China unveils first radar network data for global space weather forecast

China released scientific detection results from its self-developed mid-latitude high-frequency radar network for the first time on Monday, to provide high-quality detection data for global space weather forecasting and warnings.

The country, which has built the radar network in its northern regions, released the radar data at an international workshop of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), which opened on Monday in Beijing.

The radar network, constructed by the National Space Science Center (NSSC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was completed in October 2023, as a part of the second phase of China's Meridian Project, a space weather monitoring network comprising ground-based stations.

China has made new breakthroughs in high-frequency coherent scattering radar technology and scientific research, and will deepen international cooperation in this field, according to the NSSC.

The ionosphere is home to all the charged particles in Earth's atmosphere, and many spacecraft as well as space stations. Ionospheric irregularities can disrupt signals, scientists say.

A total of six high-frequency coherent scattering radars have been set up across Jilin Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

This high-frequency radar chain achieves large-scale continuous detection of ionospheric irregularities in mid and high latitudes of the Asian sector. The detection range can reach 4,000 km from south to north, and the east-west span exceeds 12,000 km, according to the NSSC.

The high-frequency radar chain is expected to join the SuperDARN, a global network of scientific radars monitoring conditions in the near-Earth space environment, and realize real-time data exchange and sharing with databases in the United Kingdom and Canada.

The SuperDARN, which has members from a dozen of countries including the UK, the United States, Canada, Japan, China, France, Italy, Norway, Australia and South Africa, is one of the main organizations participating in the International Meridian Circle Program proposed by China.

(With input from Xinhua)