Initial Studies of Small‐Scale F Region Irregularities at Very High Latitudes

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Abstract
In this paper we describe a recently developed HF radar system designed to study F region irregularities at high latitudes. The radar utilizes a 7‐pulse multipulse sequence enabling it to determine 17‐lag autocorrelation functions of E and F region irregularities. These autocorrelation functions and the associated Doppler spectra are not subject to the range‐frequency ambiguity that occurs with other spectral techniques. The radar has been operated from the Cleary field site near Fairbanks, Alaska, for a short period in February 1982. The primary field of view of these measurements was poleward of Inuvik in northwestern Canada. Initial results from these measurements indicate a great deal of spatial and temporal variability in the irregularity Doppler characteristics; however, the overall pattern is generally consistent with the nominal pattern of very high latitude convection. Some anomalies existed, including evidence of an appreciable component of dawn‐dusk drift near the most poleward latitudes of observation in the dawn local time sector.