The partial reflection experiment ("PRE") in northern Norway (69 degreesN,
19 degreesE), an MF radar system, has been operating for 25 years. During t
hat time many improvements have been made to both hardware and software and
the aspects of atmospheric physics that have been addressed have also chan
ged. We find it not only timely to provide a "silver jubilee" short history
of the instrument, but also to review the various applications to atmosphe
ric science. In particular, we discuss parameterisation of turbulence. The
radar may be applied to the study of how neutral atmosphere dynamics at sca
les from planetary waves down to turbulence may be affected by space weathe
r, exotic concepts that would have seemed very foreign at the time of incep
tion of the system. The reference list is intended to include every referee
d publication hitherto using "PRE" data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved.