Meteorological and dynamical requirements for MST radar networks: Waves

Studies of wave motions using the MST radar have concentrated on single station time series analyses of gravity waves and tides. Since these radars collect high time resolution data they have the potential to become a significant tool for mesoscale research. In addition, radars are operated almost continuously unattended and, consequently, data sets are available for analyzing longer period wave motions such as tides and planetary scale waves. Although there is much to learn from single station data, the possibilities of new knowledge from a network of radars is exciting. The scales of wave motions in the atmosphere cover a broad range. Consequently the choice of a radar network depends to a large extent on the types of wave motions that are studied. There are many outstanding research problems that would benefit from observations from a MST radar network. In particular, there is a strong need for measurements of gravity wave parameters and equatorial wave motions. Some of the current problems in wave dynamics are discussed

Meteor detection on ST (MST) radars

The ability to detect radar echoes from backscatter due to turbulent irregularities of the radio refractive index in the clear atmosphere has lead to an increasing number of established mesosphere - stratosphere - troposphere (MST or ST) radars. Humidity and temperature variations are responsible for the echo in the troposphere and stratosphere and turbulence acting on electron density gradients provides the echo in the mesosphere. The MST radar and its smaller version, the ST radar, are pulsed Doppler radars operating in the VHF - UHF frequency range. These echoes can be used to determine upper atmosphere winds at little extra cost to the ST radar configuration. In addition, the meteor echoes can supplement mesospheric data from an MST radar. The detection techniques required on the ST radar for delineating meteor echo returns are described

Techniques for studying gravity waves and turbulence: Horizontal, vertical and temporal resolution needed

One of the most important atmospheric measurements that is needed is a measure of the gravity-wave spectrum. The MST radar has been investigated as means to measure the temporal resolution required to determine gravity-wave oscillations. The required vertical and horizontal resolution is dependent on the particular part of the gravity wave spectrum that is analyzed. Horizontal spacing is also discussed

Review: Donald S. Hair, Fresh Strange Music: Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Language

University of Toronto Quarterly 87.3, pp.353-35

Interpolation problems in meteor radar analysis, part 7.6A

Meteor echoes come from random points in the observation volume, and are irregularly spaced in time. This precludes the use of fast fourier transformations (FFT) techniques on the raw data to give the spectrum of waves that are present. One way around this obstacle is to restrict our interest to a particular class of waves, and fit a corresponding model to the raw data. It is assumed that there is no horizontal variation across the observation volume for tides, but in the vertical this is certainly not the case. If, in addition, we are interested in other types of waves which may be present and whose periods are unknown, then examining the raw line-of-sight velocities does not tell us how to modify the model, since the line-of-sight direction is not fixed. This is the motivation for interpolation. Interpolation takes a temporal series of line-of-sight velocities, and transforms it to a temporal series of wind velocities for each orthogonal direction. The velocities along a given direction can then be examined readily for any waves in addition to tides

Data base management: MSTRAC (keynote paper), part 8

Technical Aspects of MST radars were discussed. The name of the group is MST Radar Coordination (MSTRAC). The geophysical parameters to be included in the sample data tapes were determined. It was suggested that MSTRAC compile a catalog of existing data at each of the facilities. It is found that: (1) there is a community of interested users for MST data; (2) the initial responses from observatories indicates that interest in MSTRAC is not overwhelming, probably because of time involved; and (3) the program needs reassessment

Identifying safety strategies for on-farm grain bins using risk analysis

The potential for grain bin accidents exists each year on Arkansas farms and farms across the nation. The trend toward increasing utilization of on-farm grain drying and storage could lead to an increase in grain bin accidents. The sharp contrast between a safe, efficient operation and one that leads to injury or death can be represented as sets of farmer-decisions and subsequent chance events. A model was constructed to define the risk associated with grain bin entry and inbin activity so that safety interventions could be identified and implemented to reduce the probability of injury and death. A survey was distributed to Arkansas grain farmers to gather data on the level of safety education, storage techniques, operations management, and other parameters. The data collected from the survey provided quantitative input of many of the model’s probability-distribution functions. Using a fault tree (with parallel modes of failure) in conjunction with a Monte Carlo simulation technique, we evaluated six safety intervention strategies and identified the one with the greatest potential for reducing the risk of serous injury or death. As part of senior design in biological engineering, plans are underway to design and test a probe that can locate and break bridged grain (a common risk factor in grain bin management) while working outside the bin on the ground