Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar Research Articles

HF radar observations of ionospheric backscatter during geomagnetically quiet periods

Abstract. The quiet-time coherent backscatter from the F-region observed by the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) Bruny Island HF radar is analysed statistically in order to determine typical trends and controlling factors in the ionospheric echo occurrence. A comparison of the F-region peak density values from the IRI-2007 model and ionosonde measurements in the vicinity of the radar's footprint shows a very good agreement, particularly at subauroral and auroral latitudes, and model densities within the radar's footprint are used in the following analyses. The occurrence of F-region backscatter is shown to exhibit distinct diurnal, seasonal and solar cycle variations and these are compared with model trends in the F-region peak electron density and Pedersen conductance of the underlying ionosphere. The solar cycle effects in occurrence are demonstrated to be strong and more complex than a simple proportionality on a year-to-year basis. The diurnal and seasonal effects are strongly coupled to each other, with diurnal trends exhibiting a systematic gradual variation from month to month that can be explained when both electron density and conductance trends are considered. During the night, the echo occurrence is suggested to be controlled directly by the density conditions, with a direct proportionality observed between the occurrence and peak electron density. During the day, the echo occurrence appears to be controlled by both conductance and propagation conditions. It is shown that the range of echo occurrence values is smaller for larger conductances and that the electron density determines what value the echo occurrence takes in that range. These results suggest that the irregularity production rates are significantly reduced by the highly conducting E layer during the day while F-region density effects dominate during the night.

E-region decameter-scale plasma waves observed by the dual TIGER HF radars

Abstract. The dual Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) HF radars regularly observe E-region echoes at sub-auroral magnetic latitudes 58°–60° S including during geomagnetic storms. We present a statistical analysis of E-region backscatter observed in a period of ~2 years (late 2004–2006) by the TIGER Bruny Island and Unwin HF radars, with particular emphasis on storm-time backscatter. It is found that the HF echoes normally form a 300-km-wide band at ranges 225–540 km. In the evening sector during geomagnetic storms, however, the HF echoes form a curved band joining to the F-region band at ~700 km. The curved band lies close to the locations where the geometric aspect angle is zero, implying little to no refraction during geomagnetic storms, which is an opposite result to what has been reported in the past. The echo occurrence, Doppler velocity, and spectral width of the HF echoes are examined in order to determine whether new HF echo types are observed at sub-auroral latitudes, particularly during geomagnetic storms. The datasets of both TIGER radars are found to be dominated by low-velocity echoes. A separate population of storm-time echoes is also identified within the datasets of both radars with most of these echoes showing similar characteristics to the low-velocity echo population. The storm-time backscatter observed by the Bruny Island radar, on the other hand, includes near-range echoes (r<405 km) that exhibit some characteristics of what has been previously termed the High Aspect angle Irregularity Region (HAIR) echoes. We show that these echoes appear to be a storm-time phenomenon and further investigate this population by comparing their Doppler velocity with the simultaneously measured F- and E-region irregularity velocities. It is suggested that the HAIR-like echoes are observed only by HF radars with relatively poor geometric aspect angles when electron density is low and when the electric field is particularly high.

Occurrence of medium-scale travelling ionospheric disturbances identified in the Tasman international geospace environment radar observations

The occurrence characteristics of medium-scale travelling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) were investigated using the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER). From the occurrence study of sea echoes, we found two maxima, one pre-noon and the other after noon. They are less obvious with increase of magnetic activities, and more obvious when B z is northwards. It is suggested that this maxima were related to fore- and after-noon maxima in the distribution of net field-aligned currents flowing from the magnetosphere to the ionosphere, and that these two regions were sources of atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) due to enhancement of Hall conductivities in the ionosphere. The Lorentz force is suggested to be a possible mechanism for the excitation of MSTIDs in the dayside ionosphere.

An auroral westward flow channel (AWFC) and its relationship to field-aligned current, ring current, and plasmapause location determined using multiple spacecraft observations

