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RADIO SCIENCE, VOL. 39, RS3008, doi:10.1029/2003RS002985, 2004

Passive coherent scatter radar interferometer implementation, observations, and analysis

Melissa G. Meyer

Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

John D. Sahr

Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

Abstract

We have recently extended the passive radar technique to permit interferometric observation of ionospheric irregularities. We discuss the implementation of a passive radar interferometer at VHF frequencies and show observations of field-aligned irregularities in the high-latitude E region ionosphere. The interferometer achieves very fine azimuthal resolution (as fine as 0.1°, or 2 km at a range of 1000 km); thus we can form two-dimensional spatial images of the target volume. Many E region scatterers are compact, with transverse extent no greater than 10 km; this is significantly smaller than the beam width of most coherent radars. By tracking interferometric position, we can estimate the transverse drift of the scattering region. By coupling this information with the line of sight Doppler shift and using the dispersion relation for meter scale irregularities, we estimate electric fields and velocity shears within the scattering volume.

Received 3 October 2003; accepted 13 April 2004; published 22 May 2004.

Keywords: passive radar; interferometry; field-aligned irregularities.

Index Terms: 2439 Ionosphere: Ionospheric irregularities; 6929 Radio Science: Ionospheric physics (2409); 6952 Radio Science: Radar atmospheric physics; 6969 Radio Science: Remote sensing.

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Citation: Meyer, M. G., and J. D. Sahr (2004), Passive coherent scatter radar interferometer implementation, observations, and analysis, Radio Sci., 39, RS3008, doi:10.1029/2003RS002985.

Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.