Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory |
KAIRA TECHNICAL : Summary | Parameters | Array | Radars | Data products | Software | Tutorials
Technical parameters
The following are the engineeing details and specifications of the Kilpisjärvi Atmospheric Imaging Receiver Array (KAIRA).Standard reference paper
There is a reference paper describing KAIRA. It serves as an introduction to the KAIRA facility, its technical capability and provides an open-access, standard reference paper for anyone referring to the KAIRA instrument or data in their own thesis or publication.
General
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | near Kilpisjärvi, Enontekiö |
| Country | Finland |
| Owned by | University of Oulu |
| Operated by | Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, University of Tromsø, Norway, and volunteer support |
| Receiver Units (RCUs) | 96 |
| Remote Station Processor (RSP) boards | 12 |
| RCU modes used | 0,3,4,5,6,7 |
| RCU modes available, but not used | 1,2 |
| Sample clock frequency | 160 or 200 MHz |
| Raw sample type | 12-bit |
| Transport sample type | 4-, 8-, or 16-bit |
| Subbands (frequnecy channels) | 512 |
| Beamlets | 244 (12-bit mode) or 488 (8-bit mode) or 976 (4-bit mode, limited) |
Array parameters
The following are the parameters on an array basis. Note that it is possible to mix parts of the array for combined experiments.| Array parameters | LBA | HBA |
|---|---|---|
| Number of antennas | 48 | 47 |
| Antenna type | Inverted-V dipoles | 16-element tiles |
| Polarisation per antenna | 2 | 2 |
| Array layout | sparse, quasi-random | segmented rectangular |
| Array physical size (approx.) | 34 m diameter | 30 x 50 m |
| Array alignment | symmetrical | 314 degrees |
| Minimum frequency | 10 MHz | 110 MHz |
| Maximum frequency | 90 MHz | 270 MHz |
| RCU modes | RCU3 & RCU4 | RCU5, RCU6 & RCU7 |
| Beam-forming | digital | analogue in each tile digital over array |
| Elevation limit | 20 degrees | 20 degrees |
| Longitude of array centre (deg East) | 20.7620758 | 20.76103311 |
| Latitude of array centre (deg North) | 69.0707445 | 69.0710561 |
| Altitude of array centre GK (m) | 493.123 | 495.086 |
| Altitude of array centre GRS (m) | 523.371 | 525.336 |
| Geocentric-X coordinate (m) | 2136833.225 | 2136818.264 |
| Geocentric-Y coordinate (m) | 810088.740 | 810038.592 |
| Geocentric-Z coordinate (m) | 5935285.279 | 5935299.531 |
The array altitude is provided with two references 'GK' is to the ETRS-GK27(N60) and 'GRS' is EUREF-FIN Geographic-3D/GRS80
For detailed phased-array coordinate information, see the array information page.
See also:
- KAIRA Data Sheet – technical details and parameters for the KAIRA system.
- KAIRA Array Layout
- KAIRA LBA Polarisation Configuration
- KAIRA HBA Polarisation Configuration
- Converting between subband and frequency
- Mapping RCU number to antenna number
- ASTRON reference on frequencies
- FGI coordinate transform service