Morphology and Dynamics of Sporadic E layers observed by Amateur Radio

The Es 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 focu on the one-dimensional structure of Es layer in the vertical direction, however, the horizontal structure of Es layers has not yet been fully understood due to the limitation of observations. This study investigated the horizontal structure of Es layers using amateur radio data in the European sector during the 2020 summer. The statistical analysis results show that the horizontal structure of Es layer is mainly elongated in the east-west direction. In addition, we also investigated the dynamics of the Es layers. The Es layer 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 Es layers, which benefits us better understand the formation and evolution of Es layers.