Collaborative Research: DASI Track 1: Development of a Distributed Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) Meteor Radar Network for Space Weather Research

该项目由地球空间设施的分布式小型仪器阵列(DASI)支持，将利用对流星的观测来测量高层大气中的风。每天都有数以吨计的物质以陨石的形式进入大气层。用雷达观测流星可以用来推断大气中极高海拔的风的性质。这些风的特征对于了解我们大气的动态以及它如何响应或造成空间天气事件非常重要，例如，空间天气事件可能会影响无线电通信。该项目是开发和部署一种使用多天线和多接收器系统来探测流星的新技术。通常，发送-接收系统由单个发送器和单个或多个接收器组成。这里的创新之处在于能够部署低成本天线。来自多输入多输出(MIMO)系统的数据将测量非常复杂的大气区域的3D数据。该团队由一位早期职业科学家领导，包括为研究生和本科生提供指导，这些学生将参与部署地点的外展和参与研究。位于太空边缘的高层大气中的风很难常规测量，因为现场观测仅限于火箭飞行(对飞机来说太高，对稳定的卫星来说太低)，而目前的遥感技术只能提供稀疏的当地估计。预测高层大气动力学的模型往往彼此不一致，或与实际观测不一致，因为没有足够的测量来提供信息和限制模型的发展。正如对观测基础设施的投资极大地提高了低层大气天气模式的预测能力一样，大陆尺度流星雷达网的开发和部署也可以极大地改善对高层大气的建模和基于物理的理解。这项工作将为开发如此大规模的网络迈出第一步，解决包括系统小型化、自主操作、低功耗和生产成本效益扩展在内的突出技术挑战。测试和部署将在落基山脉附近进行，网络由两个发射阵列站点、一个接收阵列站点和十个单接收器站点组成，在大约9万平方公里的区域内提供观测覆盖。这项工作将包括：硬件工程，以优化系统设计并生产可远程部署的集成接收器单元；软件工程，为雷达操作、流星探测和处理以及风场估计创建开源工具；以及科学分析，以研究落基山脉地区的高层大气，并从新的中尺度角度测量下层热层风场。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project supported by the Geospace Facility's Distributed Arrays of Small Instruments (DASI) will utilizes observations of meteors to measure the winds in the upper atmosphere. Tons of mass enters the atmosphere daily in the form of meteroids. Observations of meteor with radar can be used to infer properties of very high altitude winds in the atmosphere. Characterization of these winds is very important to understanding the dynamics of our atmosphere and how it responds to or creates space weather events, which can impacts radio communications, for instance. This project is to develop and deploy a novel new technology for detecting meteors using a system of multiple antennas and multiple receivers. Typically, a transmit - receive system consists of a single transmitter and a single or multiple receivers. The novel innovation here is the ability to deploy low cost antenna. The data from the multiple in - multiple out (MIMO) system will measure 3D data in the very complex region of the atmosphere. This team is led by an early career scientist and includes mentoring for graduate and undergraduate students who will participate in outreach for deployment sites and participation in research. Winds in the upper atmosphere, at the edge of space, are hard to measure routinely because in situ observations are limited to rocket flights (too high for aircraft and too low for stable satellites) and current remote sensing techniques only provide sparse, local estimates. Models for predicting the dynamics of the upper atmosphere often do not agree with each other or with actual observations because there are not enough measurements to inform and constrain model development. Just as investment in observational infrastructure has dramatically improved the prediction capabilities of lower atmospheric weather models, so too could the development and deployment of a continental-scale meteor radar network dramatically improve modeling and physics-based understanding of the upper atmosphere. The work will take the first step in developing such a large scale network by addressing the outstanding technical challenges which include system miniaturization, autonomous operation, low power draw, and cost-effective scaling for production. Testing and deployment will take place near the Rocky Mountains with a network consisting of two transmit array sites, one receive array site, and ten single-receiver sites providing observational coverage in a region spanning ~90,000 square kilometers. The work will encompass: hardware engineering, to optimize system design and produce a remote-deployable integrated receiver unit; software engineering, to create open source tools for radar operations, meteor detection and processing, and wind field estimation; and scientific analysis, to study the upper atmosphere in the Rocky Mountain region and measure the lower thermospheric wind field from a new mesoscale perspective.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.