Novel methods for characterizing ionospheric irregularities in the high-latitude ionosphere (ePoster)

Plasma structuring in the high‐latitude ionosphere impacts over‐the‐horizon radio communication and global navigation systems, and is an important space weather effect. Therefore, characterizing the formation and evolution of these structures is critically important. It is useful to create ``irregularity spectra", which quantify the sizes of plasma structures in the high‐latitude ionosphere.  The shape of the spectra (and other characteristics) can provide insight into the source of the irregularities. From this information it is then possible to forecast the occurrence of irregularities and predict their impact on radio wave propagation and communications. We are able to compute irregularity spectra by leveraging the phased array design of several incoherent scatter radars (ISRs), and using some unique properties of the F‐region plasma at high‐latitudes.  In this presentation we will describe how we develop and apply a novel technique for ISR measurements to resolve high‐latitude ionospheric irregularity spectra at a finer resolution than has been previously possible with ground‐based instruments. We will motivate the newly developed ISR technique, describe its methodology, and provide some first results demonstrating its effectiveness. This technique will enable future studies that will directly link high‐latitude ionospheric plasma structure drivers to their impact on radio wave communications.