Propagation Analysis of SuperDARN Bistatic Measurements

Abstract:

In a recent study Shepherd et al., [2020] describe the first bistatic SuperDARN measurements in which signals transmitted from a radar in Kansas are received and analyzed at a radar located in Oregon. Their study investigates three distinct bistatic modes of propagation that were observed during a series of recent campaigns. Of particular interest is a direct mode that is frequently observed in which signals are communicated through radar side lobes along the great-circle arc that connects the sites with refraction occurring in the ionosphere. During times when radars were operating at 15-km range resolution, two distinct traces are observed suggesting that separate communication paths exist in which refraction occurs at both E and F region altitudes. Using ray tracing in various model ionospheres we investigate the propagation of HF waves under this scenario and discuss the implications for monitoring ionospheric structure and HF communication in the mid-latitude region.