Morphology and dynamics of sporadic E layers observed by amateur radio

The E_s layer is a thin layer that concentrates metallic ions in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region. When it occurs, it can affect the performance of the Global Navigation Satellite System and high/very high frequency (HF/VHF) radio communications. Previous studies mainly focused on the one-dimensional structure of E_s layer in the vertical direction. However, due to the limitation of observations, the horizontal structure of E_s layers is not yet fully understood. This study investigated the horizontal structure of E_s layers using amateur radio data in the European sector during the summer of 2020. Statistical analysis shows that the horizontal structure of E_s layer is mainly elongated in the east−west direction. In addition, we investigated the dynamics of the E_s layers, which primarily propagates in the northeast−southwest direction with a speed of 50−200 m/s. The results provide us a way for obtaining the horizontal structure and dynamic features of E_s layers, which can help improve our understanding of the formation and evolution of E_s layers.