCAT: elevation scans towards the South. First, that would generate line-of-sight TEC that can be compared with GPS TEC (few GPS satellites are overhead or in the north at high latitudes). Second, in the American Sector, combined Millstone and Sondrestrom data could provide good latitudinal coverage over subauroral and auroral areas. For other sites, vertical observations would be fine. We ask for high altitude measurements from Arecibo.
Contacts: Shun-Rong Zhang, Anthea Coster.

Dynamics and temperature of the lower thermosphere during sudden stratospheric warming:

Key Objectives:

To measure neutral wind (zonal and meridional components) and electron and ion temperatures in the lower thermosphere before and during sudden stratospheric warming.
To compare variations in temperature and winds to average variations observed by ISRs during the winter.
To compare variations in temperatures and winds to mesospheric response as given by MF and meteor radars and lidars.
To extend studies of stratospheric warming effects to the lower thermosphere and investigate possible coupling with the ionosphere
To examine the mechanisms responsible for variations in lower thermospheric dynamics and temperatures and investigate to what degree they can be related to sudden stratospheric warming.

Background Conditions: The observations need to be made before and during the sudden stratospheric warming. A 10-day campaign is requested, based on an alert to be issued either in February or December. (If this experiment is conducted in February, no WD will be run in December.)
ISRs Needed: All, although the response at Arecibo and Jicamarca may be weak.
Parameters to Measure: LTCS mode - electron and ion temperatures from lowest possible altitude throughout the F-region, zonal and meridional components of neutral wind in the lower thermosphere (95-140km), F-region meridional wind. Temporal resolution can be sacrificed and data integration period increased in order to obtain data at lower altitudes.
Contacts: Larisa P. Goncharenko, Irfan Azeem, William Wardr.

Latitude Dependence of the F-Region Plasma Variations during the Passage of Large- and Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances

Key Objectives:

To measure with high time resolution the density profiles and ion drift velocity during the generation and propagation of large- and/or medium scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (TID).
To clarify the generation and propagation mechanisms of large- and medium-scale TIDsUsing the ISR measurements and horizontal two-dimensional observations using GPS networks and all-sky imagers.

Background Conditions: New moon phase is preferable for the collaborative observations with all-sky imager. Winter nighttime and moderate geomagnetic condition is the most preferable for the observation of medium-scale TIDs. Disturbed geomagnetic condition is also preferable for the observation of large-scale TIDs. One idea is to observe the F-region during the nighttime (18-06 LT) of continuous five days around new moon phase in the winter (around 18 Jan, 2007).
ISRs Needed: Millstone Hill, Arecibo, Jicamarca, and Sondrestrom.
Parameters to Measure: Local vertical profiles of Ne and Ion drift velocities through the F-region (200-600 km) in the nighttime. For Ne profile, one vertical beam with high time resolution less than 5 minutes would be preferable for all the IS radars except for the MH radar. For only MH radar, three beams of the vertical, northward and southward with the zenith angle of 10-20 degrees is suitable to our project. For Ion drift velocities profile, our project needs the zonal component perpendicular to B and the component parallel to B.
Contacts: Takuya Tsugawa, Shun-Rong Zhang, Anthea Coster, Kazuo Shiokawa, Yuichi Otsuka (Nagoya Univ. STE Lab).

High-resolution study of weak coherent echoes from the equatorial D and E region using the MST-ISR mode at Jicamarca

Key Objectives:

To measure with high time and spatial resolution radar reflectivities, winds and spectral widths from turbulent layers and other electron irregularities from 10-180 km.
To characterize the gravity wave and instability processes in the tropical mesosphere over Jicamarca.
To conduct a seasonal study by sampling days around both equinoxes and solstices and compare data with empirical or model climatology.

Background Conditions: TBD.
ISRs Needed: Jicamarca, Mu, Gadanki, ~Arecibo.
Parameters to Measure: MST Doppler spectra from 4 fixed beams (“momentum flux mode”), ~10-180 km range, 150 m nominal resolution, interleaved with ISR mode, about from sunrise to sunset (~0700-1800 LT).
Contacts: Gerald Lehmacher Erhan Kudeki, Jorge Chau.

Synoptic:

These synoptic experiments are intended to emphasize wide coverage of the F-region, with some augmented coverage of the topside or E-region to fill in areas of the data bases that have relatively little data.
Contact: Wes Swartz, Jan Sojka.