CAREER: Development of a Distributed, Multistatic Meteor Radar System

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Meteor radar systems, used to monitor horizontal winds in the middle atmosphere by analysis of specular reflections from meteoric ablation remnants, are upgraded to assimilate new digital receiver and multi-frequency transmitter technologies. In addition, lingering confusion about the veracity of the derived winds, stemming from proprietary analysis algorithms, is eradicated by establishment of unified transparent algorithms available for review. The design and construction of these new-technology meteor radars paves the way for low-cost unified networks of the radar systems, and broad spatial coverage of middle atmosphere dynamics between 80 km and 100 km. Undergraduate and graduate student participation in the project generates a new population of expert RF engineers and remote sensing radar operators. That population broadens the research impact from its Aeronomy core to surveillance, resource exploration, and security.