Potential Application of 205-MHz Stratosphere-Troposphere Wind Profiling Radar in Ionospheric Studies: Preliminary Results

A state-of-the-art 205-MHz wind profiling radar designed for measuring both the horizontal and vertical wind components from 315 m to beyond 20 km has been installed at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), India (10.04°N, 76.33°E, dip angle ~7.1°N). Subsequently, the radar was operated with special configuration to probe the ionosphere. After a series of experiments, the radar was successfully configured to receive ionospheric reflections from about 90 to 500 km range covering the E and F layers, with high resolution (45 m for the 90–110 km region). The received echoes are identified as signatures of field-aligned irregularities (FAIs) of the E and F regions of the ionosphere. The E region echoes were observed at an altitude range of 90–110 km. Both continuous and quasi-periodic structures were identified. Further analysis from the spectrum shows that the E region FAIs are Type 2 in nature. The night time spread-F observed so far is of either bottom type or bottom side in nature. This letter portrays the scope of employing 200 MHz range of very high frequency (VHF) band for ionospheric observations, and the technical details and the initial results of the experiment conducted with this stratosphere–troposphere (ST) Radar.