The Manastash Ridge radar: A passive bistatic radar for upper atmospheric radio science

We describe a novel method for radar remote sensing of the upper atmosphere which relies upon commercial FM broadcasts near 100 MHz. These broadcasts have high average power and excellent radar ambiguity function. With proper processing we can study the spatial and temporal distribution and Doppler spectrum with excellent and completely unambiguous resolution. Since this passive system has no transmitter, there are enormous benefits in safety, expense, shielding, antenna and receiver design, and licensing issues. Some new problems are introduced, but these are solved with relatively little expense. After presenting the technical basis for such a radar, we describe an instrument that we are building at the University of Washington to study high-latitude plasma irregularities in the E region.

[1]  L. Storey,et al.  An investigation of whistling atmospherics , 1953, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[2]  John D. Sahr,et al.  Auroral electrojet plasma irregularity theory and experiment: A critical review of present understanding and future directions , 1996 .

[3]  T. Bell,et al.  VLF remote sensing of the auroral electrojet , 1996 .

[4]  D. T. Farley.  Incoherent Scatter Correlation Function Measurements , 1969 .

[5]  D. T. Farley.  A plasma instability resulting in field‐aligned irregularities in the ionosphere , 1963 .

[6]  B. Fejer,et al.  Correction [to “Ionospheric irregularities”] , 1981 .

[7]  B. D. H. TELLEGEN,et al.  Interaction between Radio-Waves? , 1933, Nature.

[8]  D. Moorcroft,et al.  Electron thermal effects on the Farley-Buneman fluid dispersion relation , 1995 .

[9]  V. G. Galushko,et al.  Traveling ionospheric disturbance diagnostics using HF signal trajectory parameter variations , 1995 .

[10]  Michael P. Sulzer,et al.  A radar technique for high range resolution incoherent scatter autocorrelation function measurements utilizing the full average power of klystron radars , 1986 .

[11]  Ingemar Häggström,et al.  A new modulation principle for incoherent scatter measurements , 1987 .

[12]  A. Brekke.  Radar probing of the auroral plasma : proceedings of the EISCAT summer school, Tromsø, Norway June 5-13, 1975 , 1977 .

[13]  Bela G. Fejer,et al.  High latitude E-region irregularities: New results , 1987 .

[14]  Umran S. Inan,et al.  VLF and LF signatures of mesospheric/lower ionospheric response to lightning discharges , 1996 .

[15]  W. Kofman,et al.  Mapping of overspread targets in radar astronomy , 1991 .

[16]  M. Uspensky.  On the altitudinal profile of auroral radar backscatter , 1985 .

[17]  H. Griffiths,et al.  Bistatic radar using satellite-borne illuminators of opportunity , 1992 .