Abstract:
A diagnostic algorithm is proposed to derive and model the ionosphere parameters
modified by powerful high frequency (HF) radio waves. The proposed model is
composed of three steps: characterization of the HF ionosphere heaters in terms of
location, effective radiated power, frequency, and operation modes parameters,
diagnostic of the ambient ionosphere parameters, and simulation of the effects of the
heating experiment on the ionosphere. The proposed algorithm is applied to investigate
the artificial ionospheric irregularities and instabilities produced by HF heating
experiments reported from different ground-based HF heating facilities such as HAARP
at Alaska, and EISCAT heating facility in Tromso. The ionospheric instability and
irregularity parameters are then derived from the measured modified ionospheric
parameters during heating experiments. The conditions for the hydrodynamical
equilibrium disruption and initiation of the artificial aurora are derived and discussed in
terms of the HF heating facilities parameters.