The purpose of the WG is to create the first definitive textbook which covers all aspects of incoherent scatter radar (ISR) techniques, theory and applications with particular relevance to the fields of space and atmospheric physics. Developed in the 1960s, the ‘ISR technique’ represents one of the best examples of a cohesion between plasma theory, signal processing techniques and instrument design.
Data from ISRs have proved invaluable across a wide range of scientific disciplines including ionospheric and atmospheric physics, magnetospheric physics and fundamental plasma physics. These large scale facilities (of which there are currently 11 around the world) also provide valuable research hubs for a wide range of complementary instrumentation such as optical and radio equipment, allowing for coordinated atmospheric and space observational campaigns. Many earth orbiting spacecraft missions also coordinate their orbits with the location of ISRs to allow a combination of in-situ and ground based measurements as well as exploiting the ISRs as a calibration source — a ground-truth, for their plasma measurements. The data from ISRs also form part of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model, a model used throughout the scientific community. ISRs have also been fundamental in the driving of cutting edge signal and data processing techniques and antenna design.
Despite the prevalence of ISR generated data and techniques across multiple scientific research fields and peer-reviewed papers (for example, there are 2640 papers listed on the EISCAT website), there exists no definitive textbook which fully covers the subject. Over the last 20 years technology and signal processing capabilities have also made significant leaps forward – all of these are yet to be documented in a coherent format. The newest facility, EISCAT-3D, (which is on the ESFRI roadmap) comes online later this year and represents the most advanced ISR system in the world which will revolutionize our understanding of the near Earth environment. Now is the time to bring the community together to provide a solid platform with which to capture the knowledge of the current generation but also to inspire the next generation of physicists, computer programmers and engineers.
Credit Header Image: Lisa J. Baddeley