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1
Dyrud, L. P., K. Denney, S. Close, M. Oppenheim, J. Chau, and L. Ray. "Meteor velocity determination with plasma physics." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 4, no. 3 (June 3, 2004): 817–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-4-817-2004.
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Abstract. Understanding the global meteor flux at Earth requires the measurement of meteor velocities. While several radar methods exist for measuring meteor velocity, they may be biased by plasma reflection mechanisms. This paper presents a new method for deriving meteoroid velocity from the altitudinal extent of non-specular trails. This method employs our recent discoveries on meteor trail plasma instability. Dyrud et al. (2002) demonstrated that meteor trails are unstable over a limited altitude range, and that the precise altitudes of instability are dependent on the meteoroid that generated the trail. Since meteor trail instability results in field aligned irregularities (FAI) that allow for radar reflection, non-specular trail observations may be used to derive velocity. We use ALTAIR radar data of combined head echos and non-specular trails to test non-specular trail derived velocity against head echo velocities. Meteor velocities derived from non-specular trail altitudinal width match to within 5 km/s when compared with head echo range rates from the same meteor. We apply this technique to Piura radar observations of hundreds of non-specular trails to produce histograms of occurrence of meteor velocity based solely on this non-specular trails width criterion. The results from this study show that the most probable velocity of meteors seen by the Piura radar is near 50 km/s, which is comparable with modern head echo studies.
2
Dyrud, L. P., K. Denney, S. Close, M. Oppenheim, L. Ray, and J. Chau. "Meteor velocity determination with plasma physics." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 4, no. 1 (February 27, 2004): 1247–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-4-1247-2004.
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Abstract. Understanding the global meteor flux at Earth requires the measurement of meteor velocities. While several radar methods exist for measuring meteor velocity, they may be biased by plasma reflection mechanisms. This paper presents a new method for deriving meteoroid velocity from the altitudinal extent of non-specular trails. This method employs our recent discoveries on meteor trail plasma instability. Dyrud et al. (2002) demonstrated that meteor trails are unstable over a limited altitude range, and that the precise altitudes of instability are dependent on the meteoroid velocity that generated the trail. Since meteor trail instability results in field aligned irregularities (FAI) that allow for radar reflection, non-specular trail observations may be used to derive velocity. We use ALTAIR radar data of combined head echos and non-specular trails to test non-specular trail derived velocity against head echo velocities. Meteor velocities derived from non-specular trail altitudinal width match to within 5 km/s when compared with head echo range rates from the same meteor. We apply this technique to Piura radar observations of hundreds of non-specular trails to produce histograms of occurrence of meteor velocity based solely on this non-specular trails width criterion. The results from this study show that the most probable velocity of meteors seen by the Piura radar is near 50 km/s which is comparable with modern head echo studies.
3
Vierinen, J., M. S. Lehtinen, and I. I. Virtanen. "Amplitude domain analysis of strong range and Doppler spread radar echos." Annales Geophysicae 26, no. 8 (August 6, 2008): 2419–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-26-2419-2008.
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Abstract. We present a novel method for analyzing range and Doppler spread targets in the amplitude domain using linear statistical inversion. The result of the analysis is an estimate of the range dependent amplitude behaviour of the target backscatter during the time that the transmission passes the target. A meteor head echo and strong backscatter from artificially heated regions of the ionosphere are used to demonstrate this novel analysis method. Plans to apply amplitude-domain radar target estimation methods to more complicated noisy underdetermined targets are also briefly discussed.
4
Ghezelbash, M., R. A. D. Fiori, and A. V. Koustov. "Variations in the occurrence of SuperDARN F region echoes." Annales Geophysicae 32, no. 2 (February 20, 2014): 147–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-32-147-2014.
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Abstract. The occurrence of F region ionospheric echoes observed by a number of SuperDARN HF radars is analyzed statistically in order to infer solar cycle, seasonal, and diurnal trends. The major focus is on Saskatoon radar data for 1994–2012. The distribution of the echo occurrence rate is presented in terms of month of observation and magnetic local time. Clear repetitive patterns are identified during periods of solar maximum and solar minimum. For years near solar maximum, echoes are most frequent near midnight during winter. For years near solar minimum, echoes occur more frequently near noon during winter, near dusk and dawn during equinoxes and near midnight during summer. Similar features are identified for the Hankasalmi and Prince George radars in the northern hemisphere and the Bruny Island TIGER radar in the southern hemisphere. Echo occurrence for the entire SuperDARN network demonstrates patterns similar to patterns in the echo occurrence for the Saskatoon radar and for other radars considered individually. In terms of the solar cycle, the occurrence rate of nightside echoes is shown to increase by a factor of at least 3 toward solar maximum while occurrence of the near-noon echoes does not significantly change with the exception of a clear depression during the declining phase of the solar cycle.
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Ogawa, T., N. F. Arnold, S. Kirkwood, N. Nishitani, and M. Lester. "Finland HF and Esrange MST radar observations of polar mesosphere summer echoes." Annales Geophysicae 21, no. 4 (April 30, 2003): 1047–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-21-1047-2003.
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Abstract. Peculiar near range echoes observed in summer with the SuperDARN HF radar in Finland are presented. The echoes were detected at four frequencies of 9, 11, 13 and 15 MHz at slant ranges of 105–250 km for about 100 min. Interferometer measurements indicate that the echoes are returned from 80–100 km altitudes with elevation angles of 20°–60°. Echo power (< 16 dB), Doppler velocity (between –30 and + 30 ms-1) and spectral width (< 60 ms-1) fluctuate with periods of several to 20 min, perhaps due to short–period atmospheric gravity waves. When the HF radar detected the echoes, a vertical incidence MST radar, located at Esrange in Sweden (650 km north of the HF radar site), observed polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE) at altitudes of 80–90 km. This fact suggests that the near range HF echoes are PMSE at HF band, although both radars did not probe a common volume. With increasing radar frequency, HF echo ranges are closer to the radar site and echo power becomes weaker. Possible mechanisms to explain these features are discussed.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; thermospheric dynamics; waves and tides; instruments and techniques)
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Foerster, Annette M., Michael M. Bell, Patrick A. Harr, and Sarah C. Jones. "Observations of the Eyewall Structure of Typhoon Sinlaku (2008) during the Transformation Stage of Extratropical Transition." Monthly Weather Review 142, no. 9 (September 2014): 3372–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/mwr-d-13-00313.1.
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A unique dataset observing the life cycle of Typhoon Sinlaku was collected during The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC) in 2008. In this study observations of the transformation stage of the extratropical transition of Sinlaku are analyzed. Research flights with the Naval Research Laboratory P-3 and the U.S. Air Force WC-130 aircraft were conducted in the core region of Sinlaku. Data from the Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA), dropsondes, aircraft flight level, and satellite atmospheric motion vectors were analyzed with the recently developed Spline Analysis at Mesoscale Utilizing Radar and Aircraft Instrumentation (SAMURAI) software with a 1-km horizontal- and 0.5-km vertical-node spacing. The SAMURAI analysis shows marked asymmetries in the structure of the core region in the radar reflectivity and three-dimensional wind field. The highest radar reflectivities were found in the left of shear semicircle, and maximum ascent was found in the downshear left quadrant. Initial radar echos were found slightly upstream of the downshear direction and downdrafts were primarily located in the upshear semicircle, suggesting that individual cells in Sinlaku’s eyewall formed in the downshear region, matured as they traveled downstream, and decayed in the upshear region. The observed structure is consistent with previous studies of tropical cyclones in vertical wind shear, suggesting that the eyewall convection is primarily shaped by increased vertical wind shear during step 2 of the transformation stage, as was hypothesized by Klein et al. A transition from active convection upwind to stratiform precipitation downwind is similar to that found in the principal rainband of more intense tropical cyclones.
7
Martin, William J., and Alan Shapiro. "Discrimination of Bird and Insect Radar Echoes in Clear Air Using High-Resolution Radars." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 24, no. 7 (July 1, 2007): 1215–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jtech2038.1.
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Abstract The source of clear-air reflectivity from operational and research meteorological radars has been a subject of much debate and study over the entire history of radar meteorology. Recent studies have suggested that bird migrations routinely contaminate wind profiles obtained at night, while historical studies have suggested insects as the main source of such nocturnal clear-air echoes. This study analyzes two cases of nocturnal clear-air return using data from operational Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) and X- and W-band research radars. The research radars have sufficient resolution to resolve the echo as point targets in some cases. By examining the radar cross section of the resolved point targets, and by determining the target density, it is found for both cases of nocturnal clear-air echoes that the targets are almost certainly insects. The analysis of the dependence of the echo strength on radar wavelength also supports this conclusion.
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Czaplewski, Krzysztof, and Sławomir Świerczyński. "A Method of Increasing the Accuracy of Radar Distance Measurement in VTS Systems for Vessels with Very Large Dimensions." Remote Sensing 13, no. 16 (August 4, 2021): 3066. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13163066.
