The EISCAT Svalbard Radar was operated in a continuous type mode during the entire first year of the International Polar Year (IPY) interval, starting on 1 March 2007 and ending on 29 February 2008. The ISR experiment used a specially written IPY mode, which was optimized to ensure also a good coverage in the ionospheric lower E and D regions, in addition to covering the more standard experiment target, the ionospheric F peak and reaching into the topside ionosphere. While the ESR IPY data in the altitude range 100-500 km have been extensively used, for example in studies including the major initiative in high latitude ionospheric modeling, which was supported by funding from the International Space Science Institute in Berne, Switzerland; the low altitude IPY data has not yet been utilized. We present analysis of the ionospheric D-region data, where backscattered power measurements, with 3 km range resolution and 2.25 km steps, start from the altitude of 45 km. Data is subject to sea and/or tropospheric clutter, which is variable with season/day up to 65 km. However, normally data is usable for altitudes higher than 70 km. The ISR experiment does not have enough freqency resolution for advanced doppler and spectral width determinations, but we demonstrate how using a detailed coupled neutral and ion-chemistry model, one can deduce the effect of neutral atmospheric variability in the backscattered power data.

EISCAT_3D will be Europe’s next-generation radar for studies of the high-latitude atmosphere and geospace, with capabilities going beyond anything currently available. The facility will consist of large phased-array receivers and transmitters, distributed in three countries in Northern Scandinavia. EISCAT_3D will comprise tens of thousands, up to more than 100,000 antenna elements. The EISCAT_3D design combines capabilities for volumetric imaging and tracking and aperture synthesis imaging, with improved sensitivity and transmitter flexibility. A minimum of five sites is envisaged, with receivers located around 120 km and 250 km from at least one active site, providing optimal geometry for vectors in the middle and upper atmosphere. An active site comprising 16,000 elements will exceed the sensitivity of the present VHF radar by an order of magnitude. At the passive sites, the design allows the full extent of the transmitted beam to be imaged using holographic techniques. Applications include studies of the atmospheric energy budget, exploration of small-scale and large-scale processes, geospace environment monitoring and service applications. The preparatory phase of the EISCAT_3D project in 2010-2014 is currently funded by EU at the level of 4.5 MEUR. The Preparatory Phase involves the legal, governance, strategic, financial and technical work that is needed before the construction of the radar system can commence.