European Incoherent SCATter (EISCAT)
The EISCAT Scientific Association (Nordic members from Finland, Norway and
Sweden) operates radars and receivers to study the interaction between the
Sun and the Earth, as revealed by disturbances in the magnetosphere and the
ionized parts of the atmosphere (these interactions also give rise to the
spectacular aurora, or Northern Lights).
There are major continuing collaborations with the USA, notably with the
other incoherent scatter radars (funded by the Upper Atmosphere Facilities
part of the NSF) and projects in the KDI initiative (also NSF funded). The
radars are operated in both Common and Special Program modes, depending on
the particular research objective, and Special Program time is accounted
and distributed between the Associates according to rules that are
published from time to time.
The EISCAT transmitter site is located close to the city of Tromsø, in
Norway, and additional receiver stations are located in Sodankylä, Finland,
and Kiruna, Sweden. Several Incoherent Scatter facilities are distributed
about the world, such as Millstone Hill Observatory (MHO), in Westford,
Massachusetts. MHO is a broad-based atmospheric sciences research facility
owned and operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The
Atmospheric Sciences Group, which staffs and manages the observatory, is a
part of MIT's Haystack Observatory, a basic research organization whose
focuses on radio wave and radar science, instrumentation and techniques.
The Incoherent Scatter Radar technique requires sophisticated technology
and EISCAT engineers are constantly involved in upgrading the systems. The
EISCAT Scientific Association is currently constructing a new incoherent
scatter radar facility, the EISCAT Svalbard Radar. The first ionospheric
returns were received on 16 March 1996. General and detailed hardware and
software documentation of the new facility is under construction, and an
evolving description of related ground-based instrumentation is also available.
Collaborators
University of Tromsø, Norway and US institutions involved in Upper
Atmosphere Facilities and KDI
Contact
Tony van Eyken
EISCAT
tony@eiscat.uit.no
http://www.eiscat.uit.no/