HAARP is a US military research project in Alaska that scans the ionosphere for communication and military uses. It was created in 1990 and completed in 2007. HAARP scientists manipulate the ionosphere to observe its effects, and study the effects of the sun on both the ionosphere and radio transmissions. Conspiracy theories link HAARP to everything from chronic fatigue syndrome to global seismic activity.
HAARP stands for High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, a US military research project based in Alaska. The HAARP facility scans the ionosphere, an area in the outer reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere, for its possible communications and military uses. HAARP coordinates its research with scientists and universities around the world. The structure has also become a popular topic for conspiracy theorists, who link it to everything from chronic fatigue syndrome to global seismic activity.
The HAARP project was created in 1990 as an outgrowth of military communications research during the Cold War. Work on the facility near Gakona, Alaska began in 1993. The site was formerly owned by the US Air Force and was chosen due to the high level of ionospheric activity in the Arctic regions. Contractors completed construction in 2007 on HAARP’s primary device, a high-frequency radio transmitter called the Ionospheric Research Instrument (IRI). The IRI consists of an array of 180 antennas spread over an area of 35 acres (14.16 hectares).
HAARP research focuses on the natural tendency of the ionosphere to reflect radio waves back to the Earth’s surface rather than allowing them to escape into space. The program was originally intended to improve communications with nuclear submarines at sea. After the end of the Cold War, the project was redirected to other military and non-military research. HAARP scientists have begun using IRI to manipulate the ionosphere and observe the resulting effects. A HAARP experiment in the early 2000s created the first artificial aurora borealis visible to the naked eye. Auroras are another natural effect of ionospheric activity.
In addition to the effect of the ionosphere on radio transmissions and vice versa, HAARP scientists study the effects of the sun on both. Changes in solar activity and exposure alter the behavior of the ionosphere. Greater understanding of the changing properties of the ionosphere could aid both civilian and military communications. For example, Global Positioning System (GPS) devices can be affected by ionospheric activity, sometimes limiting their effectiveness.
The HAARP facility has become a lightning rod for pseudoscientific thinking and conspiracy theory. Lack of understanding of the nature of the project and the US military’s reputation for cover-ups has led conspiracy theorists to gravitate towards HAARP. Some critics argue that HAARP is actually a military mind control device, while Venezuelan media have blamed the facility for the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake. HAARP’s current scientific advances risked being overshadowed in 2010 by the belief of some people that its purpose was to serve as a US “superweapon” used to create earthquakes and tsunamis around the world.
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