The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) is a global network of scientific radars monitoring conditions in the near-Earth space environment. SuperDARN Canada, which has its headquarters at the University of Saskatchewan, is the Canadian contribution to the international SuperDARN program.

The radars are synchronized to scan together, allowing researchers to monitor space weather conditions in the Earth’s magnetosphere—the magnetic bubble that protects the Earth from direct impact by the solar wind. Changes in the speed and density of the solar wind, as well as the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field, affects the motion of charged particles in the Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere. These changes are connected to disturbances in space that produce both beautiful displays of the northern lights and detrimental effects on Earth affecting important modern infrastructure including satellites, power grids, pipelines, radio communications and space station radiation hazards. The data collected by SuperDARN worldwide, the analysis of this data, and the resulting information, contributes to the scientific understanding of space weather that has the potential to provide tangible benefits, implications, and impact across many sectors; including radio and satellite communication, pipelines and power grids.