First observations of polar mesosphere summer echoes by SuperDARN Zhongshan radar

We report the first observations of PMSE by SuperDARN Zhongshan radar in Antarctica and present a statistical analysis of PMSE from 2010 to 2012. The seasonal variations of occurrence are consistent with those before, with an obvious enhancement at the beginning of summer and a maximum several days after summer solstice. The special features of diurnal variations were observed because of high geomagnetic latitude of Zhongshan Station, which is that the maximum is near local midnight and the secondary maximum appears 1-2 h after the local noon. The results proved that the auroral particle precipitation plays a fairly important role in the PMSE occurrence.