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The navigation information about a vessel’s position in the waters covered by the vessel traffic system operation is obtained through supervisory services, mainly from coastal navigation radars. Although today it is possible to simultaneously acquire data from many independent radars, the obtained radar image is inconsistent and consists of several echoes next to each other. This makes it difficult to establish which echo represents the monitored unit. Another problem is the method of determining radar distances, which significantly affect the quality of determining the observation position. Errors in radar distance may occur when determining the radar echoes from large vessels, where the position of the unit is not the same as the edge of the radar echo to which the observation is made. In this article, the authors present a method of improving the measured radar distance. The presented proposal was verified in navigation and maneuvering simulation conditions. It could support the process of determining the ship position in vessel traffic service (VTS) systems with increased accuracy.
9
Cifelli, R., S. W. Nesbitt, S. A. Rutledge, W. A. Petersen, and S. Yuter. "Radar Characteristics of Precipitation Features in the EPIC and TEPPS Regions of the East Pacific." Monthly Weather Review 135, no. 4 (April 1, 2007): 1576–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/mwr3340.1.
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Abstract Ship-based radar data are used to compare the structure of precipitation features in two regions of the east Pacific where recent field campaigns were conducted: the East Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes in the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere System (EPIC-2001; 10°N, 95°W) in September 2001 and the Tropical Eastern Pacific Process Study (TEPPS; 8°N, 125°W) in August 1997. Corresponding July–September 1998–2004 Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR) data are also used to provide context for the field campaign data. An objective technique is developed to identify precipitation features in the ship and TRMM PR data and to develop statistics on horizontal and vertical structure and precipitation characteristics. Precipitation features were segregated into mesoscale convective system (MCS) and sub-MCS categories, based on a contiguous area threshold of 1000 km2 (these features were required to have at least one convective pixel), as well as an “other” (NC) category. Comparison of the satellite and field campaign data showed that the two datasets were in good agreement for both regions with respect to MCS features. Specifically, both the satellite and ship radar data showed that approximately 80% of the rainfall volume in both regions was contributed by MCS features, similar to results from other observational datasets. EPIC and TEPPS MCSs had similar area distributions but EPIC MCSs tended to be more vertically developed and rain heavier than their TEPPS counterparts. In contrast to MCSs, smaller features (NCs and sub-MCSs) sampled by the ship radar in both regions showed important differences compared with the PR climatology. In the EPIC field campaign, a large number of small (<100 km2), shallow (radar echo tops below the melting level) NCs and sub-MCSs were sampled. A persistent dry layer above 800 mb during undisturbed periods in EPIC may have been responsible for the high occurrence of these features. Also, during the TEPPS campaign, sub-MCSs were larger and deeper with respect to the TRMM climatology, which may have been due to the higher than average SSTs during 1997–98 when TEPPS was conducted. Despite these differences, it was found that for sizes greater than about 100 km2, EPIC precipitation features had 30-dBZ echos at higher altitudes and also had higher rain rates than similar sized TEPPS features. These results suggest that ice processes play a more important role in rainfall production in EPIC compared with TEPPS.
10
Kastinen, Daniel, and Johan Kero. "Probabilistic analysis of ambiguities in radar echo direction of arrival from meteors." Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 13, no. 12 (December 16, 2020): 6813–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6813-2020.
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Abstract. Meteors and hard targets produce coherent radar echoes. If measured with an interferometric radar system, these echoes can be used to determine the position of the target through finding the direction of arrival (DOA) of the incoming echo onto the radar. Depending on the spatial configuration of radar-receiving antennas and their individual gain patterns, there may be an ambiguity problem when determining the DOA of an echo. Radars that are theoretically ambiguity-free are known to still have ambiguities that depend on the total radar signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In this study, we investigate robust methods which are easy to implement to determine the effect of ambiguities on any hard target DOA determination by interferometric radar systems. We apply these methods specifically to simulate four different radar systems measuring meteor head and trail echoes, using the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) DOA determination algorithm. The four radar systems are the Middle And Upper Atmosphere (MU) radar in Japan, a generic Jones 2.5λ specular meteor trail radar configuration, the Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System (MAARSY) radar in Norway and the Program of the Antarctic Syowa Mesosphere Stratosphere Troposphere Incoherent Scatter (PANSY) radar in the Antarctic. We also examined a slightly perturbed Jones 2.5λ configuration used as a meteor trail echo receiver for the PANSY radar. All the results are derived from simulations, and their purpose is to grant understanding of the behaviour of DOA determination. General results are as follows: there may be a region of SNRs where ambiguities are relevant; Monte Carlo simulation determines this region and if it exists; the MUSIC function peak value is directly correlated with the ambiguous region; a Bayesian method is presented that may be able to analyse echoes from this region; the DOA of echoes with SNRs larger than this region are perfectly determined; the DOA of echoes with SNRs smaller than this region completely fail to be determined; the location of this region is shifted based on the total SNR versus the channel SNR in the direction of the target; and asymmetric subgroups can cause ambiguities, even for ambiguity-free radars. For a DOA located at the zenith, the end of the ambiguous region is located at 17 dB SNR for the MU radar and 3 dB SNR for the PANSY radar. The Jones radars are usually used to measure specular trail echoes far from zenith. The ambiguous region for a DOA at 75.5∘ elevation and 0∘ azimuth ends at 12 dB SNR. Using the Bayesian method, it may be possible to analyse echoes down to 4 dB SNR for the Jones configuration when given enough data points from the same target. The PANSY meteor trail echo receiver did not deviate significantly from the generic Jones configuration. The MAARSY radar could not resolve arbitrary DOAs sufficiently well enough to determine a stable region. However, if the DOA search is restricted to 70∘ elevation or above by assumption, stable DOA determination occurs above 15 dB SNR.
11
Cho, Yo-Han, Gyu Won Lee, Kyung-Eak Kim, and Isztar Zawadzki. "Identification and Removal of Ground Echoes and Anomalous Propagation Using the Characteristics of Radar Echoes." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 23, no. 9 (September 1, 2006): 1206–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jtech1913.1.
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Abstract This paper explores the removal of normal ground echoes (GREs) and anomalous propagation (AP) in ground-based radars using a fuzzy logic approach. Membership functions and their weights are derived from the characteristics of radar echoes as a function of radar reflectivity. The dependence on echo intensity is shown to significantly improve the proper identification of GRE/AP. In addition, the proposed method has a better performance at lower elevation angles. The overall performance is comparable with that from a polarimetric approach and can thus be easily implemented in operational radars.
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Sulzer, M. P. "Meteoroid velocity distribution derived from head echo data collected at Arecibo during regular world day observations." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 4, no. 4 (June 28, 2004): 947–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-4-947-2004.
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Abstract. We report the observation and analysis of ionization flashes associated with the decay of meteoroids (so-called head echos) detected by the Arecibo 430 MHz radar during regular ionospheric observations in the spring and autumn equinoxes. These two periods allow pointing well-above and nearly-into the ecliptic plane at dawn when the event rate maximizes. The observation of many thousands of events allows a statistical interpretation of the results, which show that there is a strong tendency for the observed meteoroids to come from the apex as has been previously reported (Chau and Woodman, 2004). The velocity distributions agree with Janches et al. (2003a) when they are directly comparable, but the azimuth scan used in these observations allows a new perspective. We have constructed a simple statistical model which takes meteor velocities as input and gives radar line of sight velocities as output. The intent is to explain the fastest part of the velocity distribution. Since the speeds interpreted from the measurements are distributed fairly narrowly about nearly 60 km s-1, double the speed of the earth in its orbit, is consistent with the interpretation that many of the meteoroids seen by the Arecibo radar are moving in orbits about the sun with similar parameters as the earth, but in the retrograde direction. However, it is the directional information obtained from the beam-swinging radar experiment and the speed that together provide the evidence for this interpretation. Some aspects of the measured velocity distributions suggest that this is not a complete description even for the fast part of the distribution, and it certainly says nothing about the slow part first described in Janches et al. (2003a). Furthermore, we cannot conclude anything about the entire dust population since there are probably selection effects that restrict the observations to a subset of the population.
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Ødegård, R. S., J. O. Hagen, and S. E. Hamranw. "Comparison of radio-echo sounding (30–1000 MHz) and high-resolution borehole-temperature measurements at Finsterwalderbreen, southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard." Annals of Glaciology 24 (1997): 262–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0260305500012271.
