The Ionospheric Continuous-wave E-region Bistatic Experimental Auroral Radar (ICEBEAR)

Abstract

The Sun drives many atmospheric processes on Earth through solar electromagnetic radiation, the solar wind, and the solar magnetic field. These solar phenomena interact with a region around the Earth where plasma can be formed, the ionosphere. This region is located 60–1000 km above the surface of the Earth, and is of interest to many scientists and engineers due to the interaction between radio waves and plasma. Variations in the ionospheric plasma density can cause disruptions to GPS signals and radio communications. Attempts have been made to measure the ionospheric plasma properties through the use of rockets, satellites, and remote sensing instrumentation.

One of the issues with measuring the ionosphere, specifically the lower altitudes of the ionosphere, is that it is expensive to do in situ. Rockets are required for in situ measurements at altitudes of 90–150 km (the E-region of the ionosphere). Rocket launches are expensive, so more efficient remote methods of measuring the E-region are typically used. This includes radars utilizing radio waves to scatter from the ionospheric plasma. From the scattered signal, plasma properties can be derived to provide insight into the physical processes occurring.

The Ionospheric Continuous-wave E-region Bistatic Experimental Auroral Radar (ICEBEAR) was developed to probe the E-region of the ionosphere using this mechanism. Through the use of modern radar hardware and techniques, it was possible to obtain simultaneously high temporal (down to 0.1 s) and spatial (≈ 1.5 km) resolution images of ionospheric plasma density perturbations over a 600 km × 600 km field of view. The radar operates at 49.5 MHz and transmits a continuous-wave, pseudo random noise, phase modulated code to obtain these images. The radar is bistatic, with both transmitter and receiver being located in Saskatchewan, Canada, and operated by the University of Saskatchewan. The radar was designed with future improvements in mind, where each transmitter and receiver antenna are individually controlled/sampled. This Ph.D. dissertation describes the dynamics of the ionosphere, the design and construction of ICEBEAR, and presents some preliminary results, exhibiting the exciting modern capabilities of the system.