Observations of E region irregularities generated at auroral latitudes by a high‐power radio wave

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Abstract
In September 1983 a series of ionospheric modification experiments was performed in Scandinavia using the high‐frequency (HF) heating facility located near Tromsø, Norway. The experiments were designed to study the production of geomagnetic field‐aligned irregularities in the auroral E region by a powerful HF radio wave. In this initial report, observations of 3.2‐m irregularities made with a mobile 46.9‐MHz field radar are presented. When ionospheric conditions are correct, irregularities having peak cross sections of about 104 m² are excited in the E region over Tromsø. The present results are consistent with theoretical studies which indicate that it is easier to generate short‐scale field‐aligned irregularities at locations where the geomagnetic dip angle is large. When the HF‐induced radar echo at 46.9 MHz is strong, the e‐folding growth times of the echo power are typically between 50 and 150 ms. However, when the E region echo over Tromsø is weak, the growth period can range from seconds to tens of seconds. The irregularities generated by the HF wave often exhibit dynamic structure both in time and in space. In general, the observations provide experimental support for instability theories that employ interactions near the upper hybrid resonance to drive the artificial irregularities. The results also indicate that naturally occurring irregularities may at times play a key role in the excitation of HF‐induced irregularities in the auroral E region. Additional processes are probably required to explain the slower irregularity growth rates often observed when radar echoes are relatively weak and occasionally observed even for relatively strong signals.