EISCAT_3D development financed in Finland

EISCAT researchers of the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory and the Department of Physics, both at the University of Oulu, Finland, have received a grant for the development of an EISCAT_3D receiving station. The grant of 476 kEUR is funded by an internal infrastructure program of the University of Oulu. The total budget including a self-funding part will be 635 kEUR (excluding VAT) and it will be used for purchasing a LOFAR remote station to be installed in Finnish Lapland. The station will be used to develop measurement and signal processing methods for the EISCAT_3D system in connection with the FP7 EISCAT_3D Preparatory Phase project, which is expected to start in October 2010. In addition, the station will be used as a remote receiver for the existing EISCAT VHF radar.

This new instrumental funding is in addition to a previously announced funding decision, where the European regional development fund of Lapland in Finland granted 400,000 EUR to the national "Planning Project for Prototypes of EISCAT_3D Technology", proposed by the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory.

The purpose of the regional project is to develop signal processing methods and hardware for the new EISCAT_3D incoherent scatter radar. The existing radar and research facilities at Sodankylä will be used as a platform in prototype development. The technology developed within this project will be essential for the operation of large phased-array radars like EISCAT_3D. The European regional funds cover 80% of the costs of the planning project. The remaining part consists of funding from the Sodankylä municipality and the Center of Excellence in Inverse Problems, which is a joint effort of several Finnish universities funded by the Academy of Finland.

Developing the EISCAT_3D project is thus currently supported by a more than 1 MEUR national investment in Finland.

For more information on EISCAT_3D, see