|
Incoherent Scatter Radars (ISRs) are powerful tools for probing the ionosphere and its interactions with the space environment. The NSF recently completed construction of a new ISR facility at Resolute Bay, Canada (called “RISR”), which is providing the first ever views of ionospheric dynamics near the Earth’s geomagnetic pole. This region is significant because the hot plasma of the solar wind has direct access to the atmosphere, unimpeded by the Earth’s magnetic field. This region has been historically challenging to explore due to the difficulties of deploying instruments in harsh inaccessible environments.
Under a grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, ECE Associate Professor Joshua Semeter and Dr. Hanna Dahlgren are using RISR observations to study the evolution of plasma structures as they move through the geomagnetic polar regions under the influence of ionospheric circulation.
