Study of the Large-scale Modification of the Ionosphere Induced by High Frequency Radio Waves with Different Powers: A Simulation Approach

The purpose of this work is the investigation of the possible large-scale modification of the ionosphere induced by powerful high frequency radio waves, utilized for artificial heating experiments and pumped into the ionosphere by ground-based ionospheric heaters. For this investigation, the method of mathematical modeling is applied. A mathematical model of the ionospheric E and F regions, developed in the Polar Geophysical Institute, is utilized. Simulations are performed for the point with geographic coordinates of the “Sura” heating facility (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia) for autumn conditions. The calculations are made for distinct cases, in which the effective absorbed power has different values belonging to the 5-100 MW range, both for nocturnal and daytime conditions. The frequency of powerful HF waves is chosen to be close to the most effective frequency for the large-scale F2-layer modification. The results of modeling indicate that the effective absorbed power can influence considerably on the F-layer response to high power radio waves in the mid-latitude ionosphere.