Theoretical Modeling and Data Analysis of Mesospheric Radar Scattering

强大的新计算能力的出现使使用雷达提供了比以前更多的关于大气不均匀的信息，这些不均匀引起了大气雷达回波。已经可以同时测量不同回波的频移(多普勒)，同时使用几个天线和干涉测量技术来确定散射中心的精确方向。犹他州立大学已经建造了两个具有这些能力的新雷达系统，它们可以确定20到100公里高度区域的三维风场。测量的其他参数包括电子密度分布和电离层中波的传播(电离层行波干扰)。对中层大气动力学的了解是能够对该区域化学变化的影响及其对辐射变化的影响以及最终对天气和气候变化的影响进行建模的基本先决条件。

The advent of powerful new computing capabilities has made it possible to use radars to provide much more information on the atmospheric inhomogeneities that give rise to atmospheric radar echoes than has previously been the case. It has been possible to measure the frequency (doppler) shift of not one but a number of different returned echoes simultaneously, and at the same time, by the use of several antennas and the technique of interferometry, to determine the precise direction of the scattering centers. Two new radar systems have been built at Utah State University with these capabilities, and they allow determination of three dimensional wind fields in the 20 to 100 km altitude region. Other parameters measured are electron density profiles and the propagation of waves in the ionosphere (travelling ionospheric disturbances). Knowledge of the dynamics of the middle atmosphere is an essential prerequisite to being able to model the effect of chemical changes in that region, and their effect on radiative changes, and ultimately, changes in weather and climate.