Communicating Snowmelt Data Using Meteor-burst Technology: "When a meteor hits the earth's atmosphere and burns up, it creates a trail of ionized or charged particles. This meteor-burst trail can reflect radio waves and thus acts as a natural satellite. When harnessed for communication purposes, meteor-burst technology is less expensive than satellite transmission and nearly as reliable. [It was] used during the Gulf War by the American military.. Because the earth is constantly being bombarded by meteors, a signal or "probing wave" sent by WAPDA's Lahore headquarters usually takes less than a minute to reach a data collection platform (DCP) located in a remote catchment in mountains hundreds of kilometres away.The DCP units are programmed to collect data on an hourly basis and transmit data to the master station when triggered by a probing wave. "  Full article has contact info, incl Naser Faruqui, Senior Program Officer, (613) 236-6163 ext. 2321; nfaruqui@idrc.ca and Warren Bell, Principal Hydrotechnical Engineer, BC Hydro; Tel (616) 528-3093; Email: warren.bell@bchydro.com .  10:48:18 PM