EISCAT Tromsø

The EISCAT Tromsø site, located in northern Norway, is one of the core facilities of the EISCAT research infrastructure.

69°35’11″N 19° 13’38″E

The EISCAT Tromsø site, located in northern Norway, is one of the core facilities of the EISCAT research infrastructure. From this site, powerful radar systems are used to study the Earth’s upper atmosphere and the near-Earth space environment. By transmitting radio waves high into the ionosphere and analysing the returned signals, scientists can investigate how this region behaves and how it is influenced by the Sun and space weather.

At the Tromsø site, EISCAT has both a UHF and VHF antenna. The site was the heart in EISCAT’s mainland system, that consisted of receiver antennas in Kiruna, Sweden and Sodankylä, Finland, but now it operates on its own. The receivers in Kiruna and Sodankylä has been decommissioned.

EISCAT also operates a unique scientific instrument known as the Heating facility. This system transmits high-frequency radio waves into the ionosphere, allowing researchers to gently and temporarily modify a small region of the upper atmosphere. By observing how the ionosphere responds to this controlled input of energy, scientists can test fundamental theories about plasma physics and better understand natural processes such as auroras, radio wave propagation and energy transfer in space.

The Heating facility does not affect the weather or climate on Earth. Instead, it acts as a laboratory in space, enabling experiments that cannot be carried out anywhere else. Together with the EISCAT radars, it provides a powerful tool for studying space weather and its potential impact on technologies such as satellite communication and navigation systems.

EISCAT Tromsø and the Heating facility are important resources for international research collaboration, education and training, helping scientists and students from around the world to explore and better understand the dynamic space environment above our planet.

EISCAt Tromsø with the VHF and UHF antenna.

Photo: Craig Heinselman