The state of ionosphere at high latitudes is a crucial aspect of the space weather, which has important impact on today’s society, in particular in the context of increasing shipping, aviation, and other operations in the Arctic. High geomagnetic activity is often associated with irregular and turbulent ionosphere in the polar regions, in the Arctic and in Antarctica. This can impact propagation of radio waves, such as GNSS signals, that is signals that are used by GPS or Galileo systems for navigational and positioning services. The loss of these services can have significant impact on operations and safety in the polar regions.
Understanding processes in the polar ionosphere, their technological impacts, and laying foundations for robust models for forecasting space weather effects are one of the major goals in space science.
This project aims to determine the role of the aurorae for the development of plasma irregularities at high latitudes, and their impacts on the global navigation satellite systems. Through an integrated approach, combining in-situ measurements by sounding rockets, cutting-edge numerical simulations, and statistical studies with ground- and satellite-based observations at both hemispheres, it will provide in-depth understanding of plasma irregularities in the polar ionosphere, and lay foundations for the space weather models that will improve security of operations in the polar regions.
The project goals are to understand the role of the aurora in forming plasma density irregularities and establish foundations for a robust forecasting model for scintillations of radio waves in the polar regions.
