Cluster structure of artificial ionospheric turbulence according to the data of the radar measurements by the radio-direction finder ionosonde

UDC 533.951+537.868 We present the results of experimental studies of an artificial ionospheric turbulence, which were obtained using the radio-direction finder ionosonde with linear frequency chirp of output signal. Several scattered signals with close distance-frequency and angular-frequency characteristics were observed, which is related to radio-wave scattering by various clustered areas. The features of the aspect scattering of radio waves on the IZMIRAN–“Sura”–Rostov-on-Don path were simulated. The spatial dimensions and the structure of the region filled by small-scale artificial ionospheric irregularities are estimated. The displacement of some clusters from the main region is of the order of 10–40 km with the smaller and larger displacements observed in the daytime and evening ionospheres, respectively.