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2001 Incoherent Scatter Coordinated Observation Days
URSI-ISWG
[Note: If your browser does not support tables, try this
version.]
In the following table, column 2
gives the start and end date of the experiment, column 3 gives
the day of the week of the start of the experiment, column 4
is the length of the experiment and column 5 shows the date of the new moon.
Incoherent Scatter Coordinated Observation Days should start at 1300UT
on the first day indicated (to ensure that all radars are operating correctly
by 1600UT) and end at 1600UT on the last day indicated. However,
radars are encouraged to start as early as possible on the first day where operational considerations allow.
2001 Incoherent Scatter Coordinated Observation Days |
| Month |
Observation dates |
Day |
Observation length (days) |
New Moon |
Notes |
| January |
|
|
|
24 |
|
| February |
13-15 |
Tuesday |
2 |
23 |
CLUSTER
|
| March |
|
|
|
25 |
|
| April |
17-19 |
Tuesday |
2 |
23 |
WLS
|
| May |
|
|
|
23 |
|
| June |
|
|
|
21 |
|
| July |
02-31 |
Wednesday
(default) |
4, floating (except Arecibo), default 11-15 |
20 |
4 day floating TIMED/
LTCS
observations within a month-long 'alert' interval.
To be co-ordinated by
Joe Salah
May also include CLUSTER
|
| August |
|
|
|
19 |
|
| September |
01-30 |
Monday
(default) |
4, floating
default 10-14 |
17 |
4 day floating TIMED/
LTCS/
Joule Heating
observations within a month-long 'alert' interval.
To be co-ordinated by
Joe Salah
May also include CLUSTER
|
| October |
02-18
16-18 |
Tuesday
(default)
Tuesday |
2, floating
default 9-11
2 |
16 |
WLS
POLITE
|
| November |
13-15 |
Tuesday |
2 |
15 |
HITRAC/
SPARC
|
| December |
10-14 |
Monday |
3 |
14 |
Joule Heating/
CLUSTER
|
| Total |
|
|
21 |
|
|
| Last updated: Wednesday, 03-Jan-2001 17:02:23 GMT |
Notes
CLUSTER
February and late summer are nominal slots for CLUSTER in the co-ordinated incoherent
scatter schedule for 2001. These dates will be updated in early September 2000, after
the second CLUSTER launch.
The Cluster mission will provide the first three-dimensional measurements in
space and will allow resolution of temporal and spatial
variations of the magnetosphere, on a range of time scales depending on the
separation of the four spacecraft. There are a great number of possible
experiments involving Cluster and ground-based measurements because the
satellites will sample: the near-Earth interplanetary medium; the bow shock;
the magnetosheath; the magnetopause at high latitudes (both above and below
the magnetic cusp); the cusp; the flank LLBL; the tail lobe; the auroral
oval; the ring current; and the near-Earth tail. The ground-based
observations can give a detailed view of ionospheric signatures of the
magnetospheric phenomena studied by Cluster, and will also place the
spacecraft measurements in context in terms of both spatial position and
temporal sequences. The wide variety of configurations with ground-based
instruments have been discussed by
Opgenoorth and Lockwood (1995)
Two key areas of study are the
dayside magnetopause/cusp region and the mid-tail current sheet.
With apogee in the tail near midnight, Cluster will pass between the region
of substorm onset (at the inner edge of the cross-tail current sheet) and
the part of the sheet where reconnection signatures (associated with the
Near-Earth Neutral Line) are commonly observed. Thus it will provide unique
new information on the relationship between the cross-tail current
disruption at onset and the reconnection signatures. The ground based
observations will be vital in defining the onset and expansion of the
substorm features. The combination will resolve the long-standing debate
about the causes of substorm onset and the precise sequence of events.
During these orbits, Cluster will also pass through the cusp/cleft region at
lower altitudes in "a string-of-pearls" formation and will provide unique
new information on temporal and travelling phenomena, such as travelling
convection vortices and pulsed magnetopause reconnection.
With apogee in the solar wind near noon, Cluster will provide information on
magnetopause signatures of reconnection during both northward and southward
IMF and much will be learned from combining these data with ground-based
observations of their ionospheric signatures. These times also give
"string-of-pearls" passes at lower altitudes through the nightside auroral
oval that will be very valuable for substorm and auroral studies.
Contact: Hermann Opgenoorth
Database
The emphasis should be on broad latitudinal coverage of the F region.
Contact: Tony van Eyken
Hi-TRAC: High Time Resolution Auroral Radar Convection
Combines incoherent and coherent scatter radars to provide optimum high latitude
convection measurements. High latitude radars should endevour to
record high-time resolution line-of-sight velocities over as wide a
latitude interval as possible. Low latitude radars should use
database modes.
Contact: John Holt
Joule Heating
Two campaigns, of four days each, at equinox and solstice. High latitude radars
should study the local E-region with good time resolution, while low latitude
radars should study the F-region.
Contact Geof Crowley
Combined local E and F region measurements, including vector
velocities, with 15 minute time resolution. Latitudinal coverage may
be sacrificed to meet this goal.
Contact: Cassandra Fessen
POLITE
POLITE aims to advance our understanding of topside light ion morphology
and dynamics through a combination of modeling efforts and coordinated
observations by the ISR chain and by DMSP satellite overflights. The use
of the full latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the ISR chain is
critical to the campaign, as one key objective is the study of the
latitudinal and longitudinal variations of hydrogen, oxygen, and
helium ions. Simultaneous measurements of neutral oxygen, hydrogen, and
helium are also important, in order to explore the coupling between
ionic and neutral species in the lower topside. The helium ion layer
descends in altitude and increases in strength during the wintertime,
making observation easier for the ISR chain. Significant asymmetries
in field-aligned flows are also at their maximums during summer and
winter solstices. IMF support is not very important, but new moon
periods are critical since optical support is required for simultaneous
neutral species measurements.
Contact: Phil Erickson
SPARC brings together researchers in upper atmospheric and space physics
from around the world, providing them a set of online collaboration tools
and workspaces that link together scientific instruments, data, and models.
The collaboratory is itself a subject of study by computer and behavioral
scientists who are developing and refining the tools and organizational
structures that will make such real-time, online collaborative research
commonplace.
Contact: Tim Killeen
CEDAR-TIMED:
Joint Observations of the Effects of Storms on the Lower Thermosphere
The goal of this project is to gather observations on the temperature and
winds in the lower thermosphere during geomagnetic storms. Data from
ISRs and supporting instrumentation available at the upper atmosphere
facilities are needed in the primary altitude range of 90-150 km with fine
altitude and time resolution (similar to LTCS modes). Data at altitudes
in the middle and upper atmosphere will also be useful to study coupling
with the lower thermosphere. The observations will be made in response
to an alert of a major sustained geomagnetic storm (Kp>5 or 6), and will
be studied in coordination with TIMED satellite observations using
general circulation and tidal models. A one-month period will be identified
one year in advance, and then narrowed to a 10-day stand-by period 6 weeks
before the start of the month. The observations will last 4 full days.
We request two such periods in year 2000 following the launch of the
TIMED satellite (May 2000) and initial validation of its data. The
requested periods are for Fall (Sep or Oct) and Winter 2000 (Nov, Dec or
Jan 2001).
Contact: Joe Salah
Wide-Latitude Study
These are often 'floating' days, the exact operation dates to be selected about
one month before based on available predictions. Modes with temporal
resolutions better than 5 minutes should be used since we need to address
substorm phenomena with better time resolution.
Contact: John Foster
Updated by Tony van Eyken,
Wednesday, 03-Jan-2001 17:02:23 GMT