Abstract. An auroral westward flow channel (AWFC) is a latitudinally narrow channel of unstable F-region plasma with intense westward drift in the dusk-to-midnight sector ionosphere. AWFCs tend to overlap the equatorward edge of the auroral oval, and their life cycle is often synchronised to that of substorms: they commence close to substorm expansion phase onset, intensify during the expansion phase, and then decay during the recovery phase. Here we define for the first time the relationship between an AWFC, large-scale field-aligned current (FAC), the ring current, and plasmapause location. The Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER), a Southern Hemisphere HF SuperDARN radar, observed a jet-like AWFC during ~08:35 to 13:28 UT on 7 April 2001. The initiation of the AWFC was preceded by a band of equatorward expanding ionospheric scatter (BEES) which conveyed an intense poleward electric field through the inner plasma sheet. Unlike previous AWFCs, this event was not associated with a distinct substorm surge; rather it occurred during an interval of persistent, moderate magnetic activity characterised by AL~−200 nT. The four Cluster spacecraft had perigees within the dusk sector plasmasphere, and their trajectories were magnetically conjugate to the radar observations. The Waves of High frequency and Sounder for Probing Electron density by Relaxation (WHISPER) instruments on board Cluster were used to identify the plasmapause location. The Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) EUV experiment also provided global-scale observations of the plasmapause. The Cluster fluxgate magnetometers (FGM) provided successive measurements specifying the relative location of the ring current and filamentary plasma sheet current. An analysis of Iridium spacecraft magnetometer measurements provided estimates of large-scale ionospheric FAC in relation to the AWFC evolution. Peak flows in the AWFC were located close to the peak of a Region 2 downward FAC, located just poleward of the plasmapause. DMSP satellite observations confirmed the AWFC was located equatorward of the nightside plasmasheet, sometimes associated with ~10 keV ion precipitation.

Interhemispheric asymmetries in the occurrence of magnetically conjugate sub-auroral polarisation streams

Abstract. Earthward injections of energetic ions and electrons mark the onset of magnetospheric substorms. In the inner magnetosphere (L4), the energetic ions drift westward and the electrons eastward, thereby enhancing the equatorial ring current. Wave-particle interactions can accelerate these particles to radiation belt energies. The ions are injected slightly closer to Earth in the pre-midnight sector, leading to the formation of a radial polarisation field in the inner magnetosphere. This maps to a poleward electric field just equatorward of the auroral oval in the ionosphere. The poleward electric field is subsequently amplified by ionospheric feedback, thereby producing auroral westward flow channels (AWFCs). In terms of electric field strength, AWFCs are the strongest manifestation of substorms in the ionosphere. Because geomagnetic flux tubes are essentially equi-potentials, similar AWFC signatures should be observed simultaneously in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Here we present magnetically conjugate SuperDARN radar observations of AWFC activity observed in the pre-midnight sector during two substorm intervals including multiple onsets during the evening of 30 November 2002. The Northern Hemisphere observations were made with the Japanese radar located at King Salmon, Alaska (57, and the Southern Hemisphere observations with the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) located at Bruny Island, Tasmania (55. LANL geosynchronous satellite observations of energetic ion and electron fluxes monitored the effects of substorms in the inner magnetosphere (L6). The radar-observed AWFC activity was coincident with activity observed at geosynchronous orbit, as well as westward current surges in the ionosphere observed using ground-based magnetometers. The location of AWFCs with respect to the auroral oval was inferred from FUV auroral images recorded on board the IMAGE spacecraft. DMSP SSIES ion drift measurements confirmed the presence of AWFCs equatorward of the auroral oval. Systematic asymmetries in the interhemispheric signatures of the AWFCs probably arose because the magnetic flux tubes were distorted at L shells passing close to the substorm dipolarisation region. Transient asymmetries were attributed to the development of nearby field-aligned potential drops and currents.

Signatures of the nightside open–closed magnetic field-line boundary during moderately disturbed conditions and ionospheric substorms

The comparatively low latitude of the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) (147.2°E, 43.4°S, geographic; −54.6°Λ), a Southern Hemisphere HF SuperDARN radar, facilitates the observation of extensive backscatter from decametre-scale irregularities drifting in the auroral and polar cap ionosphere in the midnight sector. The radar often detects a persistent, sharp increase over ∼90 km of range in line-of-sight Doppler velocity spread, or spectral width, from <50 m s −1 at lower latitude to >200 m s −1 at higher latitude. It was previously shown that for moderately disturbed conditions in the pre-midnight sector, the location of the spectral width boundary (SWB) corresponds to the poleward edge of the auroral oval, as determined from energy spectra of precipitating particles measured on board Defense Meteorology Satellite Program satellites. This implies the radar SWB is a proxy for the open–closed magnetic field-line boundary (OCB) under these particular conditions. Here we investigate whether the radar SWB is aligned with the satellite OCB under a broader range of geomagnetic conditions including small to moderate substorms occurring in the pre- and post-magnetic midnight sectors. The behaviour of the SWB can be reconciled with the spatial and temporal variations of energetic particle precipitation throughout the substorm cycle.

