ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Space physics research infrastructure at Svalbard, Norway D. A. Lorentzen (1,2), L. J. Baddeley (1,2) (1) Birkeland Centre for Space Science (BCSS), University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway (2) British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Madingley, Cambridge, UK

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Overview Svalbard and UNIS The Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO) The new UNIS SuperDARN radar Research topics at the UNIS space physics group Selected instrumentation

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Svalbard – the gateway to the Arctic Longyearbyen – main settlement of Svalbard ( ~2000 people) Located at 78 deg N, 16 deg E UNIS – northern most educational institution in the world with ~100 employees and ~500 students. UNIS offers courses at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level in Arctic Biology, Arctic Geology, Arctic Geophysics and Arctic Technology. Svalbard is magnetically conjugate to the area close to Zhongshan station

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Svalbard – location, location, location Large number of research infrastructure on Svalbard Located directly beneath the polar cusp during daytime Located directly beneath the aurora oval in dawn / dusk Located inside the polar cap during nighttime – but during large substorms the poleward part of the oval is in the zenith

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Major infrastructure for research on the upper atmosphere - Longyearbyen Meteor/

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Worlds largest optical observatory for auroral and middle atmospheric studies 25M NoK investment (excluding instrumentation) funded by the Ministry of Education and Research 31 instruments from 17 institutions Studies processes related to the energy transfer from the Sun/solar wind to the Earth’s upper atmosphere and mesospheric studies The Kjell Henriksen Observatory

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016

Svalbard SuperDARN radar (SvalDARN) Industrial cooperation (ConocoPhillips and Lundin) Radar construction fall First light – 3 rd November Backscatter received! Now in commissioning phase

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Svalbard SuperDARN FOV in relation to the auroral oval The radar will give an advanced real time warning of the ionospheric conditions ahead as Svalbard rotates beneath the auroral oval. Important for e.g. sounding rocket and other campaigns.

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 High Power Ionospheric radar (frequency: 500 MHz, Power: 1 MW) 32 m steerable, and 42 m fixed (along the magnetic field) Ionospheric density, temperatures and velocities Altitude range ~ km, but with a narrow beam width (~ few degrees) European Incoherent Scatter Radar (EISCAT)

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Some of the research conducted by the space physics group at UNIS Ionosphere / magnetosphere Use of optical data to look at magnetospheric boundary regions –special focus on open/closed field line boundary (OCB) Ion outflow studies using optics, sounding rockets and radars Studies of polar cap patches using optics, sounding rockets and radars (both dayside and nightside studies) Studies of the ions and neutrals in the thermosphere using rocket chemical releases, optics and radars HF Doppler experiment for studies of ULF and gravity waves (in preparation) Studies of GNSS scintillation using scintillation receivers, optics and radar Mesospheric studies Mesospheric temperatures from Ebert Fastie spectrometers (>30yrs polar-winter time series) Mesospheric all sky images for study of gravity waves using OH rotational lines Instrument development Auroral imagers (white light, filtered, hyperspectral) Auroral spectrographs All these studies are linked in one way or another Will now look more in detail at some of the instrumentation related to mesospheric studies

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Ebert-Fastie spectrometer Field-of-view 5 degrees Pointing straight up to zenith Temporal resolution 25 sec Spectral resolution 5 Å Spectral range Å Optimal range Å corresponding to OH(6-2) P- branch Focal length of the mirror 1m PMT to -20C Svalbard measurements since 1983 The ‘Silver Bullet’

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 The relative intensities of the OH lines yields the mesospheric temperature Spectra and temperature from LYR Seasonal temperature averages before correction for seasonality and solar response. Standard deviations are plotted as errorbars. Meteor radar temperatures at 90 km (November–February averages) from the NSMR radar in Longyearbyen are plotted as red bullets with standard deviations as errorbars. Variation of F10.7 cm solar radio flux during the same period is plotted as a green line. (Holmen et al., JGR, 2014)

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 KHO AIRGLOW IMAGER Scientific objectives The instrument is designed to image near-infrared emissions from the OH(6-2) band of airglow. The main objective is to study the morphology of the airglow layer at 90 km of altitude in the mesosphere. Instrument specifications Manufacturer: Keo Scientific Ltd. Name: KeoSentry4ix Front Lens: Mamiya RB67 Spatial coverage: All sky view - FOV 180 deg. Detector: Back Illuminated eXcellon PI PIXIS CCD 1024x1024 pixels; Time resolution: 1s - and up!; Cooling: -70 deg.; 16 bits resolution Filter wheel (6 x 4 inch diameter apertures - temperature stabilized): [CH1] Blocked (dark images) [CH2] Notch 844.6nm; BP 18.5 nm [CH3] Bandpass 844.6nm; BP 1.8 nm (auroral oxygen emission) [CH4] Open (VIS & NIR) [CH5] Bandpass 846.5nm; BP 1.8 nm (P 1 (4) emission line) [CH6] Bandpass 840.0nm; BP 1.8 nm (P 1 (2) emission line) KeoSentry4ix airglow imager. (1) Mamiya RB67 Fish-eye lens, (2) collimator lens, (3) filterwheel, (4) Smart motor system, (5) relay optics, and (6) CCD detector

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Conclusions Large number of research infrastructure at Svalbard The UNIS space physics group operates two research facilities – KHO and SuperDARN Space physics research at UNIS: Svalbard especially well located for cusp auroral studies Special focus on dayside studies Another focus on polar cap / nightside studies Also measurements and research conducted in the mesospheric region Still a few instrument domes available at KHO, so new instrumentation is welcome Collaborations also welcome, using data from the mesospheric all sky imager

ANGWIN, Cambridge, 2016 Calibration setup Calibration is needed to relate measured brightness to a known standard Diffuse re-emitting screen (Lambertian surface) and a 200W Tungsten lamp, both with known spectral characteristics Lamp is a point source for screen Lamp mounted on the top of 5m high tower 30m away Get a calibration coefficient as a function of wavelength, K(λ) that are used to convert the measured counts to Rayleigh/Å: B = known radiance of the lamp (in R/Å), r = distance from lamp certificate, C = observed intensity in counts, ø = screen angle, R = distance between the lamp and the screen R/Å/counts