SuperDARN (super Dual Auroral Radar Network) is a global network of high-frequency radars located in the northern and southern hemispheres. The primary purpose of the network is to study the large-scale dynamics of the Earth’s ionosphere and plasmasphere.
The SuperDARN project began in 1985 with the installation of two radar systems, one each in Canada and Antarctica. These were followed by additional systems in Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Scotland, England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Chile. As of 2016 there are 22 operational radar sites in the SuperDARN network.
The SuperDARN radars use Doppler measurements to infer wind velocities over an altitude range from approximately 60 km to 1000 km. The horizontal resolution of wind velocity maps produced by SuperDARN is typically on the order of 100 km or better. The vertical resolution depends on many factors including radar frequency and ionospheric conditions but is typically 1-2 km or better for most frequencies used by SuperDARN.
In addition to providing near-real-time maps of ionospheric winds at all times and locations around the globe (except for polar regions during winter), data from SuperDARNA can be used to study a wide variety of other phenomena including: plasma waves/instabilities & their role in heating/accelerating particles; auroral & subauroral processes; magnetospheric convection; geomagnetic storms & substorms; solar wind – magnetosphere – ionosphere coupling; global electrodynamics; space weather effects on communications & navigation systems; long-term trends in ionospheric conditions.