F2‐region atmospheric gravity waves due to high‐power HF heating and subauroral polarization streams

We report the first evidence of atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) generated in the F2 region by high-power HF heating and subauroral polarization streams. Data come from the CHAMP and GRACE spacecraft overflying the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) heating facility. These observations facilitate a new method of studying the ionosphere-thermosphere coupling in a controlled fashion by using various HF-heating regimes. They also reveal the subauroral F2 region to be a significant source of substorm AGWs, in addition to the well-known auroral E region. Citation: Mishin, E., E. Sutton, G. Milikh, I. Galkin, C. Roth, and M. Forster (2012), F2-region atmospheric gravity waves due to high-power HF heating and subauroral polarization streams, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L11101, doi: 10.1029/2012GL052004.