Comparison of SuperDARN peak electron density estimates based on elevation angle measurements to ionosonde and incoherent scatter radar measurements

Abstract

Measurements of the electron density at the F region peak by the Canadian Advanced Digital Ionosonde (CADI) and the Resolute Incoherent Scatter Radar (RISR) are used to assess the quality of peak electron density estimates made from elevation angle measurements by the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) high-frequency radar at Rankin Inlet (RKN). All three instruments monitor the ionosphere near Resolute Bay. The CADI-RKN joint dataset comprises measurements between 2008 and 2017 while RISR-RKN dataset covers about 60 daylong events in 2016. Reasonable agreement between the RKN estimates and measurements by CADI and RISR is shown. Two minor discrepancies are discussed: RKN radar daytime peak electron density overestimation by ~ 10% and underestimation by up to 30% in other time sectors. In winter nighttime and dawn, cases were identified in which the RKN radar significantly overestimates the peak electron density. This occurs when the phase in the RKN interferometer measurements is incorrectly shifted by 2π , and this is most significant when electron densities are low. Statistical fitting to the joint data sets, split into four time sectors of a day, has been done and parameters of the fit have been determined. These allow slight adjustment of measured real-time RKN values to better reflect real peak electron densities in the ionosphere within its field of view.

Simultaneous Observations of a Sporadic E Layer by Digisonde and SuperDARN HF Radars at Zhongshan, Antarctica

“…One is the Digisonde that detects signals from localized regions with the strongest electron density, while the SuperDARN ZHS radar range gate, with a spatial resolution of 45 km, could smooth out the peak electron densities. This smoothing effect is expected to be stronger for ionospheric conditions with higher patchiness and poorer propagation conditions (Koustov et al., 2020). Second, the critical frequency is manually acquired from Digisonde ionograms containing the extraordinary wave, which has a higher frequency than the ordinary wave, that is, O‐mode wave, by half the electron gyrofrequency.…”

“…Assessing the quality of the peak electron density estimates made from elevation angle measurements by the SuperDARN Rankin Inlet (RKN) radar was recently carried out by Koustov et al. (2020). By comparing the SuperDARN RKN results to ionosonde and incoherent scatter radar measurements, the underestimation of peak electron density by SuperDARN radar (by up to 30% in their cases) could be mainly due to low background electron densities (Koustov et al., 2020).…”

“…(2020). By comparing the SuperDARN RKN results to ionosonde and incoherent scatter radar measurements, the underestimation of peak electron density by SuperDARN radar (by up to 30% in their cases) could be mainly due to low background electron densities (Koustov et al., 2020). However, there are other effects that also very likely contribute to our current measurements.…”

Review of Environmental Monitoring by Means of Radio Waves in the Polar Regions: From Atmosphere to Geospace

“…In their work of comparison of SuperDARN peak electron density estimates with measurements from the ionosonde and the incoherent scatter radar in Canada from 2008 to 2017, Koustov et al (2020) concluded that the SuperDARN electron density estimates are a valuable resource for their use in statistical studies, such as those focused on seasonal and solar cycle effects.…”