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Radio-echo soundings in four different frequency bands ranging from 30 to 1000 MHz were compared with temperature measurements in boreholes in the accumulation area and ablation area of Finsterwalderbreen (77°26′ N, 15°15′ E), southern Spitsbergen. Finsterwalderbreen is a polythermal surge-type glacier in the quiescent phase after its last surge around AD 1900. The objective of the study was to investigate the relation between internal echos and the glacier ice temperature to map the overall thermal structure of the glacier. The thermal structure is important for ice flow velocities and hydrology of glaciers, and it also affects their ability to surge. At the borehole site in the accumulation area (three boreholes within a range of 60 m), a change in the relative amplitude of the reflected signal is detected in the 320–370 and 600–650 MHz bands at 52–55 m depth. The high-resolution temperature measurements with 2 m intervals show that the transition zone between cold and temperate ice corresponds to the change in the relative amplitude on the 320–370 and 600–650 MHz bandwidth data. The overall thermal structure of the glacier was mapped based on the radar sounding. The radar results show (a) that the glacier is at the pressure-melting point over most of its bed except within 500–700 m of the terminus, and (b) that there is an upper cold ice layer of variable thickness (25–170 m) underlain by temperate ice. This thermal structure is confirmed by the thermistor-instrumented access holes to the bed in both the accumulation and ablation zones of the glacier. The variations in the thermal structure in lower parts of the accumulation area are explained by superimposed ice and ice layers that cause variations in the downward heat transfer by refreezing of meltwater.
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Ødegård, R. S., J. O. Hagen, and S. E. Hamranw. "Comparison of radio-echo sounding (30–1000 MHz) and high-resolution borehole-temperature measurements at Finsterwalderbreen, southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard." Annals of Glaciology 24 (1997): 262–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.3189/s0260305500012271.
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Radio-echo soundings in four different frequency bands ranging from 30 to 1000 MHz were compared with temperature measurements in boreholes in the accumulation area and ablation area of Finsterwalderbreen (77°26′ N, 15°15′ E), southern Spitsbergen. Finsterwalderbreen is a polythermal surge-type glacier in the quiescent phase after its last surge around AD 1900. The objective of the study was to investigate the relation between internal echos and the glacier ice temperature to map the overall thermal structure of the glacier. The thermal structure is important for ice flow velocities and hydrology of glaciers, and it also affects their ability to surge. At the borehole site in the accumulation area (three boreholes within a range of 60 m), a change in the relative amplitude of the reflected signal is detected in the 320–370 and 600–650 MHz bands at 52–55 m depth. The high-resolution temperature measurements with 2 m intervals show that the transition zone between cold and temperate ice corresponds to the change in the relative amplitude on the 320–370 and 600–650 MHz bandwidth data. The overall thermal structure of the glacier was mapped based on the radar sounding. The radar results show (a) that the glacier is at the pressure-melting point over most of its bed except within 500–700 m of the terminus, and (b) that there is an upper cold ice layer of variable thickness (25–170 m) underlain by temperate ice. This thermal structure is confirmed by the thermistor-instrumented access holes to the bed in both the accumulation and ablation zones of the glacier. The variations in the thermal structure in lower parts of the accumulation area are explained by superimposed ice and ice layers that cause variations in the downward heat transfer by refreezing of meltwater.
15
Thomas, R. M., and D. J. Netherway. "Observations of Meteors using an over-the-horizon Radar." Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 8, no. 1 (1989): 88–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1323358000022992.
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AbstractWhen metre wavelength radars were first operated in the 1940s, echoes were obtained which could be attributed to backscatter from ionised trains produced by the ablation of meteroids in the upper atmosphere at altitudes near 100 km. Modern over-the-horizon skywave radars operating in the HF (High Frequency) band employ digital techniques for both radar control and signal processing and are aided by frequency management subsystems for the selection of appropriate frequencies for meteor detection based on real-time monitoring of the HF signal environment.This paper describes the results of using such a radar for meteor observations. We report the detection of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower and demonstrate that a large increase in the echo rate due to sporadic meteors is obtained as frequencies are reduced below 15 MHz and the underdense echo ceiling rises in altitude. Finally, we present preliminary observations of highly Doppler shifted echoes which travel at meteoric velocities and which we identify as meteor ‘head echoes’.
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Carter, B. A., and R. A. Makarevich. "E-region decameter-scale plasma waves observed by the dual TIGER HF radars." Annales Geophysicae 27, no. 1 (January 15, 2009): 261–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-27-261-2009.
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Abstract. The dual Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) HF radars regularly observe E-region echoes at sub-auroral magnetic latitudes 58°–60° S including during geomagnetic storms. We present a statistical analysis of E-region backscatter observed in a period of ~2 years (late 2004–2006) by the TIGER Bruny Island and Unwin HF radars, with particular emphasis on storm-time backscatter. It is found that the HF echoes normally form a 300-km-wide band at ranges 225–540 km. In the evening sector during geomagnetic storms, however, the HF echoes form a curved band joining to the F-region band at ~700 km. The curved band lies close to the locations where the geometric aspect angle is zero, implying little to no refraction during geomagnetic storms, which is an opposite result to what has been reported in the past. The echo occurrence, Doppler velocity, and spectral width of the HF echoes are examined in order to determine whether new HF echo types are observed at sub-auroral latitudes, particularly during geomagnetic storms. The datasets of both TIGER radars are found to be dominated by low-velocity echoes. A separate population of storm-time echoes is also identified within the datasets of both radars with most of these echoes showing similar characteristics to the low-velocity echo population. The storm-time backscatter observed by the Bruny Island radar, on the other hand, includes near-range echoes (r<405 km) that exhibit some characteristics of what has been previously termed the High Aspect angle Irregularity Region (HAIR) echoes. We show that these echoes appear to be a storm-time phenomenon and further investigate this population by comparing their Doppler velocity with the simultaneously measured F- and E-region irregularity velocities. It is suggested that the HAIR-like echoes are observed only by HF radars with relatively poor geometric aspect angles when electron density is low and when the electric field is particularly high.
17
Sulzer, M. P. "Meteor science from regular incoherent scatter radar ionospheric observations at Arecibo." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 4, no. 1 (February 4, 2004): 805–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-4-805-2004.
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Abstract. We report the observation and analysis of ionization flashes associated with the decay of meteoroids (so-called head echos) detected by the Arecibo 430 MHz radar during regular ionospheric observations in the spring and autumn equinoxes. These two periods allow pointing well-above and nearly-into the ecliptic plane at dawn when the event rate maximizes. The observation of many thousands of events allows a statistical interpretation of the results, which show that there is a strong tendency for the observed meteoroids to come from the apex as has been previously reported (Chau and Woodman, 2003). The velocity distributions agree with Janches et al. (2003) when they are directly comparable, but the azimuth scan used in these observations allows a new perspective. We have constructed a simple statistical model which takes meteor velocities as input and gives radar line of sight velocities as output. The intent is to explain the fastest part of the velocity distribution. Since the speeds interpreted from the measurements are distributed fairly narrowly about nearly 60 km/s−1, double the speed of the earth in its orbit, the obvious interpretation is that many of the meteoroids seen by the Arecibo radar are moving in orbits about the sun with similar parameters as the earth, but in the retrograde direction. However, some aspects of the measured velocity distributions suggest that this is not a complete description even for the fast part of the distribution, and it certainly says nothing about the slow part first described in Janches et al. (2003). Furthermore, we cannot conclude anything about the entire dust population since there are probably selection effects that restrict the observations to a subset of the population.
18
Li, Nan, Xiyu Mu, Luan Li, and Nanqing Shao. "Preliminary Analysis on the Wind Retrieval Method in Nowcasting." Applied Mechanics and Materials 519-520 (February 2014): 1287–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.519-520.1287.
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Extrapolation nowcasting of radar echoes is implemented based on reflectivity data and radial velocity data of Doppler weather radars. VAD algorithm is used to retrieve wind fields, which are used as motion vectors to implement the extrapolation for the reflectivity data within 60 mins. Extrapolation nowcasting results of a weather case by the method agree well with the fact according to radar echo images and statistics. However, nowcasting accuracy decreases as the extrapolation time increases.
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Ogawa, T., S. Nozawa, M. Tsutsumi, N. F. Arnold, N. Nishitani, N. Sato, and A. S. Yukimatu. "Arctic and Antarctic polar mesosphere summer echoes observed with oblique incidence HF radars: analysis using simultaneous MF and VHF radar data." Annales Geophysicae 22, no. 12 (December 22, 2004): 4049–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-22-4049-2004.