Magnetic local time, substorm, and particle precipitation-related variations in the behaviour of SuperDARN Doppler spectral widths

Abstract. Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (DARN) radars often detect a distinct transition in line-of-sight Doppler velocity spread, or spectral width, from &lt;50ms–1 at lower latitude to &gt;200ms–1 at higher latitude. They also detect a similar boundary, namely the range at which ionospheric scatter with large spectral width suddenly commences (i.e. without preceding scatter with low spectral width). The location and behaviour of the spectral width boundary (SWB) (and scatter boundary) and the open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) are thought to be closely related. The location of the nightside OCB can be inferred from the poleward edge of the auroral oval determined using energy spectra of precipitating particles measured on board Defence Meteorology Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites. Observations made with the Halley SuperDARN radar (75.5° S, 26.6° W, geographic; –62.0°Λ) and the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) (43.4° S, 147.2° E; –54.5°Λ) are used to compare the location of the SWB with the DMSP-inferred OCB during 08:00 to 22:00 UT on 1 April 2000. This study interval was chosen because it includes several moderate substorms, whilst the Halley radar provided almost continuous high-time resolution measurements of the dayside SWB location and shape, and TIGER provided the same in the nightside ionosphere. The behaviour of the day- and nightside SWB can be understood in terms of the expanding/contracting polar cap model of high-latitude convection change, and the behaviour of the nightside SWB can also be organised according to substorm phase. Previous comparisons with DMSP OCBs have proven that the radar SWB is often a reasonable proxy for the OCB from dusk to just past midnight (Chisham et al., 2004). However, the present case study actually suggests that the nightside SWB is often a better proxy for the poleward edge of Pedersen conductance enhanced by hot particle precipitation in the auroral zone. Simple modeling implies that the large spectral widths must be caused by ~10-km scale velocity fluctuations. Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; ionospheremagnetosphere interactions) – Magnetospheric physics (storms and substorms)

On the occurrence and motion of decametre-scale irregularities in the sub-auroral, auroral, and polar cap ionosphere

Abstract. The statistical occurrence of decametre-scale ionospheric irregularities, average line-of-sight (LOS) Doppler velocity, and Doppler spectral width in the sub-auroral, auroral, and polar cap ionosphere ( - 57°L to - 88°L) has been investigated using echoes recorded with the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER), a SuperDARN radar located on Bruny Island, Tasmania (147.2° E, 43.4° S geographic; - 54.6 °L). Results are shown for routine soundings made on the magnetic meridian beam 4 and the near zonal beam 15 during the sunspot maximum interval December 1999 to November 2000. Most echoes were observed in the nightside ionosphere, typically via 1.5-hop propagation near dusk and then via 0.5-hop propagation during pre-midnight to dawn. Peak occurrence rates on beam 4 were often &gt; 60% near magnetic midnight and ~ - 70 °L. They increased and shifted equatorward and toward pre-midnight with increasing Kp (i.e. Bz southward). The occurrence rates remained very high for Kp &gt; 4, de-spite enhanced D-region absorption due to particle precipitation. Average occurrence rates on beam 4 exhibited a relatively weak seasonal variation, consistent with known longitudinal variations in auroral zone magnetic activity (Basu, 1975). The average echo power was greatest between 23 and 07 MLT. Two populations of echoes were identified on both beams, those with low spectral width and a mode value of ~ 9 ms-1 (bin size of 2 ms-1) concentrated in the auroral and sub-auroral ionosphere (population A), and those with high spectral width and a mode value of ~ 70 ms-1 concentrated in the polar cap ionosphere (population B). The occurrence of population A echoes maximised post-midnight because of TIGER’s lower latitude, but the subset of the population A echoes observed near dusk had characteristics reminiscent of "dusk scatter" (Ruohoniemi et al., 1988). There was a dusk "bite out" of large spectral widths between ~ 15 and 21 MLT and poleward of - 67 °L, and a pre-dawn enhancement of large spectral widths between ~ 03 and 07 MLT, centred on ~ - 61 °L. The average LOS Doppler velocities revealed that frequent westward jets of plasma flow occurred equatorward of, but overlapping, the diffuse auroral oval in the pre-midnight sector.Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; electric fields and currents, ionospheric irregularities)

On the lifetime and extent of an auroral westward flow channel (AWFC) observed during a magnetospheric substorm

