An ad hoc committee will plan a 3-day public workshop on the role of high-power HF-band transmitters in upper atmospheric research. The topics for discussion at the workshop may include the following:
1. What is the state of the art in active ionospheric and thermospheric research?
2. What are the fundamental research areas in ionospheric science that can be addressed using high-power HF-band transmitters?
3. What are the key diagnostic instruments needed in conjunction with high-power HF-band transmitters to address items 1 and 2?
4. Are there emerging science questions that might benefit from active ionospheric experiments in the subauroral zone?
5. What operating parameters (e.g., power and transmission frequency) are needed to address the questions in items 1-4?
6. Are there ways to combine similar facilities (e.g., EISCAT, Arecibo) to perform global ionospheric science?
7. What research opportunities might arise from the relocation of the AMISR incoherent scatter radar from the Poker Flat Research Facility in Poker Flat, AK, to Gakona, AK, the location of the HAARP facility?
The committee will hold organizing sessions by teleconference to develop the agenda for the workshop and to define the specific topics for invited presentations and discussions. The committee will subsequently select and invite speakers and other participants and moderate the discussions at the event. The committee will prepare a workshop report that will summarize what transpired at the event but will not contain any findings, conclusions or recommendations.