The ESR (Eiscat Svalbard Radar) is the most powerful tool on Svalbard for studies of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, the ionosphere and the magnetosphere, and the aurora.
ESR is still after more than 15 years in operation the most sophisticated scientific instrument, and ESR is also the single instrument that has most publication each year, on Svalbard.

The ESR is a part of the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association (EISCAT).

Eiscat Svalbard Radar:
To obtain improved measurements in the high latitude ionosphere in the polar cap, in the magnetospheric cusp region and in the atmospheric region of the Arctic an additional radar station was decided to be set up north of the present EISCAT stations on Spitsbergen, in the archipelago of Svalbard.
This radar is seen as an essential ground based tool for studies of the cusp/cleft region of the magnetosphere.
The EISCAT Svalbard Radar is undoubtedly allowing new scientific research of the geo-space coupling to the ionosphere and related plasma- physical processes, and investigations of the Arctic stratosphere and troposphere, which are essential in view of global change and environmental research.

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Technical specifications:

Band: UHF
Transmitter frequencies: 498.0 - 502.0 MHz
Transmitter: 16 klystrons
Peak power: 1 MW
Average power: 250 kW
Pulse duration: 0.5 µs - 2.0 ms
Minimum interpulse: 0.1 ms
Coding: binary phase shift (BPSK)
Receiver frequencies: 485.0-515.0 MHz
Receiver: analog-digital, double superheterodyne
System temperature: 55-65 K
Digital processing: 14-bit 15MHz ADC, digital conversion to baseband
Autocorrelation processor, 32-bit complex integer
Baseband channels: 6 and 8
Antenna: 42 m fixed and 32 m steerable parabolic dishes
Feed system: Cassegrain
Gain: 44.8 dBi or 42.5 dBi
Polarisation: Circular