Radar and optical studies of the atmosphere.
Date
2008
Authors
Reid, Iain Murray
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Thesis
Citation
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Abstract
The research described in this thesis can be categorized into three main areas. The
first area concerns the interpretation of observations of various atmospheric
processes and phenomena. The focus here has been on internal atmospheric gravity
waves and their manifestation in radar winds and in airglow intensities, but also
includes investigation of atmospheric tides and planetary scale waves, D-region
electron densities and collision frequencies, the aspect sensitivity of backscattering
and partially reflecting regions of the atmosphere, Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes and Mesosphere Summer Echoes, meteor trails, mesospheric temperatures, long
period variations in airglow intensities, and Kelvin Helmholtz Instabilities.
The second major area has been in the development of new experimental
techniques and the validation of existing techniques for investigating the atmosphere.
New techniques have included the dual–beam radar technique for measuring
momentum fluxes, and radar Time Domain Interferometry and Hybrid Doppler
Interferometry for use with multi-receiver channel Doppler radars. The Doppler
Beam Steering technique in the presence of non-uniform and periodically varying
wind fields has been investigated analytically, and various spaced sensor techniques
have been investigated using a numerical model of atmospheric radar backscattering
and by direct comparison with other techniques. The Sodium Lidar technique has
been investigated through numerical model calculations and a solid state system is
currently being developed.
Finally, a major activity has been the development of new radars and radar subsystems.
This has included the development of a modular Medium Frequency
Doppler radar and a Medium Frequency Spaced Antenna radar, a variety of
Stratosphere Troposphere / Mesosphere Stratosphere Troposphere radars, an
Ionospheric radar, a Boundary Layer Tropospheric radar and an All-Sky meteor
radar.
School/Discipline
School of Chemistry and Physics : Physics and Mathematical Physics
Dissertation Note
Thesis (D.Sc.) - University of Adelaide, School of Chemistry and Physics, 2008
Provenance
Copyright material removed from digital thesis. See print copy in University of Adelaide Library for full text.