US-Germany workshop on catalyzing development of a multistatic meteor radar for lower thermospheric and mesospheric wind fields

最近，对传统镜面流星雷达技术的改进已经被提出，在新的和改进的地球物理科学数据方面都具有显著的潜力。多基地镜面流星雷达(MSMR)利用分布在一个地理区域的网络接收器阵列。在不同的地理位置观测到来自单一发射器的镜面流星尾迹散射，使得测量的风场的时间和空间分辨率都大大提高。该项目建议的活动包括举办一次研讨会，重点讨论这项新兴技术的潜力，以开展关于流星雷达硬件、数据分析、大气动力学和流星和等离子体物理等主题的新科学研究，以讨论和审查最有希望的MSMR科学动机，并制定一项推动该技术向前发展的计划。直到最近，还不可能在地理上分离发射和接收系统，因为测量风向需要非常精确的频率精度(亿分之一)。随着精密GPS振荡器的出现，现在可以在地理上分离接收器和发射器，并且仍然有能力确定风。这一进步使多基地镜面流星雷达技术得以发展，该技术利用分布在大片地理区域的单一发射器和接收器阵列。从该阵列收集的数据提供了使用经典方法不可能实现的各种测量。因此，这种新的测量技术将创造一个机会，使新的科学测量成为可能，并推动科学发现的边界。每天有数以千计的流星体进入高层大气。以7公里/S或更快的速度飞行，几乎所有这些流星体都会在较低的热层中烧蚀，在短时间内留下密集的电子和离子轨迹。甚高频(VHF)无线电波可以从这些等离子体轨迹散射，以探测较低热层的结构。从这些观测数据中可以提取出水平风速和双极扩散系数等参数。观测流星的经典方法是使用单站流星雷达，发射器和接收器位于同一位置。最近，对成熟的传统镜面流星雷达技术的改进被提出，在新的和改进的地球物理科学数据方面都具有显着的潜力。多基地镜面流星雷达(MSMR)技术利用分布在4万平方公里的地理区域内的联网接收器阵列。可以在不同的接收器位置观测到来自单一发射器的镜面流星尾迹散射，从而大大提高了测量的地球物理参数的时间和空间分辨率。拟议的研讨会将包括一个专家小组，主题为流星雷达硬件、数据分析、大气动力学、流星和等离子体物理，以讨论和审查最有希望的MSMR科学动机，并制定一项推动该技术向前发展的计划。该项目的第二部分包括使用由PI的NSF-Career拨款开发的软件控制的雷达对概念验证活动的数据进行分析。这项合作将在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校(UCB)的雷达遥感小组和德国库伦斯伯恩的莱布尼茨大气物理研究所(IAP)之间建立。

Part 1Recently, an improvement to the well-established Traditional Specular Meteor Radar technique has been proposed with remarkable potential for both new and improved geophysical science data. The Multistatic Specular Meteor Radar (MSMR) utilizes a networked array of receivers distributed over a geographic area. Specular meteor trail scatter originating from a single transmitter is observed at the various geographic locations enabling a dramatic increase in both the temporal and spatial resolution of the measured wind field. The activities proposed in this project include a workshop focused on the potential of this emerging technique for conducting new scientific studies on topics of meteor radar hardware, data analysis, atmospheric dynamics and meteor and plasma physics to discuss and vet the most promising MSMR science motivations and develop a plan for moving the technique forward.Until recently it was not possible to geographically separate the transmit and receive systems because very accurate (1 part in 100 million) frequency accuracy is required to measure the wind. With the advent of precision GPS oscillators it is now possible to geographically separate the receiver and transmitter and still have the capability to determine the winds. This advance has enabled the evolution of the Multistatic Specular Meteor Radar technique, which utilizes a single transmitter and an array of receivers distributed over a large geographic area. The data collected from this array provides a diversity of measurements that are not possible with the classical approach. As such this new measurement technique will create an opportunity to enable new scientific measurements and push the boundary of scientific discovery.Part 2Hundreds of thousands of meteoroids enter the upper atmosphere each day. Travelling at 7km/s or faster nearly all of these meteoroids ablate in the lower thermosphere leaving a dense trail of electrons and ions for a short period of time. Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves can be scattered from these plasma trails to probe the structure of the lower thermosphere. Parameters such as the horizontal wind velocity and the ambipolar diffusion coefficient can be extracted from these observations. The classical approach for observing meteors has been to use a monostatic meteor radar with a co-located transmitter and receiver. Recently improvements to the well-established traditional specular meteor radar technique has been proposed with remarkable potential for both new and improved geophysical science data. The Multistatic Specular Meteor Radar (MSMR) technique utilizes a networked array of receivers distributed over a geographic area of 40,000 square kilometers. Specular meteor trail scatter illuminated from an from single transmitter can be observed at various receiver locations enabling a dramatic increase in both the temporal and spatial resolution of the measured geophysical parameters.The proposed workshop will include a panel of experts on topics of meteor radar hardware, data analysis, atmospheric dynamics and meteor and plasma physics to discuss and vet the most promising MSMR science motivations and develop a plan for moving the technique forward. The second part of the project includes analysis of data from a proof-of-concept campaign using a software controled radar developed under the PI's NSF-CAREER grant. The collaboration will be established between the radar remote sensing groups at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB) and the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) in Kuhlungsborn, Germany.