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Abstract. Polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSEs) have been well studied using vertical incidence VHF radars at northern high-latitudes. In this paper, two PMSE events detected with the oblique incidence SuperDARN HF radars at Hankasalmi, Finland (62.3° N) and Syowa Station, Antarctica (69.0° S), are analyzed, together with simultaneous VHF and medium-frequency (MF) radar data. Altitude resolutions of the HF radars in the mesosphere and the lower thermosphere are too poor to know exact PMSE altitudes. However, a comparison of Doppler velocity from the HF radar and neutral wind velocity from the MF radar shows that PMSEs at the HF band appeared at altitudes within 80-90km, which are consistent with those from previous vertical incidence HF-VHF radar results. The HF-VHF PMSE occurrences exhibit a semidiurnal behavior, as observed by other researchers. It is found that in one event, PMSEs occurred when westward semidiurnal winds with large amplitude at 85-88km altitudes attained a maximum. When the HF-VHF PMSEs were observed at distances beyond 180km from MF radar sites, the MF radars detected no appreciable signatures of echo enhancement. Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; thermospheric dynamics; waves and tides)
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Lee, Hansoo, Eun Kyeong Kim, and Sungshin Kim. "Anomalous Propagation Echo Classification of Imbalanced Radar Data with Support Vector Machine." Advances in Meteorology 2016 (2016): 1–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4129708.
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A number of technologically advanced devices, such as radars and satellites, are used in an actual weather forecasting process. Among these devices, the radar is essential equipment in this process because it has a wide observation area and fine resolution in both the time and the space domains. However, the radar can also observe unwanted nonweather phenomena. Anomalous propagation echo is one of the representative nonprecipitation echoes generated by an abnormal refraction phenomenon of a radar beam. Abnormal refraction occurs when the temperature and the humidity change dramatically. In such a case, the radar recognizes either the ground or the sea surface as an atmospheric object. This false observation decreases the accuracy of both quantitative precipitation estimation and weather forecasting. Therefore, a system that can automatically recognize an anomalous propagation echo from the radar data needs to be developed. In this paper, we propose a classification method for separating anomalous propagation echoes from the rest of the weather data by using a combination of a support vector machine classifier and the synthetic minority oversampling technique, to solve the problem of imbalanced data. By using actual cases of anomalous propagation we have confirmed that the proposed method provides good classification results.
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Worthington, R. M., R. D. Palmer, and S. Fukao. "<i>Letter to the Editor</i>: Complete maps of the aspect sensitivity of VHF atmospheric radar echoes." Annales Geophysicae 17, no. 8 (August 31, 1999): 1116–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00585-999-1116-z.
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Abstract. Using the MU radar at Shigaraki, Japan (34.85°N, 136.10°E), we measure the power distribution pattern of VHF radar echoes from the mid-troposphere. The large number of radar beam-pointing directions (320) allows the mapping of echo power from 0° to 40° from zenith, and also the dependence on azimuth, which has not been achieved before at VHF wavelengths. The results show how vertical shear of the horizontal wind is associated with a definite skewing of the VHF echo power distribution, for beam angles as far as 30° or more from zenith, so that aspect sensitivity cannot be assumed negligible at any beam-pointing angle that most existing VHF radars are able to use. Consequently, the use of VHF echo power to calculate intensity of atmospheric turbulence, which assumes only isotropic backscatter at large beam zenith angles, will sometimes not be valid.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; turbulence; instruments and techniques)
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French, Michael M., Donald W. Burgess, Edward R. Mansell, and Louis J. Wicker. "Bulk Hook Echo Raindrop Sizes Retrieved Using Mobile, Polarimetric Doppler Radar Observations." Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 54, no. 2 (February 2015): 423–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-14-0171.1.
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AbstractPolarimetric radar observations obtained by the NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory mobile, X-band, dual-polarization radar (NOXP) are used to investigate “hook echo” precipitation properties in several tornadic and nontornadic supercells. Hook echo drop size distributions (DSDs) were estimated using NOXP data obtained from 2009 to 2012, including during the second Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (VORTEX2). Differences between tornadic and nontornadic hook echo DSDs are explored, and comparisons are made with previous observations of estimated hook echo DSDs made from stationary S- and C-band Doppler radars. Tornadic hook echoes consistently contain radar gates that are characterized by small raindrops; nontornadic hook echoes are mixed between those that have some small-drop gates and those that have almost no small-drop gates. In addition, the spatial distribution of DSDs was estimated using the high-spatial-resolution data afforded by NOXP. A unique polarimetric signature, an area of relatively low values of differential radar reflectivity factor ZDR south and east of the tornado, is observed in many of the tornadic cases. Also, because most data were obtained using 2-min volumetric updates, the evolution of approximated hook echo precipitation properties was studied during parts of the life cycles of three tornadoes. In one case, there is a large decrease in the percentage of large-raindrop gates and an increase in the percentage of small-raindrop gates in the minutes leading up to tornado formation. The percentage of large-drop gates generally increases prior to and during tornado dissipation. Near-storm environmental data are used to put forth possible relationships between bulk hook echo DSDs and tornado production and life cycle.
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Overeem, Aart, Remko Uijlenhoet, and Hidde Leijnse. "Full-Year Evaluation of Nonmeteorological Echo Removal with Dual-Polarization Fuzzy Logic for Two C-Band Radars in a Temperate Climate." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 37, no. 9 (September 1, 2020): 1643–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jtech-d-19-0149.1.
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AbstractThe Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) operates two dual-polarization C-band weather radars in simultaneous transmission and reception (STAR; i.e., horizontally and vertically polarized pulses are transmitted simultaneously) mode, providing 2D radar rainfall products. Despite the application of Doppler and speckle filtering, remaining nonmeteorological echoes (especially sea clutter) mainly due to anomalous propagation still pose a problem. This calls for additional filtering algorithms, which can be realized by means of polarimetry. Here we explore the effectiveness of the open-source wradlib fuzzy echo classification and clutter identification based on polarimetric moments. Based on our study, this has recently been extended with the depolarization ratio and clutter phase alignment as new decision variables. Optimal values for weights of the different membership functions and threshold are determined employing a 4-h calibration dataset from one radar. The method is applied to a full year of volumetric data from the two radars in the Dutch temperate climate. The verification focuses on the presence of remaining nonmeteorological echoes by mapping the number of exceedances of radar reflectivity factors for given thresholds. Moreover, accumulated rainfall maps are obtained to detect unrealistically large rainfall depths. The results are compared to those for which no further filtering has been applied. Verification against rain gauge data reveals that only a little precipitation is removed. Because the fuzzy logic algorithm removes many nonmeteorological echoes, the practice to composite data from both radars in logarithmic space to hide these echoes is abandoned and replaced by linearly averaging reflectivities.
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Sheng, L. Q., J. H. Pei, and X. Y. Liu. "Self-affine Fractal Modelling of Aircraft Echoes from Low-resolution Radars." Defence Science Journal 66, no. 2 (March 23, 2016): 151. http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.66.8423.
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<p>For complex targets, the non rigid vibration of an aircraft as well as its attitude changes and the rotation of its rotating parts will induce complex nonlinear modulation on its echo from low-resolution radars. If one performs the fractal analysis of measures on an aircraft echo, it may offer a fine description of the dynamic characteristics which induce the echo structure. On basis of introducing self-affine fractal theory, the paper models real recorded aircraft echo data from a low-resolution radar using the self-affine fractal representation, and investigates the application of echo self-affine fractal characteristics in aircraft target classification. Results analysis shows that aircraft echoes from low-resolution radars can be modelled by using the self-affine fractal method, and the self-affine fractal features can be effectively applied to target classification and recognition.</p><p> </p>
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Chen, Suting, Song Zhang, Huantong Geng, Yaodeng Chen, Chuang Zhang, and Jinzhong Min. "Strong Spatiotemporal Radar Echo Nowcasting Combining 3DCNN and Bi-Directional Convolutional LSTM." Atmosphere 11, no. 6 (May 29, 2020): 569. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos11060569.
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In order to solve the existing problems of easy spatiotemporal information loss and low forecast accuracy in traditional radar echo nowcasting, this paper proposes an encoding-forecasting model (3DCNN-BCLSTM) combining 3DCNN and bi-directional convolutional long short-term memory. The model first constructs dimensions of input data and gets 3D tensor data with spatiotemporal features, extracts local short-term spatiotemporal features of radar echoes through 3D convolution networks, then utilizes constructed bi-directional convolutional LSTM to learn global long-term spatiotemporal feature dependencies, and finally realizes the forecast of echo image changes by forecasting network. This structure can capture the spatiotemporal correlation of radar echoes in continuous motion fully and realize more accurate forecast of moving trend of short-term radar echoes within a region. The samples of radar echo images recorded by Shenzhen and Hong Kong meteorological stations are used for experiments, the results show that the critical success index (CSI) of this proposed model for eight predicted echoes reaches 0.578 when the echo threshold is 10 dBZ, the false alarm ratio (FAR) is 20% lower than convolutional LSTM network (ConvLSTM), and the mean square error (MSE) is 16% lower than the real-time optical flow by variational method (ROVER), which outperforms the current state-of-the-art radar echo nowcasting methods.
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Muth, X., M. Schneebeli, and A. Berne. "A sun-tracking method to improve the pointing accuracy of weather radar." Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions 4, no. 4 (August 29, 2011): 5569–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/amtd-4-5569-2011.
