Variations in Meteoric Radio Signal Decay Rates

The rate of decay of the radio signal reflected from an underdense meteor trail is usually considered to be a simple function of trail height. In fact a large scatter is found in decay rates measured by means of radar or backscatter observations and this dispersion persists for forward-scatter measurements, where the decay rates can be measured with greater precision. The scatter persists even for measurements made at different radio frequencies on the same trail. The results of calculations are presented which indicate that the observed degree of variation in decay rates could result from nonuniformities in the trail ionization.