EISCAT Peer-Review Programme: Call for Proposals

The EISCAT Scientific Association invites applications for observing time on the EISCAT facilities in 2018, by individual scientists, research groups, and consortia throughout the world on equal,
competitive basis. This means that anyone can apply, independent of whether or not the applicant is from an EISCAT associate country.

While evaluations are merit based, in the case of two applications having similar merits in evaluation, preference will be given either to those applicants who are new to the EISCAT facilities, in order to enlarge the EISCAT user community and further more open access to the facilities, or to the applicant showing stronger educational impact in their proposal.

The present call is the second one for 2019. In total, 200 hours of experiment time are open for international, peer-reviewed competition, and are available for the use of any of the current EISCAT facilities. Roughly half of this time has been allocated in the first call.

Please refer to the details of the call at

https://www.eiscat.se/blog/2019/04/04/eiscat-peer-reviewed-program-experiments-2/

for more information.

The deadline for proposals is 1st May 2019 at 24:00 UTC.

From: Ingemar Häggström, EISCAT Scientific Association.

1st Finnish EISCAT_3D User Meeting 26th March

Artist Impression of an EISCAT_3D site. Courtesy National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan.

The 1st Finnish EISCAT_3D User Meeting is organised in Oulu at Tellus stage on 26th March 2019. The purpose of the meeting is to inform researchers from the space physics, atmospheric and radio science community of the current status and future plans concerning the international EISCAT_3D incoherent scatter radar facility. Invited speakers from Finland and abroad, including the director of EISCAT, Dr. Craig Heinselman, will present their ideas and future plans. Plenty of time is reserved for discussion and questions. Anyone interested is welcomed to join the meeting.

The detailed programme can be found on http://www.sgo.fi/Events/E3D_FiUM/

Text: Anita Aikio; Image: NIPR, Japan.

Space Science School and Radar School

The EISCAT Scientific Association participates in this year's Space Science School, in Sanya, China, 10-19 October 2018. The school is organised by the International Space Science Institute Beijing (ISSI) and the Asia-Pacific Space Co-operation Organisation (APSCO). Embedded in the school, there will be an EISCAT incoherent scatter radar school.

The school is sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the National Space Science Center, CAS (NSSC), the Sanya Institute of Remote Sensing (RADI), and the Chinese Research Institute for Radiowave Propagation (CRIRP). CRIRP is an associate of EISCAT.

For more information and registration, please visit the school's web site.

Deadline: 31st July 2018.

EISCAT Peer-Review Programme: Call for Proposals

EISCAT VHF Incoherent Scatter Radar in Tromsø, Norway.

The EISCAT Scientific Association invites applications for observing time on the EISCAT facilities in 2018, by individual scientists, research groups, and consortia throughout the world on equal, competitive basis. This means that anyone can apply, independent of whether or not the applicant is from an EISCAT associate country.

While evaluations are merit based, in the case of two applications having similar merits in evaluation, preference will be given either to those applicants who are new to the EISCAT facilities, in order to enlarge the EISCAT user community and further more open access to the facilities, or to the applicant showing stronger educational impact in their proposal.

The present call is the second one for 2018. In total, 200 hours of experiment time are open for international, peer-reviewed competition, and are available for the use of any of the current EISCAT facilities. Roughly half of this time has been allocated in the first call.

Please refer to the details of the call at

https://www.eiscat.se/blog/2018/04/05/eiscat-peer-reviewed-program-experiments-2/

for more information.

The deadline for proposals is 1st May 2018 at 24:00 UTC.

Text: EISCAT. Photo: Th.Ulich.

EISCAT Radar Time Available: Call for Proposals

Tromsø VHF Radar seen from the top platform of the UHF Radar; Sep. 2017.

The EISCAT Scientific Association invites applications for observing time on the EISCAT facilities in 2017, by individual scientists, research groups, and consortia throughout the world on equal, competitive basis. This means that anyone can apply, independent of whether or not the applicant is from an EISCAT associate country.

While evaluations are merit based, in the case of two applications having similar merits in evaluation, preference will be given either to those applicants who are new to the EISCAT facilities, in order to enlarge the EISCAT user community and further more open access to the facilities, or to the applicant showing stronger educational impact in their proposal.

The present call is the second one for 2017. In total, 200 hours of experiment time are open for international, peer-reviewed competition, and are available for the use of any of the current EISCAT facilities. Roughly half of this time has been allocated in the first call.

Please refer to the details of the call at https://www.eiscat.se/blog/2017/04/10/eiscat-peer-reviewed-program-experiments-2/ for more information.

The deadline for proposals is 1st May 2017 at 24:00 UTC.

Text: EISCAT. Photo: Th.Ulich.

Incoherent Scatter Radar School: Student Presentations and Conclusions

Today was the high point of our incoherent scatter radar (ISR) school, as it was the students' turn to give presentations, while lecturers would listen and ask questions. The 7 groups had half an hour each to present the results of their radar experiments, explaining their scientific motivations and experiment designs, describing the data they had obtained, and discussing on their interpretation.

The talks were really high-level ones; everybody had put a great effort into the task and played the game. Even when the initial scientific targets could not be reached – because of technical problems or too quiet ionospheric conditions – the students managed to come up with a plan B and did a great job in analysing their data sets.