Abstract. A -190-nT negative bay in the geomagnetic X component measured at Macquarie Island ( -65° L) showed that an ionospheric substorm occurred during 09:58 to 11:10 UT on 27 February 2000. Signatures of an auroral westward flow channel (AWFC) were observed nearly simultaneously in the backscatter power, LOS Doppler velocity, and Doppler spectral width measured using the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER), a Southern Hemisphere HF SuperDARN radar. Many of the characteristics of the AWFC were similar to those occurring during a polarisation jet (PJ), or subauroral ion drift (SAID) event, and suggest that it may have been a pre-cursor to a fully developed, intense westward flow channel satisfying all of the criteria defining a PJ/SAID. A beam-swinging analysis showed that the westward drifts (poleward electric field) associated with the flow channel were very structured in time and space, but the smoothed velocities grew to ~ 800 ms-1 (47 mVm-1) during the 22-min substorm onset interval 09:56 to 10:18 UT. Maximum west-ward drifts of &gt;1.3 km s-1 (&gt;77 mVm-1) occurred during a ~ 5-min velocity spike, peaking at 10:40 UT during the expansion phase. The drifts decayed rapidly to ~ 300 ms-1 (18 mVm-1) during the 6-min recovery phase interval, 11:04 to 11:10 UT. Overall, the AWFC had a lifetime of 74 min, and was located near -65° L in the evening sector west of the Harang discontinuity. The large westward drifts were confined to a geographic zonal channel of longitudinal ex-tent &gt;20° (&gt;1.3 h magnetic local time), and latitudinal width ~2° L. Using a half-width of ~ 100 km in latitude, the peak electric potential was &gt;7.7 kV. However, a transient velocity of &gt;3.1 km s-1 with potential &gt;18.4 kV was observed further poleward at the end of the recovery phase. Auroral oval boundaries determined using DMSP measurements suggest the main flow channel overlapped the equatorward boundary of the diffuse auroral oval. During the ~ 2-h interval following the flow channel, an ~ 3° L wide band of scatter was observed drifting slowly toward the west, with speeds gradually decaying to ~ 50 ms-1 (3 mVm -1). The scatter was observed extending past the Harang discontinuity, and had Doppler signatures characteristic of the main ionospheric trough, implicating the flow channel in the further depletion of F-region plasma. The character of this scatter was in contrast with the character of the scatter drifting toward the east at higher latitude.Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; electric fields and currents; ionosphere-magnetospehere interactions) Magnetospheric physics (storms and substorms)

Signatures of the midnight open-closed magnetic field line boundary during balanced dayside and nightside reconnection

Abstract. The geomagnetic conditions were moderately disturbed (Kp = 2) during magnetic midnight on 10 December 1999, when the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER), a Southern Hemisphere HF SuperDARN radar, observed a persistent, sharp latitudinal decrease (~ 90 km) in spectral width near - 69°L. The line-of-sight Doppler velocity also rapidly declined across this spectral width boundary (SWB). The region poleward of the SWB was characterized by high spectral widths (&gt;200 m/s), and the start of bursty equatorward and eastward flows (&gt;500 m/s), which rapidly expanded equatorward. The relationships between familiar ionospheric and magnetospheric regions were inferred by comparing TIGER data with spectrograms calculated from precipitating particles measured on board the Defence Meteorology Satellite Program (DMSP) F14 satellite. The high spectral width scatter is often observed, and on this evening it was associated with irregularities forming on the open (but soon to be reconnected) field lines threading the polar cap ionosphere to the southern tail lobe. The region equatorward of the SWB was characterized by very low spectral widths (&lt;50 m/s) and generally slower, more zonal flows (&lt;300 m/s). This kind of scatter is more transient, and was associated with irregularities residing on the closed field lines threading the discrete and diffuse auroral oval to the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) and central plasma sheet (CPS). Hence, the SWB was a reasonable proxy for the open-closed field line boundary, and the equatorward limit of the region, with low spectral width, was probably aligned with the poleward wall of the main ionospheric trough. The SWB was observed to contract poleward and expand equatorward on time scales of ~10 min, much as would be expected during balanced dayside and nightside reconnection. Total electron content (TEC) measurements made at Macquarie Island (- 65°L) and Hobart (- 54°L), and the ionograms recorded at the same stations, as well as at Bundoora (- 49°L), also helped to validate the interpretation.Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; electric fields and currents; ionosphere-magnetosphere interactions)

First step towards tiger frequency management: A ray tracing exploration using both IRI and IGRF models

Now that a recent addition to the southern hemisphere Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) - The Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) - has become operational, real-time frequency management and coordinates registration of both back- and ground-scattered echoes are needed. Currently, and certainly in the near future, TIGER will operate like a high-frequency direction finding, single-site location instrument given that no other SuperDARN instrument currently overlaps its field of view. Ray tracing can be used initially to devise an optimum choice of operating frequencies for maximum coverage and to locate geographically (or geomagnetically) the backscattering regions. For convenience, we relied on the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) and Geomagnetic Reference Field models (IGRF) for the electron density profile and geomagnetic field as both models could easily be implemented in the ray-tracing code. Collisions were neglected. We also assumed that the radar echoes would mainly return from regions of the ionosphere where rays are nearly perpendicular to the local geomagnetic field. Throughout the study, we considered the magnetic aspect angle condition, | sin −1 ( K·B /kB )|≤05°, to be a necessary (yet insuffiient) condition for backscatter resulting from field-aligned irregularities. We retained as potential backscatter centres all points along the rays where the condition is fulfilled. Although our approach does not encompass all types of irregularities susceptible to produce significant radar returns and completely ignores the geographic distribution of irregularities by assuming their omnipresence, it provides a starting point for the real-time frequency management of the TIGER radar.