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Abstract. Accurate positioning of data collected by a weather radar is of primary importance for their appropriate georeferencing, which in turn makes it possible to combine those with additional sources of information (topography, land cover maps, meteorological simulations from numerical weather models to list a few). This issue is especially acute for mobile radar systems, for which accurate and stable levelling might be difficult to ensure. The sun is a source of microwave radiation, which can be detected by weather radars and used for the accurate positioning of the radar data. This paper presents a technique based on the sun echoes to quantify and hence correct for the instrumental errors which can affect the pointing accuracy of radar antenna. The proposed method is applied to data collected in the Swiss Alps using a mobile X-band radar system. The obtained instrumental bias values are evaluated by comparing the locations of the ground echoes predicted using these bias estimates with the observed ground echo locations. The very good agreement between the two confirms the good accuracy of the proposed method.
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Šipoš, Danijel, and Dušan Gleich. "SFCW Radar with an Integrated Static Target Echo Cancellation System." Sensors 21, no. 17 (August 30, 2021): 5829. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s21175829.
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Continuous Wave (CW) radars systems, especially air-coupled Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) or Through-Wall Imaging Radar (TWIR) systems, echo signals reflected from a stationary target with high energy, which may cause receiver saturation. Another effect caused by reflection of stationary targets is noticeable as background within a radargram. Nowadays, radar systems use automatic gain control to prevent receiver saturation. This paper proposes a method to remove stationary targets automatically from the received signal. The method was designed for a radar system with a moving platform, with an assumption that the distance between the surface and target is constant. The design is proposed of an SFCW radar with an integrated system for real-time multiple static target Echo Cancellation (EC). The proposed EC system removes the static target using active Integrated Circuit (IC) components, which generate the corresponding EC signal for each frequency step of the SFCW radar and sum it with the received echo signal. This has the main advantage of removing even multiple echoes at any distance, and excludes the need for a high-dynamic-range receiver. Additionally, the proposed system has minimal impact on the radar size and power consumption. Besides static target removal, the antenna coupling can be removed if the signal appears to be constant. The operating frequency was selected between 500 MHz and 2.5 GHz, due to the limitation of the used electronic components. The experimental results show that the simulated target’s echo using a cable with a known length could be suppressed to up to 38 dB. Experimental results using a moving radar platform and the real environment scenario with static and dynamic targets, show that the proposed EC system could achieve up to 20 dB attenuation of the static target. The system does not affect any other target of interest, which can even move at any distance during the measurement. Therefore, this could be a promising method for further compact implementation into SFCW radars, or any other radar type that generates CW single frequencies.
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Muth, X., M. Schneebeli, and A. Berne. "A sun-tracking method to improve the pointing accuracy of weather radar." Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 5, no. 3 (March 9, 2012): 547–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-547-2012.
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Abstract. Accurate positioning of data collected by a weather radar is of primary importance for their appropriate georeferencing, which in turn makes it possible to combine those with additional sources of information (topography, land cover maps, meteorological simulations from numerical weather models to list a few). This issue is especially acute for mobile radar systems, for which accurate and stable leveling might be difficult to ensure. The sun is a source of microwave radiation, which can be detected by weather radars and used for accurate positioning of radar data. This paper presents a technique based on the similarity between theodolites and radar systems as well as on the sun echoes to quantify and hence correct the instrumental errors which can affect the pointing accuracy of radar antenna. The proposed method is applied to data collected in the Swiss Alps using a mobile X-band radar system. The obtained instrumental bias values are evaluated by comparing the locations of the ground echoes predicted using these bias estimates with the observed ground echo locations. The very good agreement between the two confirms the accuracy of the proposed method.
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Hubbert, J. C., M. Dixon, and S. M. Ellis. "Weather Radar Ground Clutter. Part II: Real-Time Identification and Filtering." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 26, no. 7 (July 1, 2009): 1181–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2009jtecha1160.1.
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Abstract The identification and mitigation of anomalous propagation (AP) and normal propagation (NP) ground clutter is an ongoing problem in radar meteorology. Scatter from ground-clutter targets routinely contaminates radar data and masks weather returns causing poor data quality. The problem is typically mitigated by applying a clutter filter to all radar data, but this also biases weather data at near-zero velocity. Modern radar processors make possible the real-time identification and filtering of AP clutter. A fuzzy logic algorithm is used to distinguish between clutter echoes and precipitation echoes and, subsequently, a clutter filter is applied to those radar resolution volumes where clutter is present. In this way, zero-velocity weather echoes are preserved while clutter echoes are mitigated. Since the radar moments are recalculated from clutter-filtered echoes, the underlying weather echo signatures are revealed, thereby significantly increasing the visibility of weather echo. This paper describes the fuzzy logic algorithm, clutter mitigation decision (CMD), for clutter echo identification. A new feature field, clutter phase alignment (CPA), is introduced and described. A detailed discussion of CPA is given in Part I of this paper. The CMD algorithm is illustrated with experimental data from the Denver Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) at the Denver, Colorado, Front Range Airport (KFTG); and NCAR’s S-band dual-polarization Doppler radar (S-Pol).
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Keränen, Reino, and V. Chandrasekar. "Detection and Estimation of Radar Reflectivity from Weak Echo of Precipitation in Dual-Polarized Weather Radars." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 31, no. 8 (August 1, 2014): 1677–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jtech-d-13-00155.1.
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Abstract In operational weather radar, precipitation echoes are often weak when compared to the underlying noise. Coherence properties of dual polarization can be used for enhancing the detection and for the improved estimation of weak echoes of precipitation. The enhanced detectability results from utilizing coherent averages of precipitation signals, while the uncorrelated noise vanishes asymptotically, explicit in the off-diagonal element Rhv of the echo covariance matrix. In finite sums, the noise terms as well as the uncertainties associated with them are suppressed. A signal can be detected in weaker echo by an analytically derived censoring policy. The coherent sums are readily available as the cross-correlation function of the antenna voltages H and V, which estimates Rhv in the mode of simultaneous transmission and reception. The magnitude of Rhv is a consistent estimate of the copolar echo power, leading to the copolar radar reflectivity of precipitation, which refers to the geometric mean of the reflectivities in H and V polarizations. Because of the intrinsic noise suppression, estimates of the copolar reflectivity are, in relative terms, more precise and more accurate than the corresponding estimates of reflectivity in specific channels, for weak signals of precipitation. These aspects are discussed quantitatively with validation of the key features in real conditions. The advances suggest for dedicated dual-polarization surveillance scans of weak echo of precipitation.
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Pan, C. J., and P. B. Rao. "Morphological study of the field-aligned E-layer irregularities observed by the Gadanki VHF radar." Annales Geophysicae 22, no. 11 (November 29, 2004): 3799–804. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-22-3799-2004.
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Abstract. We report on the field-aligned irregularities observed in the low-latitude sporadic E-layer (Es) with the Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E; geomagnetic latitude 6.3° N) VHF radar. The radar was operated intermittently for 15 days during the summer months in 1998 and 1999, for both daytime and nighttime observation. The total observation periods are 161h for the nighttime and 68h for the daytime. The observations were used to study the percentage of occurrence of the E-region echoes for both daytime and nighttime. The statistical characteristics of the mean radial velocity and spectral width are presented for three cases based on the echo occurrence characteristics and the altitude of observations (from 90 to 140km ranges), namely, the lower E-region daytime (90-110km), the lower E-region nighttime (90-105km) and the upper E-region nighttime (105-140km) echoes. The results are compared with that of Piura, a low-latitude station located at about the same geomagnetic latitude, but to the south of the equator. By comparing the behaviors of the lower E-region radar echoes of the summer months between Gadanki and Piura, we find that the lower altitude echoes below about 100km are rarely reported in Piura but commonly seen in Gadanki. Features of the nighttime echoes observed by these two radars are quite similar but daytime FAI echoes are again seldom detected by Piura.
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Koustov, A. V., D. W. Danskin, M. V. Uspensky, T. Ogawa, P. Janhunen, N. Nishitani, S. Nozawa, M. Lester, and S. Milan. "Velocities of auroral coherent echoes at 12 and 144 MHz." Annales Geophysicae 20, no. 10 (October 31, 2002): 1647–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-20-1647-2002.
