2008 Incoherent Scatter Coordinated Observation Days

2008 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 Jicamarca (JRO), Poker Flat (PFISR), and EISCAT Svalbard (ESR) radars plan to run continuously for the entire International Polar Year (IPY) that started 2007 March 1. Millstone Hill (MSH)and Sondrestrom are continuing their bi-weekly observations in support of the IPY. The Jicamarca Radio Observatory plans to use normal ISR modes for the regular World Days and will usually use lower power modes at other times.

In the following table, columns 1 and 2 give the UT start dates of the experiments, column 3 lists the lengths of the experiments, column 4 shows the dates of new moon, and column 5 lists the experiment titles. See special notes associated with each World Day period.

2008 Incoherent Scatter Coordinated Observation Days *Update with change in November World Day*
Month	Starting Day	Observation Length (days)	New Moon	Experiment
January	17 1st Opt	1-2/3 Opt Extension to 10 days	8	IPY Bi-Weekly with all ISRs; Dynamics driven by sudden stratospheric Warmings...see note 1 Jan 8th: Bill Gordon's 90th Birthday!
February	14 2nd Opt	1-2/3 Opt Extension to 10 days	7	IPY Bi-Weekly with all ISRs; Dynamics driven by sudden stratospheric Warmings...see note 1 End of IPY
March		0	7	None? Start of 2nd IPY?
April	8	2	6	QP TIDs, Synoptic
May	AGU?	0	5	None
June	3	2	3	QP TIDs, Synoptic
July	8	5	3	TEC Mapping
August		0	1,30	None URSI GA Aug 9-16
September	30	1-2/3	29	Synoptic
October	28	2	28	QP TIDs, Synoptic
November	24	1-2/3	27	Synoptic
December	Skip?	0	27	None
Total		Variable
NOTES: 1: If the optional extension to 10 days is taken in January, there will be no extension in February. The decision to extend will be based on predictions of stratospheric warming by Larisa Goncharenko.
Schedule last updated: Tuesday, 2008 May 22

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 2007 can be found at http://people.ece.cornell.edu/wes/URSI_ISWG/2007WDschedule.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/RequestingWD08.doc.
A template for the the 2008 World Day schedule is now available at: http://people.ece.cornell.edu/wes/URSI_ISWG/2008WDschedule.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 2008

International Polar Year: Continuation of year-long observations with the Jicamarca, Poker Flat, EISCAT Svalbard ISRs

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 Observations of Electron Density Variations

Key Objectives:

To study latitudinal variations of the ionosphere in the American 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. A summer week (5 days) with some magnetic activity to complement the measurements of 2007 March 1-5 (which was magnetically quiet). 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.
For high latitude sites, we prefer 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.

C/NOFS: Communications / Navigation Outage Forecasting System

The primary purpose of C/NOFS is to forecast the presence of ionospheric irregularities that adversely impact communication and navigation systems through
(1) improved understanding of the physical processes active in the background ionosphere and thermosphere in which plasma instabilities grow;
(2) the identification of those mechanisms that trigger or quench the plasma irregularities responsible for signal degradation; and
(3) determining how the plasma irregularities affect the propagation of electro-magnetic waves.
A satellite, now scheduled for launch in June of 2008 into a low inclination (13°), elliptical (~ 400 x 700 km) orbit will be solely dedicated to the C/NOFS objectives. It will be equipped with sensors that measure ambient and fluctuating electron densities, ion and electron temperatures, AC and DC electric fields, magnetic fields, neutral winds, ionospheric scintillations, and electron content along the lines of sight between C/NOFS and the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite constellation. The orbit will have a 45-day repeating precession. Complementary ground-based measurements including the Jicamarca and Altair radars are also critical to the success of the mission. Coordination with the World Days periods starting in August 2008 will be expected. (Requests for additional UAF radar time beyond the currently scheduled World Days are to be made directly to the respective observatory staffs once orbital characteristics are known.) Contacts: Odile de La Bedaujardiere, David Hysell, Wes Swartz

QP TIDs: Coordinated Study of Quasi-Periodic Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances with Extended Latitude Coverage

Key Objectives:

To determine whether gravity-wave induced medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) consistently observed at high geomagnetic latitudes under quiet geomagnetic conditions are at all related to the continuum of quasi-periodic thermospheric waves observed at both Arecibo, Millstone, and perhaps AMISR Poker Flat.
To Firmly establish the geophysical parameter range over which these quasi-periodic MSTIDs—that currently appear to defy theoretical explanation—exist.

Background Conditions: Low to moderate geomagnetic activity, New Moon.
ISRs Needed: All except Jicamarca, for three 48-hour runs.
Parameters to Measure: Continuous or near-continuous vertical power profiles through the E/Fregions (100-800 km) with the best time resolution possible. We must have 5 minute or better time resolution power profiles in order to properly filter the data to separate small amplitude waves from the normal variations of the ionosphere.
Secondary Parameters to Measure: Dual-beam ion velocities commensurate with the primary objective. .
Contact: J.D. Mathews, F.T. Djuth, D. Livneh, I. Seker, M.P. Sulzer, C.A. Tepley, S.M. Smith, W.A. Bristow, J.C. Foster, and M. Nicolls.

Strat-Warming: 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 January or February.
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.

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.