Statistical characterization of the meteor trail distribution at the South Pole as seen by a VHF interferometric meteor radar

Abstract

A VHF meteor radar system was installed at the geographical South Pole in 2001. The purpose of this system is to measure the horizontal wind field in the mesosphere–lower thermosphere (MLT) region and to understand the large‐scale dynamics of the Antarctic polar region. The radar operated for a few months in 2001 and with minor interruptions since that time. In this paper we will describe the meteor radar system, the data detection and collection process, and the postprocessing software that was developed to extract information from the meteor echoes collected with the interferometer that is part of the radar system. Finally, the main features of the meteor distribution will be presented and discussed. Our results show that the meteor activity peaks during the Antarctic summer. Furthermore, it occurs mostly in a small region around the ecliptic plane roughly ∼20° wide in terms of elevation angle spread.