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Abstract. Two Doppler coherent radar systems are currently working at Hankasalmi, Finland, the STARE and CUTLASS radars operating at ~144 MHz and ~12 MHz, respectively. The STARE beam 3 is nearly co-located with the CUTLASS beam 5, providing an opportunity for echo velocity comparison along the same direction but at significantly different radar frequencies. In this study we consider an event when STARE radar echoes are detected at the same ranges as CUT-LASS radar echoes. The observations are complemented by EISCAT measurements of the ionospheric electric field and electron density behaviour at one range of 900 km. Two separate situations are studied; for the first one, CUTLASS observed F-region echoes (including the range of the EIS-CAT measurements), while for the second one CUTLASS observed E-region echoes. In both cases STARE E-region measurements were available. We show that F-region CUT-LASS velocities agree well with the convection component along the CUTLASS radar beam, while STARE velocities are typically smaller by a factor of 2–3. For the second case, STARE velocities are found to be either smaller or larger than CUTLASS velocities, depending on the range. Plasma physics of E-and F-region irregularities is discussed in attempt to explain the inferred relationship between various velocities. Special attention is paid to ionospheric refraction that is important for the detection of 12-MHz echoes.Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric irregularities; plasma waves and instabilities; auroral ionosphere)
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Kirkwood, S., P. Chilson, E. Belova, P. Dalin, I. Häggström, M. Rietveld, and W. Singer. "Infrasound - the cause of strong Polar Mesosphere Winter Echoes?" Annales Geophysicae 24, no. 2 (March 23, 2006): 475–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-24-475-2006.
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Abstract. The ESRAD 52-MHz and the EISCAT 224-MHz radars in northern Scandinavia observed thin layers of strongly enhanced radar echoes from the mesosphere (Polar Mesosphere Winter Echoes - PMWE) during a solar proton event in November 2004. Using the interferometric capabilities of ESRAD it was found that the scatterers responsible for PMWE show very high horizontal travel speeds, up to 500 ms-1 or more, and high aspect sensitivity, with echo arrival angles spread over as little as 0.3°. ESRAD also detected, on some occasions, discrete scattering regions moving across the field of view with periodicities of a few seconds. The very narrow, vertically directed beam of the more powerful EISCAT radar allowed measurements of the spectral widths of the radar echoes both inside the PMWE and from the background plasma above and below the PMWE. Spectral widths inside the PMWE were found to be indistinguishable from those from the background plasma. We propose that scatter from highly-damped ion-acoustic waves generated by partial reflection of infrasonic waves provides a reasonable explanation of the characteristics of the very strong PMWE reported here.
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Cui, Yan, Yin Sheng Wei, Xiao Guo Song, and Rong Qing Xu. "A Novel Phase Distortion Correction Method Based on Temporal Correlation Matrix." Applied Mechanics and Materials 58-60 (June 2011): 1258–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.58-60.1258.
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Since the existence of the ionosphere contamination, results of high-frequency radar has been greatly affected. This paper addresses a new method based on temporal correlation matrix to correct phase distortion for HF sky-wave radars. Strong point echoes, such as target, clutter, transponder and so on, which are highly temporal correlated, can be used to structure temporal correlation matrix. And the matrix contains angles of echoes and phase distortions information. In this paper, we use two-dimension FFT to estimate angle of strong point echo, and then obtain the corrections. Computer simulations are conducted to show the validity of the new method, and some of performances of PGA were compared.
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Kilambi, Alamelu, Frédéric Fabry, and Véronique Meunier. "A Simple and Effective Method for Separating Meteorological from Nonmeteorological Targets Using Dual-Polarization Data." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 35, no. 7 (July 2018): 1415–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jtech-d-17-0175.1.
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AbstractTo satisfy the needs of the meteorological and aeroecological communities wanting a simple but effective way of flagging each other’s unwanted echo for a variety of different operational radar systems, we evaluated the ability of an estimate of depolarization ratio (DR) based on differential reflectivity (ZDR) and copolar correlation coefficient (ρHV) measurements to separate both types of echoes. The method was tested with data collected by S- and C-band radars used in the United States and Canada. The DR-based method that does not require training achieved 96% separation between weather and biological echoes. Since the misclassifications are typically caused by isolated pixels in the melting layer or at the edge of echo patterns, the addition of a despeckling algorithm considerably reduces further these false alarms, resulting in an increase in correct identification approaching 99% on test cases.
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Zhang, Xing, Jianxin He, Qiangyu Zeng, and Zhao Shi. "Weather Radar Echo Super-Resolution Reconstruction Based on Nonlocal Self-Similarity Sparse Representation." Atmosphere 10, no. 5 (May 8, 2019): 254. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos10050254.
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Weather radar echo plays an important role in early warning and timely forecasting of severe weather. However, the radar echo may not be accurate enough to predict or analyze small-scale weather phenomenon due to the degradation of the observed radar. In order to solve this problem, some radar echo super-resolution reconstruction algorithms have been proposed, but the algorithm may result in an excessively smooth edge and detail in a local region. To reconstruct radar echo with better edges and finer details, a novel nonlocal self-similarity sparse representation (NSSR) model is proposed. The NSSR model is based on the sparse representation of weather radar echoes to better reconstruct the echo edge and detail information. We exploit the radar echo nonlocal self-similarity to recover more realistic details based on the NSSR model. Experiment results demonstrate that the proposed NSSR outperforms current general-purpose radar echo super-resolution approaches on both visual effects and objective radar echo quality.
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Uspensky, M. V., A. V. Koustov, P. Eglitis, A. Huuskonen, S. E. Milan, T. Pulkkinen, and R. Pirjola. "CUTLASS HF radar observations of high-velocity E-region echoes." Annales Geophysicae 19, no. 4 (April 30, 2001): 411–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-19-411-2001.
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Abstract. A short event of high-velocity E-region echo observations by the Pykkvibaer HF radar is analysed to study echo parameters and the echo relation to the Farley-Buneman plasma instability. The echoes were detected in several beams aligned closely to the magnetic L-shell direction. Two echo groups were identified: one group corresponded to the classical type 1 echoes with velocities close to the nominal ion-acoustic speed of 400 ms–1 , while the other group had significantly larger velocities, of the order of 700 ms–1 . The mutual relationship between the echo power, Doppler velocity, spectral width and elevation angles for these two groups was studied. Plotting of echo parameters versus slant range showed that all ~700 ms–1 echoes originated from larger heights and distances of 500–700 km, while all ~400 ms–1 echoes came from lower heights and from farther distances; 700–1000 km. We argue that both observed groups of echoes occurred due to the Farley-Buneman plasma instability excited by strong ( ~70 mVm–1 ) and uniformly distributed electric fields. We show that the echo velocities for the two groups were different because the echoes were received from different heights. Such a separation of echo heights occurred due to the differing amounts of ionospheric refraction at short and large ranges. Thus, the ionospheric refraction and related altitude modulation of ionospheric parameters are the most important factors to consider, when various characteristics of E-region decametre irregularities are derived from HF radar measurements.Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric irregularities; plasma waves and instabilities; polar ionosphere)
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Jing, Jinrui, Qian Li, and Xuan Peng. "MLC-LSTM: Exploiting the Spatiotemporal Correlation between Multi-Level Weather Radar Echoes for Echo Sequence Extrapolation." Sensors 19, no. 18 (September 15, 2019): 3988. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s19183988.
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Weather radar echo is the data detected by the weather radar sensor and reflects the intensity of meteorological targets. Using the technique of radar echo extrapolation, which is the prediction of future echoes based on historical echo observations, the approaching short-term weather conditions can be forecasted, and warnings can be raised with regard to disastrous weather. Recently, deep learning based extrapolation methods have been proposed and show significant application potential. However, there are two limitations of existing extrapolation methods which should be considered. First, few methods have investigated the impact of the evolutionary process of weather systems on extrapolation accuracy. Second, current deep learning methods usually encounter the problem of blurry echo prediction as extrapolation goes deeper. In this paper, we aim to address the two problems by proposing a Multi-Level Correlation Long Short-Term Memory (MLC-LSTM) and integrate the adversarial training into our approach. The MLC-LSTM can exploit the spatiotemporal correlation between multi-level radar echoes and model their evolution, while the adversarial training can help the model extrapolate realistic and sharp echoes. To train and test our model, we build a real-life multi-level weather radar echoes dataset based on raw CINRAD/SA radar observations provided by the National Meteorological Information Center, China. Extrapolation experiments show that our model can accurately forecast the motion and evolution of an echo while keeping the predicted echo looking realistic and fine-grained. For quantitative evaluation on probability of detection (POD), false alarm rate (FAR), critical success index (CSI), and Heidke skill score (HSS) metrics, our model can reach average scores of 0.6538 POD, 0.2818 FAR, 0.5348 CSI, and 0.6298 HSS, respectively when extrapolating 15 echoes into the future, which outperforms the current state-of-the-art extrapolation methods. Both the qualitative and quantitative experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our model, suggesting that it can be effectively applied to operational weather forecasting practice.
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Dutta, Devajyoti, Diganta Kumar Sarma, and Sanjay Sharma. "A Multisensor Analysis of the Life Cycle of Bow Echo over Indian Region." International Journal of Atmospheric Sciences 2014 (October 29, 2014): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/207064.
