Diffraction model of ionospheric irregularity-induced heater-wave pattern detected on the WIND satellite

High frequency (HF) radiation from the HAARP and SURA ionospheric heaters transmitted through the underdense ionosphere and received by the WIND satellite show the presence of strong spatial structure in the radiation pattern. A simple model based on the combination of ionospheric irregularities and interference effects has been developed to account for the observations. The analysis demonstrates the utility of satellite receptions as probes of ionospheric irregularities created or enhanced by powerful HF radio waves.