SkyTel.

This is further reference material for our investigation of multistatic radar (active and passive) for detection of
Meteor Burst Communication (MBC) plasma trails, for purposes of optimization of use of the trail for communications, and
for determination of MBC trail location and trajectory, as an element of MB GNSS-independent location (PNT overall). As
with our other materials on Scribd, especially on MBC, this is for use by our staff and partners, with regard to certain relevant
information in the public domain we can put on Scribd.
Passive Radar and the Low Frequency Array
Frank D. Lind(1), John D. Sahr(2)
(1)
MIT Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 USA
flind@haystack.mit.edu
(2)
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Box 352500, Seattle, WA 98152 USA
jdsahr@u.washington.edu

ABSTRACT

The proposed Low Frequency Array will be a powerful new radio telescope operating in the 15 to 240 MHz range.
LOFAR will be a fully digital instrument with tens of thousands of antennas and receivers. In the currently proposed
configuration LOFAR will also be capable of operating as a high performance passive radar system using FM radio
stations as signals of opportunity. In this mode of operation LOFAR will observe geophysical targets such as
ionospheric irregularities and meteor trails with high resolution in range, velocity, azimuth, and elevation. These
phenomenon may be important to the operation of LOFAR as a radio telescope because of their potential to interfere
with astronomical observations.

INTRODUCTION

The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) will be a major advance for Radio Astronomy applications. It is the first fully
digital radio telescope array and it will explore an interesting and under investigated region of the radio spectrum.
Because LOFAR is designed to operate at HF and VHF frequencies this instrument faces a large set of challenges
associated with mitigating the impact of the ionosphere on its operation. This requirement is also an opportunity because
the sensitivity of the array to ionospheric phenomenon and the systems needed to mitigate their impact form the basis of
a powerful ionospheric observatory. Thus LOFAR is a chance for the Ionospheric Radio Science community to work
closely with Radio Astronomers in a manner that is of great mutual benefit. One area that will be particularly important
to LOFAR is the diagnosis of observational problems that are due to meter scale ionospheric irregularities. Passive
Radar is a technique for observing these irregularities that could act as such a diagnostic and it is well suited for use with
radio telescope arrays.

PASSIVE RADAR

Passive radar is a technique for observing targets of interest using radio signals already present in the environment [1]. A
typical passive radar architecture is shown in Fig. 1. By intercepting both the signal radiated by a transmitter and the

SkyTel MBC system will

have master stations and
some relay stations always
sending pooling and comm
broadcast (and other) data
constantly, and thus can
also be used for this form of
"passive" radar.

Besides detection of MBC

plasma trails, it will detect
other things of value to
science, defense, etc.

Fig. 1. A typical multi-static passive radar system.

Generally, advanced radar using stations nationwide in combination, in VHF frequencies, leverage MBC nationwide
communication network, should have many useful benefits, especially compared to modest incremental cost to the MBC
Comm network itself.
 But other techniques not noted herein
should, per other studies, greatly
Fig. 2. Passive Radar signal processing.
increase accuracies.
scatter from targets of interest it is possible to make traditional radar measurements. The range, doppler shift, and
bearing of point and volume scatterers can all be determined with an accuracy that depends on the nature of the
illuminating waveform and the characteristics of the passive radar system. The signal processing associated with a
passive radar system is shown in Fig. 2 and can be computationally intensive.

In most cases the signals used by a passive radar will be generated by non-cooperative illuminators such as radio or
television stations. This type of illuminator is present in most of the world, radiates significant power, and in many cases
transmits signals that are well suited to radar applications. The technique can also be applied to signals from a
cooperative illuminator such as an active radar system. This case is similar to more traditional forms of bistatic or
multistatic radar. For radio astronomy applications both the cooperative and non-cooperative illuminators are interferers.

Many signals of opportunity for passive radar applications are available in the proposed frequency range of the Low
Frequency Array. In particular the FM radio band between 88 and 108 MHz (U.S.) has been used successfully to make
observations of aircraft, meteors, and ionospheric E-region irregularities using the Manastash Ridge Radar system [2]. A
radio telescope such as the Low Frequency Array has the potential to perform extraordinarily well as a passive radar and
there is a natural similarity between the designs of modern radio telescope arrays and advanced passive radar systems.

