Occurrence rates of SuperDARN ground scatter echoes and electron density
in the ionosphere
Abstract
Ground scatter (GS) echoes in Super Dual Auroral Radar Network
(SuperDARN) observations have been always expected to occur under
high-enough electron density in the ionosphere providing sufficient
bending of HF radio wave paths toward the ground. In this study we
provide direct evidence statistically supporting this notion by
comparing the GS occurrence rate for the Rankin Inlet SuperDARN radar
and the F region peak electron density
NmF2 measured at Resolute Bay by the
CADI ionosonde and incoherent scatter radars RISR-N/C. We show that the
occurrence rate increases with NmF2
roughly linearly up to about ~4·1011
m-3, and the trend saturates at larger
NmF2. One expected consequence of this
relationship is correlation in seasonal and solar cycle variations of
the GS echo occurrence rate and NmF2. GS
occurrence rates for a number of SuperDARN radars at middle latitudes,
in the auroral zone and in the polar cap are considered separately for
daytime and nighttime. The data indicate that the daytime occurrence
rates are maximized in winter and nighttime occurrence rates are
maximized in summer for middle latitude and auroral zone radars in the
Northern Hemisphere, consistent with the Winter Anomaly (WA) phenomenon.
The effect is most evident in the North American and Japanize sectors,
and the quality of WA signatures deteriorates in the European and,
especially, in the Australian sectors. The effect does not exist in the
South American sector and in the polar caps of both hemispheres.