aariПроблемы Арктики и АнтарктикиArctic and Antarctic Research0555-26482618-6713Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации Арктический и антарктический научно-исследовательский институт10.30758/0555-2648-2025-71-1-6-16aari-684Research ArticleФИЗИКА АТМОСФЕРЫ И ГИДРОСФЕРЫATMOSPHERE AND HYDROSPHERE PHYSICSFeatures of small-scale artificial irregularities in the high latitude ionospheric F-region from remote sensing observationsFeatures of small-scale artificial irregularities in the high latitude ionospheric F-region from remote sensing observationshttps://orcid.org/0009-0004-7062-6161EgorovI. M.EgorovI. M.

Ivan M. Egorov.

St. Petersburg

Ivan M. Egorov.

St. Petersburg

imegorov@aari.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1752-3273BlagoveshchenskayaN. F.BlagoveshchenskayaN. F.

Nataly F. Blagoveshchenskaya.

St. Petersburg

Nataly F. Blagoveshchenskaya.

St. Petersburg

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7299-6546KalishinA. S.KalishinA. S.

Aleksey S. Kalishin.

St. Petersburg

Aleksey S. Kalishin.

St. Petersburg

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1727-5310BorisovaT. D.BorisovaT. D.

Tatiana D. Borisova.

St. Petersburg

Tatiana D. Borisova.

St. Petersburg

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4342-7907ZagorskiyG. A.ZagorskiyG. A.

Gleb A. Zagorskiy.

St. Petersburg

Gleb A. Zagorskiy.

St. Petersburg

State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation Arctic and Antarctic Research InstituteРоссияState Scientific Center of the Russian Federation Arctic and Antarctic Research InstituteRussian Federation202530032025711616Copyright © Egorov I.M., Blagoveshchenskaya N.F., Kalishin A.S., Borisova T.D., Zagorskiy G.A., 20252025Egorov I.M., Blagoveshchenskaya N.F., Kalishin A.S., Borisova T.D., Zagorskiy G.A.Egorov I.M., Blagoveshchenskaya N.F., Kalishin A.S., Borisova T.D., Zagorskiy G.A.Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.https://www.aaresearch.science/jour/article/view/684

Powerful HF radio waves interacting with the ionosphere accelerate or heat electrons, pushing the ionospheric plasma out of equilibrium and leading to the creation of various non-linear phenomena. One of the most prominent phenomena discovered from HF heating experiments is the generation of small-scale artificial field-aligned irregularities (AFAI). AFAI induce bi-static scattering of HF and VHF signals, providing their propagation in the frequency range and over distances unattainable in the natural ionosphere. This makes it possible to create HF-driven radio communication channels. We present results from an EISCAT/Heating (Tromsø, Norway) experiment on 18 February 2013, concerning the features and behaviors of AFAI in the high latitude ionospheric F-region induced by high power HF radio waves with O- and X-mode polarization using the bi-static scatter method. Joint use of various remote diagnostics tools, including the multichannel HF Doppler equipment, oblique sounding and the CUTLUSS backscatter radar provides a more comprehensive and complete AFAI study, including the size of the artificially disturbed region occupied with AFAI, the frequency band of bi-static scatter signals (BSS), the fine structure of BSS, the intensity, growth and decay times of AFAI. It has been found that O- and X-mode AFAI have different characteristics and generation mechanisms.

Powerful HF radio waves interacting with the ionosphere accelerate or heat electrons, pushing the ionospheric plasma out of equilibrium and leading to the creation of various non-linear phenomena. One of the most prominent phenomena discovered from HF heating experiments is the generation of small-scale artificial field-aligned irregularities (AFAI). AFAI induce bi-static scattering of HF and VHF signals, providing their propagation in the frequency range and over distances unattainable in the natural ionosphere. This makes it possible to create HF-driven radio communication channels. We present results from an EISCAT/Heating (Tromsø, Norway) experiment on 18 February 2013, concerning the features and behaviors of AFAI in the high latitude ionospheric F-region induced by high power HF radio waves with O- and X-mode polarization using the bi-static scatter method. Joint use of various remote diagnostics tools, including the multichannel HF Doppler equipment, oblique sounding and the CUTLUSS backscatter radar provides a more comprehensive and complete AFAI study, including the size of the artificially disturbed region occupied with AFAI, the frequency band of bi-static scatter signals (BSS), the fine structure of BSS, the intensity, growth and decay times of AFAI. It has been found that O- and X-mode AFAI have different characteristics and generation mechanisms.

high latitude ionosphereremote sensingartificial field-aligned irregularitiespowerful HF radio waveheating facilitybi-static radio scatterhigh latitude ionosphereremote sensingartificial field-aligned irregularitiespowerful HF radio waveheating facilitybi-static radio scatterThis work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 22-17-00020. The authors express their gratitude to EISCAT, which is an international scientific association supported by research organizations in China (CRIRP), Finland (SA), Japan (NIPR and STEL), Norway (NFR), Sweden (VR), and the United Kingdom (NERC). The authors are thankful to prof. T. Yeoman for the CUTLASS radar data provided.This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 22-17-00020. 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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.