Characteristics of polar mesosphere summer echoes observed with oblique incidence HF radars at Syowa Station

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Polar mesosphere summer echoes(PMSE) are strong VHF-UHF radar echoes from the high-latitude cold mesopause at around 80-90km altitudes in summer. Although a number of in situ and radar observations of PMSE have been made until now, generation mechanisms of PMSE and scattering processes of radar waves due to PMSE-associated irregularities are still controversial. In this paper, PMSE detected for the first time in December 1997 and January 1998 with the oblique incidence SuperDARN HF radars at Syowa Station, Antarctica(69.0°S , 39.6°E ), are summarized to reveal the characteristics of PMSE at HF band. They appear at slant ranges of 180-315km with elevation angles of 15°-30° between 1030 and 1230UT or between 2100 and 0140UT, and are characterized by durations of 65-110min with intermittent subsidence and quasi-periodic oscillations of echo power with periods of 5-20min, due to short-period atmospheric gravity waves. Detailed analysis of the December 15, 1997 event reveals the followings: 1) echo power is less than 30dB, Doppler velocity between -40 and +40m/s, and spectral width less than 50m/s, respectively, 2) there exists no particular correlation among power, velocity and width, and 3) PMSE occurrence can be related to eastward neutral wind due to semi-diurnal tide that may induce the decrease in the mesospheric temperature.
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