Articles | Volume 31, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-1681-2013
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-1681-2013
Regular paper
 | 
09 Oct 2013
Regular paper |  | 09 Oct 2013

Enhanced EISCAT UHF backscatter during high-energy auroral electron precipitation

N. M. Schlatter, N. Ivchenko, T. Sergienko, B. Gustavsson, and B. U. E. Brändström

Abstract. Natural enhancements in the backscattered power of incoherent scatter radars up to 5 orders of magnitudes above the thermal backscatter are sometimes observed at high latitudes. Recently observations of enhancements in the backscattered power including a feature at zero Doppler shift have been reported. These enhancements are limited in altitude to tens of kilometers. The zero Doppler shift feature has been interpreted as a signature of electron density cavitation. Enhanced plasma lines during these observations have also been reported. We report on the first EISCAT UHF observations of enhanced backscattered radar power including a zero Doppler shift feature. The enhancements originated from two distinct and intermittent layers at about 200 km altitude. The altitude extent of the enhancements, observed during auroral high-energy electron precipitation, was < 2 km.

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