| This thesis presents the application of new approaches to meteor radar data processing. I have concentrated on improving five areas of meteor radars: (1) meteor trail echo detection and collection strategies; (2) intercomparisons with other observation techniques; (3) meteor echo classification methods; (4) interferometer array calibration; and (5) the development of a modern all-sky meteor radar.;In pursuit of the first research goal, I developed a single card version of the Meteor Echo Detection And Collection (MEDAC) system. This card improves the reliability, usability and configurability of the entire system. In addition, a greatly improved detection routine has been developed that is less susceptible to changing environmental conditions.;My second research objective was to compare MEDAC derived wind profiles to other instruments. An intensive two-week campaign was conducted at the Buckland Park field station near Adelaide, Australia, during July of 1994. MEDAC participated along with another similar meteor detection system, and an MF radar. This campaign provided an excellent opportunity to measure the winds in a common volume with multiple techniques. The comparison techniques used in this short duration campaign were also applied to four years of MEDAC and MF data from Christmas Island, creating a climatological comparison of the instrumental and scientific differences.;My third research initiative created a taxonomy of the different signals detected by a narrow beam meteor radar, many of which are not due to meteor trails. The classification was done with the data set collected during the Buckland Park comparison campaign, and produced the identification of a previously unrecognized category of echoes resulting from meteors traveling down the antenna beam.;My fourth research objective improved the meteor radar interferometer technique. Wind profilers use a narrow antenna beam, limiting the amount of sky that can be observed for meteors. Traditional meteor radars cover a wider, but still restricted, portion of the sky. We have developed an all-sky meteor system with a much wider field of view. In such systems, the meteor trail echo must be spatially located using an interferometer. One of the results of this research has been the adaptation of a self-survey calibration procedure originally used with sonar and large rigid arrays. Self-survey calibration uses the array and a set of far-field sources to produce a map of the antenna elements' position and relative phase errors.;My final research objective was to analyze the data from the Sondre Stromfjord all-sky meteor radar campaign conducted during the summer of 1994, refining the all-sky meteor technique to generate high-quality wind profiles. Favorable comparisons were drawn to past observations and current models. |
