Overview of CBK/PAS Node

Location (town, country): Warsaw, Poland

Web site: https://www.cbk.waw.pl/en/

Description of the infrastructure:

The Heliogeophysical Prediction Service (HPS) Laboratory is operated by CBK PAN and is a part of the global International Space Environment Service (ISES) network. It operates the ionosondes located in Warsaw and in Horsund, and two riometers located in Borowiec near the LOFAR antenna field. CBK PAN offers the instrumental infrastructure, historical and near real time depositories of observable data, models and procedures for multi-instruments space plasma diagnostics. CBK PAN provides access to LOFAR PL610 station measurements, RELEC RFA measurements and ionosonde, riometers and GPS measurements. Complementary data from satellite databases are also used for diagnostic and modelling purposes (e.g. COSMIC, DEMETER).

LOFAR station PL610 at Borówiec, owned by CBK PAN is one of the three polish LOFAR stations of the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT). Additionally, in Borowiec 100 Hz scintillation receiver and radio receiver is located. Infrastructure has been operating since 2015 with a LOFAR station schedule divided between working in the interferometric mode as part of ILT and the local mode as a single instrument. Each international station owner has a guaranteed amount of about 10% of annual observing time per year for local mode observations. During this time station PL610 performs observations that are mainly focused on monitoring ionospheric conditions, Sun and Jupiter observations and, on request, observations for selected projects. Routine PL610 observations are managed by dedicated for this purpose software developed by the CBK PAN researchers. This enables semi-automatic scheduling of observations in local mode. Based on the data from LOFAR network CBK research areas includes following topics:

  • Analysis of the ionospheric scintillation at radio frequencies.
  • Analysis and modelling of the ionospheric irregularities, and studying the local structure of the ionosphere and its evolution.
  • Development of analysis methods for detection of different scales (small and medium) ionospheric irregularities based on astronomical calibration data - for the purpose of test calibration solutions.

RELEC (The Relativistic ELECtrons) experiment on-board Vernov mission was launched onto sun-synchronous orbit to the height of about 750 km in 2014. The experiment was aimed at studying precipitation of magnetospheric relativistic electrons and their impact on the Earth ionosphere and magnetosphere including the observations of fast transient phenomena in the upper atmosphere. CBK PAN has designed and built the Radio Frequency Analyser (RFA) for the mission purposes. The RFA instrument performed 3-axis spectrometric measurements of electrical component of radio frequency emissions in range from 50 kHz up to 15 MHz. Mission provides measurements between July and December 2014.

The ionospheric laboratory at the Polish Polar Station implements a long-term program for monitoring the state of the ionosphere at large geomagnetic latitudes. The goal of the research conducted together with the CBK’s Heliogeophysical Forecasts laboratory is to monitor electromagnetic wave propagation parameters on short waves. For this, both active techniques (measurements carried out using the VISRC2 ionosonde operating at the station) and passive techniques that allow monitoring of ionospheric absorption using a riometer are used. Three independent GSV 4004 scintillation monitors are used to test the scintillation intensity and to measure the speed of ionospheric plasma drifts. The received data is made available as part of the GIRO platform and the dedicated website.

Services currently offered by the infrastructure:

The access to the proposed instrumentations and databases allowed to build multi instrument and 3D diagnostics of space plasma conditions in Near Earth's environment. Particularly novel techniques, based on LOFAR and GNSS observation for monitoring the morphology and dynamic of small scales up to large ionospheric structures are offered to systematic users.

CBK PAN can provide the data, models and procedure for description of space plasma conditions for requested region and period, as well as, will serve the special observing campaign performed by PL610 LOFAR station and additional instrumental equipment proposed by the scientific communities.

Heliogeophysical Prediction Service Laboratory in Warsaw operates the H2PT model dedicated for local ionosphere monitoring - that uses data from the ionosonde measureless in Warsaw and GNSS data from Europe that allows to perform analysis dedicated to the Galileo Single Frequency Algorithm monitoring. This model is being updated for scientific reasons by inclusion of data from the riometers owned by CBK and public available data from free Weak Signal Propagation Reporter project, for making even more accurate maps of foF2 over the Europe region. The H2PT allows the sharing of foF2 map and hmF2 map over the Europe region with 1x1 deg special resolution.

New areas opening to users:

  • Multi point and multi instrument diagnostics of space plasma conditions.
  • Identification of processes response to magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling via impact of radiation belts on ionosphere region.
  • Development of techniques for diagnostics of different scales ionospheric irregularities.
  • Development of upgraded scintillation model based on LOFAR and GNSS diagnostic and preparation of the new scintillation index, since LOFAR observations provide better sensitivities in much wider frequency range as well as in lower frequencies than GNSS observations provide.
  • Diagnostics of solar activity and Solar Wind condition.