Group 3 studied the polar cap convection with an ESR experiment.
Photo: M. Lavarra

Among the observed phenomena, we had beautiful polar mesospheric summer echoes, electron precipitation, polar cap convection, auroral arcs... And ISR observations were confirmed by measurements from other instruments: ionosonde, SuperDARN, GPS TEC data, satellite observations... 

After closing discussions, it was already time to say goodbye. Most participants are now on their way to Helsinki, spending the night on the train. Hopefully students and lecturers have had a great time in Sodankylä and got to know new potential future collaborators/friends. So, the ISR school is now over... until next time!

Radar School 2016 - Extended Deadline 15.03

The deadline for submitting applications to the Incoherent Scatter Radar School jointly organised by EISCAT (Europe) and NSF (US) is extended until 15th March. The school will be held in Sodankylä from 24th to 30th July 2016.

Candidates who have not yet sent their application are invited to follow the instructions on the following webpages:

- EISCAT participants: http://www.sgo.fi/Events/RS2016/index.php

- US participants: http://www.amisr.com/workshop

For any inquiries, please contact RS2016(at)sgo.fi (EISCAT/SGO) or summerschool@esd.sri.com (US NSF).

Selected participants will be notified by 29th March 2016.

Blue and green: Sodankylä in July.
Photo: M. Grandin

International Incoherent Scatter Radar School: Sodankylä 2016

We have the pleasure to announce the upcoming International Incoherent Scatter Radar School on 24–30 July 2016. This summer school will be held in Sodankylä, and is jointly organised by the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory and SRI International. It is sponsored by the EISCAT Scientific Association and the US National Science Foundation (NSF).

The purpose of the summer school is to provide graduate and advanced undergraduate students with a solid background on the incoherent scatter radars, from the underlying theory of incoherent scatter to the design of radar experiments and data analysis, with a strong practical component. In particular, the students will be given the opportunity to design and run their own experiments using the EISCAT radar system, and then to analyse their data sets.

The school will be organised as follows. The lectures will take place during the morning sessions, from Monday 25 until Friday 29 July. The afternoon sessions will be dedicated to hands-on work in  small groups, with the objectives of designing a radar experiment suitable to study a chosen physical phenomenon, and of analysing the obtained data accordingly. There will also be many opportunities for students to directly interact with the lecturers during these sessions. The experiments will be run during the 26-27 July night. On Saturday 30 July morning, the groups will present their results to all  the summer school participants.

The school will take place near the beautiful banks of the river Kitinen.

Photo: M. Grandin

All students will be hosted at the local vocational school in Sodankylä, and meals (breakfasts, lunches and dinners) will be provided.

The deadline for submitting an application is 6 March 2016. The selected participants will be notified by 29 March 2016.

More information and detailed instructions for application can be found on the following webpages:

- EISCAT participants: http://www.sgo.fi/Events/RS2016/index.php

- US participants: http://www.amisr.com/workshop

For any inquiries, please contact RS2016(at)sgo.fi (EISCAT/SGO) or summerschool(at)esd.sri.com (US NSF).

International Incoherent Scatter Radar School 2016

In the near future the EISCAT Scientific Association will face a major instrumental upgrade with the ESFRI Roadmap project "EISCAT_3D: A European Three-Dimensional Imaging Radar for Atmospheric and Geospace Research."

The NSF and EISCAT, in co-operation with the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, will run a training course for new users of the incoherent scatter radars, from 24 to 30 July 2016 (Sunday to Saturday). The training course will be held in Sodankylä, where one of the EISCAT VHF remote sites is located.

The course will cover all essential aspects of the current incoherent scatter radar systems, including the science programme. An overview of the existing hardware and software was provided and future plans will be discussed, with an emphasis on phased array radars in preparation of EISCAT_3D.

The course will have a very strong emphasis on practicals, i.e. work in groups of participants on real data. There will be dedicated radar experiments for every group, and the groups will analyse their data and present their results under the guidance of an experienced team of instructors.

For more information, please refer to the radar school web pages.

Deadlines for registration are still undetermined, and we will provide more information soon.

Photo: Craig Heinselman, EISCAT.

EISCAT Radar Time Available for Anyone!

The EISCAT Scientific Association invites applications for observing time on the EISCAT facilities in 2015, by individual scientists, research groups, and consortia throughout the world on equal, competitive basis. This means that anyone can apply, independent of whether or not the applicant is from an EISCAT associate country.

While evaluations are merit based, in the case of two applications having similar merits in evaluation, preference will be given either to those applicants who are new to the EISCAT facilities, in order to enlarge the EISCAT user community and further more open access to the facilities, or to the applicant showing stronger educational impact in their proposal.

The present call is the first one for 2015. In total, 200 hours of experiment time are open for international, peer-reviewed competition, and are available for the use of any of the current EISCAT facilities. Roughly half of this time has been allocated in the first call.

For more information, please refer to the EISCAT Peer-Review Programme: Call for Proposals.

The deadline for proposals is 1st November 2014 at 24:00 UTC.

Photo taken just outside the feeder bridge of the EISCAT VHF Radar in Tromsø by Thomas Ulich.