First Observation of Ionospheric Convection From the Jiamusi HF Radar During a Strong Geomagnetic Storm

Abstract

The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) is an international low-power high-frequency (HF) radar network, which provides continuous observations of the motion of plasma in the ionosphere. Over the past 15 years, the network has expanded dramatically in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere to improve the observation capabilities of the network during periods of strong geomagnetic disturbance. However, a large coverage gap still exists in the middle latitudes. A newly deployed middle-latitude HF radar in China (the Jiamusi radar) is about to join the network. This paper presents the first observation of the ionospheric convection from the Jiamusi radar during the strong geomagnetic storm on 26 August 2018. The Jiamusi measurements are compared with the simultaneous measurements from the SuperDARN Hokkaido East radar. The features of the high-velocity westward flows including the equatorward expansion and variation tendency of the line-of-sight velocities observed by the two radars are consistent with each other. According to joint analysis with auroral images, we can confirm that the westward flows observed by the two radars are sunward return flows of the duskside convection cell in the auroral region. The impact the Jiamusi data had on the calculation of SuperDARN convection patterns is also examined. The results show that the inclusion of the Jiamusi data can increase the number of gridded line-of-sight velocity measurements by up to 24.42%, the cross-polar cap potential can be increased by up to 13.90% during the investigated period.

Study of a Quasi‐27‐Day Wave in the MLT Region During Recurrent Geomagnetic Storms in Autumn 2018

“…The other three storms, characterized by the minimum Dst indices around −50 nT and the Kp indices over 4, appear with the commencement of the recovery phase on September 11, September 22, and October 8, respectively. The strongest storm on August 26 has been widely reported (e.g., Chen et al., 2019; Hübert et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2020), while the other three storms are rarely discussed in previous studies. Note that those four storms are observed with a characteristic of periodicity.…”

“…In the autumn of 2018, a strong geomagnetic storm occurred on August 26 (e.g., Chen et al., 2019; Hübert et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2020). This storm caused significant ionospheric perturbations in both the European sector (Blagoveshchensky & Sergeeva, 2020) and the China sector (Yang et al., 2020).…”

Statistical Characteristics of Mid‐Latitude Ionospheric Irregularities at Geomagnetic Quiet Time: Observations From the Jiamusi and Hokkaido East SuperDARN HF Radars

“…The median LOS velocity is used in the statistical analysis of mid-latitude ionospheric convection velocity distribution. Zhang et al (2020) reported the first observations of the ionospheric convection from the Jiamusi radar during a strong geomagnetic storm. Their study showed that the Jiamusi radar and Hokkaido East radar observed flow of the same irregularities during the storm.…”

Calibrating the Amplitude and Phase Imbalances in AgileDARN HF Radar

“…Zhang et al. (2020) have presented their first observation result during a strong geomagnetic storm. The JME radar site's geographic coordinates are 46.8°N, 130.5°E, and the boresight is 44° north to east in geographic coordinates.…”

“…This study is to present the calibration method of the Agile Dual Auroral Radar Network (AgileDARN). The AgileDARN radar has been developed as a new generation of all‐digital Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radar by the National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NSSC, CAS) (Deng et al., 2020; Jiang et al., 2018; Yan et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2020). The SuperDARN is known as an international collaboration of low‐power, high‐frequency (HF) radars making measurements of detecting backscatter from plasma density irregularities in the high‐ and mid‐latitude ionosphere for scientific purposes.…”