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This study deals with the life cycle of bow echo events on October 24 and 26-27, 2006, from Doppler weather radar (DWR) observations supported by Radiosonde and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The cell bow echo (CBE) on October 24 evolved from two small isolated cells with radar reflectivity ≥40 dBZ. The vertical structure consists of one single mature cell with 20 dBZ echoes reaching up to 10 km while 40 dBZ echoes extended uniformly from ground to ∼5 km height. The radial velocity shows a high value >−15 m/s towards the radar at the upper height (about 6 to 11 km); the lower height is predominant with velocity away from the radar (about 5 to 15 m/s). The squall line bow echo on October 26 and 27 has its origin over ocean and moved towards the radar site and decayed thereafter. The radar reflectivity pattern for this squall line showed it to be a trailing stratiform type squall line with length of ∼200 km. The echo top height was more than 12 km in height. Strong inflow cases were observed from both radiosonde and radar.
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Pellinen-Wannberg, A. "Meteor head echoes - observations and models." Annales Geophysicae 23, no. 1 (January 31, 2005): 201–5. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-23-201-2005.
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Abstract. Meteor head echoes - instantaneous echoes moving with the velocities of the meteors - have been recorded since 1947. Despite many attempts, this phenomenon did not receive a comprehensive theory for over 4 decades. The High Power and Large Aperture (HPLA) features, combined with present signal processing and data storage capabilities of incoherent scatter radars, may give an explanation for the old riddle. The meteoroid passage through the radar beam can be followed with simultaneous spatial-time resolution of about 100m-ms class. The current views of the meteor head echo process will be presented and discussed. These will be related to various EISCAT observations, such as dual-frequency target sizes, altitude distributions and vector velocities.
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Chen, Zhang, Liu, and Zeng. "Generative Adversarial Networks Capabilities for Super-Resolution Reconstruction of Weather Radar Echo Images." Atmosphere 10, no. 9 (September 16, 2019): 555. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos10090555.
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Improving the resolution of degraded radar echo images of weather radar systems can aid severe weather forecasting and disaster prevention. Previous approaches to this problem include classical super-resolution (SR) algorithms such as iterative back-projection (IBP) and a recent nonlocal self-similarity sparse representation (NSSR) that exploits the data redundancy of radar echo data, etc. However, since radar echoes tend to have rich edge information and contour textures, the textural detail in the reconstructed echoes of traditional approaches is typically absent. Inspired by the recent advances of faster and deeper neural networks, especially the generative adversarial networks (GAN), which are capable of pushing SR solutions to the natural image manifold, we propose using GAN to tackle the problem of weather radar echo super-resolution to achieve better reconstruction performance (measured in peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index (SSIM)). Using authentic weather radar echo data, we present the experimental results and compare its reconstruction performance with the above-mentioned methods. The experimental results showed that the GAN-based method is capable of generating perceptually superior solutions while achieving higher PSNR/SSIM results.
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Hall, Beth L. "Fire ignitions related to radar reflectivity patterns in Arizona and New Mexico." International Journal of Wildland Fire 17, no. 3 (2008): 317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wf06110.
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Over 5400 lightning-ignited wildfires were detected on federal land in Arizona and New Mexico from 1996 through 1998 during the fire season of May through September. The non-uniform and sporadic spatial nature of precipitation events in this region makes the use of rain gauge data a limited means of assessing when and where a cloud-to-ground lightning strike might have ignited a wildfire due to dry lightning. By analysing weather radar reflectivity data with lightning and wildfire data, characteristics of radar reflectivity can be used by fire weather forecasters to identify regions of increased ignition potential. Critical ranges of reflectivity, life span of a reflectivity cell, and storm movement are characteristics of radar reflectivity that are examined in this analysis. The results of this type of analysis can help focus attention of wildfire personnel to particular locations where there is known to be cloud-to-ground lightning in conjunction with radar reflectivity patterns that have been historically associated with wildfire ignition. Results from the analysis show that wildfire ignitions typically occur near the perimeter of a radar echo. The reflectivity values at the ignition location are less than the highest reflectivity located within the echo, and often magnitudes are sufficiently low to suggest that the precipitation is not reaching the ground in this dry region with high cloud bases. Interpretation of the duration, size and level of lightning activity of the radar echo associated with the ignition indicate that ignitions tend to occur in the early stages of a radar echo. However, there are often multiple storm cells having isolated areas of higher reflectivity within a radar echo at the time of ignition. Nearly two-thirds of radar echoes associated with wildfire ignitions moved more than 50 km throughout the echo’s lifetime. These moving storm systems often propagated in a northerly or easterly direction, and ignitions occurred on the leading edge of the storm in over half of the cases that propagated in the same direction. Forecasters can use results from this study to determine where there is an increased potential of wildfire ignitions when similar radar patterns appear in conjunction with lightning activity in the future.
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Lee, Ji-Won, Ki-Hong Min, Young-Hee Lee, and GyuWon Lee. "X-Net-Based Radar Data Assimilation Study over the Seoul Metropolitan Area." Remote Sensing 12, no. 5 (March 10, 2020): 893. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs12050893.
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This study investigates the ability of the high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to simulate summer precipitation with assimilation of X-band radar network data (X-Net) over the Seoul metropolitan area. Numerical data assimilation (DA) experiments with X-Net (S- and X-band Doppler radar) radial velocity and reflectivity data for three events of convective systems along the Changma front are conducted. In addition to the conventional assimilation of radar data, which focuses on assimilating the radial velocity and reflectivity of precipitation echoes, this study assimilates null-echoes and analyzes the effect of null-echo data assimilation on short-term quantitative precipitation forecasting (QPF). A null-echo is defined as a region with non-precipitation echoes within the radar observation range. The model removes excessive humidity and four types of hydrometeors (wet and dry snow, graupel, and rain) based on the radar reflectivity by using a three-dimensional variational (3D-Var) data assimilation technique within the WRFDA system. Some procedures for preprocessing radar reflectivity data and using null-echoes in this assimilation are discussed. Numerical experiments with conventional radar DA over-predicted the precipitation. However, experiments with additional null-echo information removed excessive water vapor and hydrometeors and suppressed erroneous model precipitation. The results of statistical model verification showed improvements in the analysis and objective forecast scores, reducing the amount of over-predicted precipitation. An analysis of a contoured frequency by altitude diagram (CFAD) and time–height cross-sections showed that increased hydrometeors throughout the data assimilation period enhanced precipitation formation, and reflectivity under the melting layer was simulated similarly to the observations during the peak precipitation times. In addition, overestimated hydrometeors were reduced through null-echo data assimilation.
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Wakimoto, Roger M., Phillip Stauffer, and Wen-Chau Lee. "The Vertical Vorticity Structure within a Squall Line Observed during BAMEX: Banded Vorticity Features and the Evolution of a Bowing Segment." Monthly Weather Review 143, no. 1 (January 1, 2015): 341–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/mwr-d-14-00246.1.
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Abstract A quasi-linear convective line with a trailing stratiform region developed during the Bow Echo and Mesoscale Convective Vortex Experiment (BAMEX) while being sampled by two airborne Doppler radars. The finescale reflectivity and Doppler velocities recorded by the radars documented the evolution of the convective line. Bands of positive and negative vertical vorticity oriented parallel to the convective line were resolved in the analysis. This type of structure has rarely been reported in the literature and appears to be a result of the tilting and subsequent stretching of ambient horizontal vorticity produced by the low-level wind shear vector with a significant along-line component. The radar analysis also documented the evolution of an embedded bow echo within the convective line. Embedded bow echoes have been documented for a number of years; however, a detailed analysis of their kinematic structure has not been previously reported in the literature. The counterrotating circulation patterns that are characteristic of bow echoes appeared to be a result of tilting and stretching of the horizontal vorticity produced in the cold pool. The analysis suggests that the location along the convective line where embedded bow echoes form depends on the local depth of the cold pool. The rear-inflow jet is largely driven by the combined effects of the counterrotating vortices and the upshear-tilted updraft.
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Oh, Young-A., Hae-Lim Kim, and Mi-Kyung Suk. "Clutter Elimination Algorithm for Non-Precipitation Echo of Radar Data Considering Meteorological and Observational Properties in Polarimetric Measurements." Remote Sensing 12, no. 22 (November 18, 2020): 3790. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs12223790.
Full textAbstract:
Non-precipitation echoes due to ground and sea clutter, chaff, anomalous propagation, biological targets, and interference in weather radar observations are major issues causing a decline in the accuracy of meteorological and hydrological applications based on radar data. Statistically based quality control techniques using polarimetric variables have improved the accuracy of radar echo classification, however their performance is affected by attenuation, nonuniform beam filling, and hydrometeor diversity as well as terrain blockage, beam broadening, and noise correction issues due to the quality degradation of polarimetric measurements. To address this, a new quality control algorithm, named clutter elimination algorithm for non-precipitation echo of radar data (CLEANER), was designed by employing independent feature parameters and variable classification conditions with spatial and temporal observation environments to adapt to these meteorological artifacts and observational limitations. CLEANER was applied to several precipitation cases with various non-precipitation echoes, showing improved performance compared with results from the fuzzy logic-based quality control algorithm in terms of non-precipitation echo removal as well as in precipitation echo conservation. In addition, CLEANER shows better computational efficiency and robustness, as well as an excellent expandability for different radar networks.
