Echo occurrence in the southern polar ionosphere for the SuperDARN Dome C East and Dome C North radars

In this paper, echo occurrence rates for the Dome C East (DCE) and the new Dome C North (DCN) radars are
studied. We report the ionospheric and ground scatter echo occurrence rates for selected periods around
equinoxes and solstices in the final part of the solar cycle XXIV. The occurrence maps built in Altitude Adjusted
Corrected Geomagnetic latitude and Magnetic Local Time coordinates show peculiar patterns highly
variable with season. The comparisons of the radar observations with the International Reference Ionosphere
model electron density and with ray tracing simulations allow us to explain the major features of observed
patterns in terms of electron density variations. The study shows the great potential of the DCE and
DCN radar combination to the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) convection mapping in
terms of monitoring key regions of the high-latitude ionosphere critical for understanding of the magnetospheric
dynamics.