Published Paper Details:

The present semi-active phased array MST radar (32 by 32 Yagi-Uda antennae, total 1024 antennae) operating at the frequency of 53 MHz, has been augmented recently as fully-active phased array (FAPA) radar to study the atmospheric dynamics and turbulence in detail. During the last 25 years of operation as semi-active phased array (SAPA), the radar beam, with 3? beam width, could be tilted only in the north-south and east-west planes and hence the three dimensional spatial properties of turbulence and its evolution in time could not be studied. In the SAPA mode, each row/column of 32 antennae was powered by a single transmitter (9 � 180 kW of peak power) through electronic power dividers and couplers and the received echoes collected by a single (sometimes 2 receivers) receiver were processed to determine the characteristics of atmospheric turbulence. In the present case of FAPA, each and every antenna is powered individually with peak power of 1kW and a receiver module is attached. With this facility, it can be controlled the transmit beam pattern as well as its pointing direction so that a full four dimensional characteristics (space and time) of atmospheric turbulence can be studied. The main aim of the present project work is to study the generation, evolution and dissipation mechanisms of atmospheric turbulence and its imaging using multi power-patterns of the FAPA system and many digital receivers.