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

第1部分最近，一个完善的传统镜面反射流星雷达技术的改进已被提出具有显着的潜力，为新的和改进的地球物理科学数据。多基地镜面流星雷达（MSMR）利用分布在一个地理区域的接收器网络阵列。从一个单一的发射机产生的镜面流星尾迹散射被观察到在不同的地理位置，使测得的风场的时间和空间分辨率的显着增加。该项目提议的活动包括举办一次讲习班，重点讨论这一新兴技术在流星雷达硬件、数据分析、大气动力学、流星和等离子体物理学，讨论和审查最有前途的MSMR科学动机，并制定一项推进该技术的计划。直到最近，在地理上分离发射和接收系统是不可能的因为需要非常精确（一亿分之一）的频率精度来测量风。 随着精密全球定位系统振荡器的出现，现在可以在地理上将接收器和发射器分开，并且仍然具有确定风的能力。 这一进展使多基地镜面流星雷达技术得以发展，该技术利用一个发射机和分布在一个大的地理区域的一组接收机。 从该阵列收集的数据提供了经典方法无法实现的多种测量。 因此，这种新的测量技术将创造一个机会，使新的科学测量和推动科学发现的边界。 几乎所有这些流星体以每秒7公里或更快的速度在较低的热层中烧蚀，留下短时间内密集的电子和离子痕迹。 甚高频（VHF）无线电波可以从这些等离子体尾迹中散射出来，以探测低热层的结构。 水平风速和双极扩散系数等参数可以从这些观测中提取。 观测流星的传统方法是使用单基地流星雷达，发射机和接收机放在同一地点。 最近，有人提出改进完善的传统镜面流星雷达技术，这对新的和改进的地球物理科学数据具有巨大的潜力。 多基地镜面流星雷达（MSMR）技术利用分布在40，000平方公里的地理区域上的网络化接收器阵列。 可以在不同的接收器位置观测到从单个发射器照射的镜面流星尾迹散射，从而大大提高测量的地球物理参数的时间和空间分辨率。大气动力学和流星和等离子体物理学，讨论和审查最有前途的MSMR科学动机，并制定一项计划，推动技术向前发展。 该项目的第二部分包括使用PI的NSF-CAREER赠款下开发的软件控制雷达对概念验证活动的数据进行分析。 将在博尔德科罗拉多大学的雷达遥感小组和德国库隆斯博恩的莱布尼茨大气物理研究所之间建立合作。

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.