Mesospheric Wind Estimation With the Jicamarca MST Radar Using Spectral Mainlobe Identification

Abstract

MST (mesosphere, stratosphere, troposphere) radar observations at Jicamarca use four antenna beams, one vertical, others tilted to the east, west, and south, to detect the scattered pulse returns from mesospheric heights (∼55-85 km). Doppler shifts of scattered returns, estimated by fitting the observed signal spectra by generalized Gaussian-shaped models, are used to estimate mesospheric wind vectors. At some heights two spectral peaks are seen in which case a dual-peaked model is fitted the spectrum. Dual peaks are more common for returns from the east and west tilted beams with stronger sidelobes. When sidelobe-caused peaks are dominant and are mistaken for mainlobe peaks, wind errors occur since the estimation algorithm uses the pointing angle of the mainbeam. To avoid such errors we implemented a clustering-based machine learning procedure to identify and use only the mainbeam components of dual-peaked spectra. Wind estimates made before and after the procedure will be presented to assess the improvements achieved by this new method to be used routinely in Jicamarca mesospheric wind measurements and applied to past MST data.

Multistatic Specular Meteor Radar Network in Peru: System Description and Initial Results

“…Finally, SIMONe Peru is centered at the multifaceted JRO complex, where multiple‐technique and multiinstrument campaigns could be implemented in the future for cross‐validation purposes and, more importantly, to study processes that are difficult to address with a single instrument or technique. One of such future campaigns could target the simultaneous use of JRO's different observational modes: MST (60–85 km winds) (Lee et al., 2019), oblique daytime EEJ (95–110 km zonal winds) (Shume et al., 2005), nonspecular meteor echoes (90–110 km horizontal winds) (Oppenheim et al., 2009), and optical remote sensing instruments, e.g., Near Infrared Airglow Camera on the International Space Station or the Michelson Interferometer for Global High‐resolution Thermospheric Imaging on the ICON NASA explorer (e.g., Harding et al., 2017).…”

Multistatic specular meteor radar network in Peru: System description and initial results

“…Finally, SIMONe Peru is centered at the multifaceted JRO complex, where multiple-technique and multiinstrument campaigns could be implemented in the future for cross-validation purposes and, more importantly, to study processes that are difficult to address with a single instrument or technique. One of such future campaigns could target the simultaneous use of JRO's different observational modes: MST (60-85 km winds) (Lee et al, 2019), oblique daytime EEJ (95-110 km zonal winds) (Shume et al, 2005), nonspecular meteor echoes (90-110 km horizontal winds) (Oppenheim et al, 2009), and optical remote sensing instruments, e.g., Near Infrared Airglow Camera on the International Space Station or the Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging on the ICON NASA explorer (e.g., Harding et al, 2017).…”

A Geospace Radar NSF Midscale Project

“…These dynamics are expected to occur at different latitudes and seasons to different degrees, but this has yet to be comprehensively studied. Jicamarca has seen KHI and layering without discriminating spatio-temporal features [19,20]. A geospace radar operating in the low VHF band with power-aperture more than one order of magnitude greater than Jicamarca could observe this kind of dynamics during different seasons and at different latitudes.…”