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Saito, S., M. Yamamoto, S. Fukao, M. Marumoto, and R. T. Tsunoda. "Radar observations of field-aligned plasma irregularities in the SEEK-2 campaign." Annales Geophysicae 23, no. 7 (October 13, 2005): 2307–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-23-2307-2005.
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Abstract. During the Sporadic E Experiment over Kyushu 2 (SEEK-2) campaign, field-aligned irregularities (FAIs) associated with midlatitude sporadic-E (Es) layers were observed with two backscatter radars, the Lower Thermosphere Profiler Radar (LTPR) and the Frequency Agile Radar (FAR), which were located 40 km apart in Tanegashima, Japan. We conducted observations of FAI echoes from 31 July to 24 August 2002, and the radar data were used to determine launch timing of two sounding rockets on 3 August 2002. Our comparison of echoes obtained by the LTPR and the FAR revealed that echoes often appeared at the FAR about 10min earlier than they did at the LTPR and were well correlated. This indicates that echoing regions drift with a southward velocity component that maintains the spatial shape. Interferometry observations that were conducted with the LTPR from 3 to 8 August 2002, revealed that the quasi-periodic (QP) striations in the Range-Time-Intensity (RTI) plots were due to the apparent motion of echoing regions across the radar beam including both main and side lobes. In most cases, the echo moved to the east-southeast at an almost constant altitude of 100–110 km, which was along the locus of perpendicularity of the radar line-of-sight to the geomagnetic field line. We found that the QP pattern on the RTI plot reflects the horizontal structure and motion of the (Es layer, and that echoing regions seemed to be in one-dimensionally elongated shapes or in chains of patches. Neutral wind velocities from 75 to 105 km altitude were simultaneously derived with meteor echoes from the LTPR. This is the first time-continuous simultaneous observation FAIs and neutral wind with interferometry measurements. Assuming that the echoing regions were drifting with an ambient neutral wind, we found that the echoing region was aligned east-northeast-west-southwest in eight out of ten QP echo events during the SEEK-2 campaign. A range rate was negative (positive), when a frontal structure of echoing regions elongated east-northeast-west-southwest drifts with southward (northward) neutral wind. Keywords. Ionosphere-atmosphere interactions; Ionospheric irregularities; Plasma waves and instabilities
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Dinevich, Leonid. "Improving The Accuracy Of Selection Of Bird Radar Echoes Against A Background Of Atomized Clouds And Atmospheric Inhomogeneities." Ring 37, no. 1 (December 1, 2015): 3–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/ring-2015-0001.
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Abstract The algorithm for bird radar echo selection was developed in Israel and has been successfully used for many years to monitor birds in periods of massive intercontinental migration in order to ensure flight safety in civil and military aviation. However, it has been found that under certain meteorological conditions the bird echo selection algorithm does not filter out false signals formed by atomized clouds and atmospheric inhomogeneities. Although the algorithm is designed to identify and sift false signals, some useful echoes from smaller birds are erroneously sifted as well. This paper presents some additional features of radar echoes reflected from atmospheric formations that can be taken into account to prevent the loss of useful bird echoes. These additional features are based on the use of polarization, fluctuation and Doppler characteristics of a reflected signal. By taking these features into account we can reduce the number of false signals and increase the accuracy of the bird echo selection algorithm. The paper presents methods for using radar echoes to identify species and sizes of birds, together with recommendations on using the data to ensure flight safety during periods of massive intercontinental bird migration.
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Morozov, Andrei K. "SYNTHESIS OF THE TARGET ECHO SIGNAL WITH THE REQUIRED PARAMETERS TO MODEL RADAR BLIP AND ASSESS TACTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RADARS." Автоматизация Процессов Управления 61, no. 3 (2020): 31–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.35752/1991-2927-2020-3-61-31-38.
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The article deals with the problem of modelling radar blips by reproducing an echo signal of true targets to assess tactical characteristics of radars. A software-defined vector generator with incorporated computer and receiver is placed at given angular coordinates and at some distance from radar. The computer generates a digital representation of the waveform; the generator emits a signal corresponding in structure to the radar one. Trigger input of the generator obtains a signal on the period start coming from receiver and computer to ensure inter-period synchronization. The receiver obtains and processes pulses coming from radar. When the strength threshold of received signal is exceeded, the computer-controlled generator receives a signal informing that emitting of prepared echo template has started. As a result, the generator emits an echo signal from the given coordinates, which corresponds to the echo signal of the desired radar blip. The article discusses conditions for generating these blips and characteristics of simulated blips based on characteristics of the equipment used and the radars tested. The author also gives an example of calculating the characteristics of simulated radar blips.
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Luce, H., M. Crochet, and F. Dalaudier. "Temperature sheets and aspect sensitive radar echoes." Annales Geophysicae 19, no. 8 (August 31, 2001): 899–920. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-19-899-2001.
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Abstract. here have been years of discussion and controversy about the existence of very thin and stable temperature sheets and their relationship to the VHF radar aspect sensitivity. It is only recently that very high-resolution in situ temperature observations have brought credence to the reality and ubiquity of these structures in the free atmosphere and to their contribution to radar echo enhancements along the vertical. Indeed, measurements with very high-resolution sensors are still extremely rare and rather difficult to obtain outside of the planetary boundary layer. They have only been carried out up to the lower stratosphere by Service d’A´ eronomie (CNRS, France) for about 10 years. The controversy also persisted due to the volume resolution of the (Mesosphere)-Stratosphere-Troposphere VHF radars which is coarse with respect to sheet thickness, although widely sufficient for meteorological or mesoscale investigations. The contribution within the range gate of many of these structures, which are advected by the wind, and decay and grow at different instants and could be distorted either by internal gravity waves or turbulence fields, could lead to radar echoes with statistical properties similar to those produced by anisotropic turbulence. Some questions thus remain regarding the manner in which temperature sheets contribute to VHF radar echoes. In particular, the zenithal and azimuthal angular dependence of the echo power may not only be produced by diffuse reflection on stable distorted or corrugated sheets, but also by extra contributions from anisotropic turbulence occurring in the stratified atmosphere. Thus, for several years, efforts have been put forth to improve the radar height resolution in order to better describe thin structures. Frequency interferometric techniques are widely used and have been recently further developed with the implementation of high-resolution data processings. We begin by reviewing briefly some characteristics of the ST radar echoes with a particular emphasis on recent works. Their possible coupling with stable sheets is then presented and their known characteristics are described with some hypotheses concerning their generation mechanisms. Finally, measurement campaigns that took recently place or will be carried out in the near future for improving our knowledge of these small-scale structures are presented briefly.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (turbulence; instruments and techniques) – Radio Science (remote sensing)
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Galindo, Freddy, Julio Urbina, and Lars Dyrud. "Effect of neutral winds on the creation of non-specular meteor trail echoes." Annales Geophysicae 39, no. 4 (July 23, 2021): 709–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-709-2021.
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Abstract. Non-specular meteor trail echoes are radar reflections from plasma instabilities that are caused by field-aligned irregularities. Meteor simulations are examined to show that these plasma instabilities, and thus the associated meteor trail echo, strongly depend on the meteoroid properties and the characteristics of the atmosphere in which the meteoroid is embedded. The effects of neutral winds, as a function of altitude, are analyzed to understand how their amplitude variability impacts the temporal–space signatures of non-specular meteor trail echoes present in very high-frequency (VHF) radar observations. It is found that amplitudes of the total horizontal neutral wind smaller than 0.6 m s−1 do not provide the right physical conditions to enable the genesis of non-specular meteor echoes. It is also found that a 0.0316 µg meteoroid traveling at 35 km s−1 can be seen as a meteor trail echo if the amplitudes of horizontal neutral winds are stronger than 15 m s−1. In contrast, a 0.316 µg meteoroid, traveling at the same speed, requires horizontal winds stronger than 1 m s−1 to be visible as a meteor trail echo. The neutral velocity threshold illustrates how simulations show that no trail echo is created below a critical wind value. This critical wind value is not mapped directly to radar observations, but it is used to shed light on the physics of meteor trails and improve their modeling. The meteor simulations also indicate that time delays on the order of hundreds of milliseconds or longer, between head echoes and non-specular echoes, which are present in VHF backscatter radar maps, can be a consequence of very dense plasma trails being affected by weak horizontal neutral winds that are smaller than 1 m s−1.