THE LOW FREQUENCY ARRAY

The Low Frequency Array is a new radio telescope being developed for operation in the 15 to 240 MHz frequency range
by a collaboration between ASTRON (Netherlands), NRL, and MIT. This system will consist of approximately 13,000
dipoles in the frequency range from 15 to 90 MHz and 213,000 dipoles in the 110 to 240 MHz band. The instrument will
possess one square kilometer of collecting area at 15 MHz in its current design. The antennas will be organized in a
spiral configuration of roughly 100 stations with inter-station baselines of up to 400 km. These stations will be linked
with optical fibers and digital receivers will be used at the antenna element level. Between 2 and 4 MHz of spectral
bandwidth will be transmitted for processing at any instant in time out of a digitized bandwidth of 32 MHz. High
performance digital systems and signal processing will be used to allow real time beamforming of multiple independent
beams, transient detection and capture, and flexible remote operation of the instrument.
SkyTel. Nationwide MBC as being planned, in mature phase, will have multistatic radar capability, with over 100 fixed stations
and baselines of less and more than this, and ample land and facilties (MBC stations have antennas near ground, not on
structures: and generally in RF quiet rural areas with ample acreage, etc.). Other techiques than noted herein promise the
perormance needed, but the concepts herein may also be investigated and to some degree used, for both the MBC purposes
noted above and other very useul radar applications for science, industry, defence, etc.
 Fig. 3. Typical E-region irregularity observations using passive radar.

The basic technology of the LOFAR digital beamforming phased array will also be a major advance for passive radar
applications. Current passive radar systems for observing geophysical targets use a multistatic geometry similar to that
shown in Fig. 1. Such instruments take advantage of distance and topography to obtain sufficient dynamic range for
observing targets of interest. The ability of LOFAR to digitally form antenna patterns in multiple directions will enable
the detection of weak scatterers while excluding the illuminator's direct signal. This can be done in a straightforward
manner by directing sensitivity in appropriate directions. The ability to reject interferers is also an important issue for the
radio astronomy applications of the instrument. Operation of LOFAR in the band between 90 and 110 MHz (which is
currently excluded from radio astronomy observations) should not be difficult due to the characteristics of the proposed
low frequency antennas.

IONOSPHERIC PHENOMENON

Ionospheric irregularities such as those shown in Fig. 3 are generated in the E-region of the ionosphere (110 km). The E-
region is a boundary region where the ionospheric electron plasma is magnetized but the molecular ion plasma is not.
Strong electric fields in this region can generate meter scale ion acoustic waves via a two stream instability between
these plasmas. The generation of the irregularities is strongly coupled to the orientation of the magnetic field due to the
ExB plasma drift of the electrons which couples energy into irregularity growth when the electron drift velocity exceeds
the ion plasma sound speed. The density perturbations associated with these waves can reach 10% of the ambient plasma
density and the irregularity scattering regions are highly structured on kilometer scales due to variations in the driving
electric field and background plasma and neutral density gradients. An example of such large scale structure is shown in
Fig. 4, as observed by the Millstone Hill UHF radar system, where the upper right panel shows the equivalent electron
density cross-section (log-scale) of the irregularities in terms of geometric distance from the radar. The irregularities can
evolve with the fluctuation of the driving electric fields on time scales shorter than a second and they can persist as long
as the electric field is sufficiently strong. A recent overview of the theory and experiment associated with E-region
irregularities at high and mid-latitudes is given in Sahr and Fejer [3].
 Fig. 4. The spatial structure of E-region irregularities observed by the Millstone Hill Radar

Observation of these irregularities are often made using HF, VHF, and UHF radar systems via a “bragg like” scattering
process where the radar wave vector scatters from a particular wavelength in the plasma where the ionospheric
irregularities are present. This scattering occurs where the radio signal is perpendicular to the Earth's magnetic field and
has been observed from the low HF to S-Band. In the meter scale bands observed by LOFAR the scattering can be
extraordinarily strong and it is certain that when E-region irregularities are present in the portion of the ionosphere
visible to LOFAR (whatever site is finally selected) they will scatter interfering radio signals into the array and distort
observations made through the irregularity regions. At the very least the irregularities can “blind” the radio telescope to
observation in a particular portion of the sky. During E-region irregularity events it will be possible to study the
irregularities using LOFAR as a passive radar system. Although such analysis could be made by capturing data and
processing it offline a real time passive radar processing system for LOFAR might be an excellent way to diagnose such
conditions as they occur. This could allow dynamic rescheduling of radio astronomy observations to avoid the regions
where imaging would be problematic due to the irregularities.

REFERENCES

[1] J.D. Sahr, F.D. Lind, “Passive radio remote sensing of the atmosphere using transmitters of opportunity,” Radio
Science, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 2345-2358, November-December 1997.

[2] F.D. Lind, J.D. Sahr, “First passive radar observations of E-region irregularities,” Geophys. Res. Lett., vol. 26, no.
14, pp. 2155-2158, July 1999.

[3] J.D. Sahr, B.G. Fejer, “Auroral electrojet plasma irregularity theory and experiment: A critical review of present
understanding and future directions,” J. Geophys. Res., vol. 101, pp. 26893-26909, December 1996.