Statistical study of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances using SuperDARN Hokkaido ground backscatter data for 2011

We describe an automated technique to determine parameters of traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) using the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) high frequency (HF) radar data. The technique is based on the analysis of minimum ground backscatter range variations corresponding to different radar beams. Using this technique, we processed the SuperDARN Hokkaido radar data for 2011 and revealed statistical distributions of medium-scale TID (MSTID) azimuth and apparent horizontal velocity. We found four peaks with a distinct diurnal and seasonal dependence in the MSTID azimuth occurrence rate distributions. Northeast MSTID azimuths (20° to 50°) are typical of the summer and equinox morning hours; southeast azimuths (100° to 140°) prevail in the winter daytime; southwest azimuths (190° to 220°) are typical mostly in the summer and equinox nighttime and in the equinox evening; northwest azimuths (280° to 320°) are typical of the summer daytime and evening. The apparent horizontal velocities are generally within the 100 to 160 m/s range. The obtained results agree well with earlier studies by other researchers. However, there are also certain differences. The summer daytime northwestward MSTIDs are not indicated in the earlier studies. The nighttime horizontal velocities are 1.5 to 2 times higher than those in the daytime. Furthermore, winter velocity values are about 1.5 times higher than those in other seasons. These differences might be associated with the peculiarities of the data recorded by different facilities, or the features of the processing techniques, and require further investigation for their interpretation.