On the possibility of localization of a substorm by using the “Sura” heating facility

Abstract

We present the results of analysis of helio-geophysical conditions for the experiments performed in 2007-2010 to study modification of the ionosphere by high-power radio emission of the “Sura” heating facility. The feature of the experiments is that the operating frequency of the facility exceeded the upper-hybrid frequency for the F2 layer maximum in the ionosphere. All the experiments were performed in the local-time sector of the Harang discontinuity (i.e., from 21:00 to 00:00, local time) to ensure the most probable influence of the facility operation on the onset of natural processes in the subauroral region of the ionosphere. At least two experiments were found to demonstrate that the observed substorm activity in the region of the modification produced by the facility could be stimulated by its operation. The results of the ground- and satellite-based measurements, both in the vicinity of the “Sura” facility and in the magnetically conjugate region, confirm the conclusion about the possibility of substorm localization by this facility.