What is EISCAT?

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A brief description of the system

The EISCAT Scientific Association is an international research organisation operating three

incoherent scatter radar systems, at 931 MHz, 224 MHz and 500 MHz, in Northern Scandinavia. It
is funded and operated by the research councils of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, China, the
United Kingdom and Germany (collectively, the EISCAT Associates.)

EISCAT (European Incoherent Scattter) studies the interaction between the Sun and the Earth as
revealed by disturbances in the magnetosphere and the ionised parts of the atmosphere (these
interactions also give rise to the spectacular aurora, or Northern Lights). The radars are operated in
both Common and Special Programme modes, depending on the particular research objective, and
Special Programme time is accounted and distributed between the Associates according to rules
which are published from time to time.

One EISCAT transmitter site consisting of a UHF system and a VHF system is located close to the
city of Tromsø, in Norway, and additional receiver stations are located in Sodankylä, Finland, and
Kiruna, Sweden. The EISCAT Headquarters are also located in Kiruna. In 1996 the EISCAT
Scientific Association constructed a second incoherent scatter radar facility, the EISCAT Svalbard
Radar (ESR), near Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen, far to the North of the Norwegian
mainland.

The Incoherent Scatter Radar requires sophisticated technology and EISCAT engineers are
constantly involved in upgrading the systems.

In addition to the incoherent scatter radars, EISCAT also operates an Ionospheric Heater facility at
Ramfjordmoen (including a Dynasonde) to support various active plasma physics experiments in
the high latitude ionosphere.

Opprettet av lisa
Sist endret 2007-06-29 15:08