Abstract: Based on scintillation receiver observations from December 2013 to November 2014 at the South Pole and McMurdo stations, a statistical analysis was performed on the diurnal and seasonal variations of the phase scintillation occurrence at the two stations. The statistical results indicated that the phase scintillation occurrence in spring and autumn is significantly greater than in summer and winter, and that there is a twin-peak structure to the diurnal variation. Phase scintillation occurrence is enhanced at magnetic noon and magnetic post-midnight. Ionospheric irregularities produced by soft electron precipitation and ionospheric convection on the polar cusp could lead to scintillation near magnetic noon. The enhanced occurrence of scintillation at magnetic post-midnight could be induced by a strong density gradient caused by the plasma cloud across the polar cap region. The phase scintillation occurrence at McMurdo Station is greater than at the South Pole, which might be due to the difference in their magnetic latitudes.

Key words: South Pole station, McMurdo station, polar ionosphere, phase scintillations, occurrence