Numerical modeling of radio wave scattering from meteor head plasma

We have developed a 3-dimensional Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) model of scattering of radar waves from meteor head plasma. The model was developed with the goal of better characterizing meteor observations in ground-based High-Power, Large Aperture (HPLA) radars; in particular, the relationship between the measured radar cross section (RCS) and the physical properties of the meteor plasma. This relationship was characterized by Close et al [2004, Icarus 168] using an analytical expression of the radio wave scattering in the meteor plasma; however, our numerical model eliminates a number of assumptions that were made in that work, including the requirement that the meteor is small compared to the radar wavelength.