2011 SuperDARN Workshop
ABSTRACTS
Toward Scatter Classification at Middle Latitudes
E.S. Miller and E.R. Talaat
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA
abstract. We present an update on on-going work at JHU/APL to understand the sources of backscatter observed with the new middle latitude radars. Notably, we propose classifying backscatter from: auroral convection FAIs (traditionally called "ionospheric scatter"), non-convection FAIs (e.g., those found in the trough/plasmapause region in the evening), the ground via F region, the ground via sporadic E, specular meteor echoes, E-region FAIs (so-called "quasi-periodic echoes"), and specular sporadic-E echoes. These classifications are vital to the extension of SuperDARN science to middle- and lower-latitude phenomena.