Theoretical Modeling and Data Analysis of Mesospheric Radar Scattering

强大的新计算能力的出现，使得利用雷达提供比以前更多的关于大气不均匀性的信息成为可能，而大气不均匀性正是由大气雷达回波引起的。同时测量多个不同回波的频率（多普勒）漂移已经成为可能，同时，通过使用几根天线和干涉测量技术，可以确定散射中心的精确方向。犹他州立大学已经建立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。测量的其他参数是电子密度分布和电离层中波的传播（电离层扰动）。要能够模拟该地区化学变化的影响及其对辐射变化的影响，并最终模拟天气和气候的变化，了解中层大气的动力学是必不可少的先决条件。

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.