Dual-beam interferometry for ocean surface current vector mapping

The recent use of along-track interferometry (ATI) in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has shown promise for synoptic measurement of ocean surface currents. ATI-SARs have been used to estimate wave fields, currents, and current features. This paper describes and analyzes a dual-beam along-track interferometer to provide spatially resolved vector surface velocity estimates with a single pass of an aircraft. The design employs a pair of interferometer beams, one squinted forward and one squinted aft. Each interferometric phase is sensitive to the component of surface Doppler velocity in the direction of the beam. Therefore, a proper combination of these measurements provides a vector surface velocity estimate in one pass of the aircraft. The authors find that precise measurements dictate widely spaced beams and that the spatial resolution for the squinted SAR is essentially identical to the sidelooking case. Practical instrument design issues are discussed, and an airborne system currently in development is described. Through computer simulation, they observe the azimuthal displacement of interferometric phases by moving surfaces identical to those of conventional SAR and find that such displacement can bias the estimated surface velocity     

顺轨干涉SAR浅海地形成像建模及其最优雷达观测参数分析

该文基于浅海海流动力模型、波流交互模型、后向散射模型以及Doppler谱模型对顺轨干涉SAR浅海地形成像进行了建模.利用建立的成像模型,在准1维近似的条件下对不同雷达频率、入射角、顺轨基线长度以及极化方式等参数对顺轨干涉SAR浅海地形成像的影响进行了探讨.在成像延时低于海面去相关时间的前提下,高频率、大入射角以及长顺轨基线条件比较适合于顺轨干涉SAR浅海地形成像;而极化方式对顺轨干涉相位变化的影响不大,如果综合考虑信噪比等因素的影响,VV极化仍是顺轨干涉SAR浅海地形成像的首选极化方式.     

Measurement of river surface currents with coherent microwave systems

River surface currents have been measured using coherent microwave systems from a bridge, a cableway, several riverbanks, a helicopter, and an airplane. In most cases, the microwave measurements have been compared with conventional measurements of near-surface currents and found to be accurate to within about 10 cm/s. In all cases, the basis for the microwave measurement of surface current is the Doppler shift induced in the signal backscattered from the rough water surface. In this paper, we outline the principles of the measurements and the various implementations that have been used to make microwave measurements of surface currents. Continuous-wave (CW) microwave systems have been used from a bridge to make long-term measurements of surface currents; these are compared with current-meter measurements and with time series of stage. A compact CW system has been developed and used on a cableway to measure surface currents at various distances across a river; these measurements have been compared with acoustic ones. Pulsed Doppler radars have been used to measure river surface currents from a riverbank, a helicopter, and an airplane. In the first two cases, comparisons with both current-meter and acoustic measurements have been made. We suggest that the CW system would be preferable to the pulsed Doppler radar to make such measurements from helicopters in the future. Finally, we consider the implications of our experiments for the measurement of surface currents from aircraft or satellites using interferometric synthetic aperture radars (INSARs). We find that a combination along-track, cross-track INSAR is necessary but that significant limitations are inherent in the technique.     

H.F. ionospheric radar ground-scatter map showing land-sea boundaries by a spectral-separation technique

Ionospherically propagated h.f. radio waves that have been backscattered from the sea can often be distinguished from those backscattered from land because of their different Doppler spectra. This characteristic has been exploited to generate an ionospheric radar map of the south-east United States from Boulder, Colo., by gating out the sea-scatter Doppler components. The agreement between the observed and actual land-sea boundaries is good.     

Automatic Extraction of Traffic Flows Using TerraSAR-X Along-Track Interferometry

Spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) offers great potential for the measurement of ground traffic flows. A SAR with multiple receiving apertures aligned in flight direction repeatedly images the same ground area with a short time lag. This allows for an effective detection of moving ground objects, whose range variation translates into an interferometric phase signal between the receiving channels. The high-resolution German SAR satellite TerraSAR-X offers several ways to create multiple along-track apertures. We exploit this to demonstrate satellite-based traffic-flow measurements using along-track interferometry (ATI) and Displaced Phase Center Array techniques. In this paper, we address the usage of different TerraSAR-X ATI modes for data acquisition and describe an automatic near-real-time processing chain for the extraction of traffic information. The performance of this TerraSAR-X traffic processor is significantly driven by incorporating a priori knowledge of road networks. We present examples of automatic traffic detection as well as empirical evaluations thereof using different kind of reference data.      

Directional ocean wave measurements in a coastal setting using afocused array imaging radar

A unique focused array imaging Doppler radar was used to measure directional spectra of ocean surface waves in a nearshore experiment performed on the North Carolina Outer Banks. Radar images of the ocean surface's Doppler velocity were used to generate two dimensional spectra of the radial component of the ocean surface velocity field. These are compared to simultaneous in-situ measurements made by a nearby array of submerged pressure sensors. Analysis of the resulting two-dimensional spectra include comparisons of dominant wave lengths, wave directions, and wave energy accounting for relative differences in water depth at the measurement locations. Limited estimates of the two-dimensional surface displacement spectrum are derived from the radar data. The radar measurements are analagous to those of interferometric synthetic aperture radars (INSAR), and the equivalent INSAR parameters are shown. The agreement between the remote and in-situ measurements suggests that an imaging Doppler radar is effective for these wave measurements at near grazing incidence angles     

Radar measurements at 16.5 GHz in the oceanic evaporation duct

A series of radar measurements is presented that demonstrates that a 16.5-GHz radar, located at typical shipboard antenna heights, can effectively utilize the existence of the oceanic evaporation duct to achieve surface ship detection ranges of more than twice the standard horizon range. Observations of surface targets of opportunity made at two sites on the US Pacific coast from July 1984 through January 1986 agree with predictions from a simple propagation model. This model combines a single-mode waveguide approximation with a model of the surface target's radar cross-section distribution to determine the maximum radar detection range for various evaporation duct heights. A frequency distribution of predicted detection range is given, based on the evaporation duct climatology for two locations. Although the radar measurements and the predictions are for a specific frequency, it is thought to be highly probable that the model can be extended to predict the performance of surface-search radars operating at other frequencies and in other areas of the ocean     

Focused synthetic aperture radar processing of ice-sounder datacollected over the Greenland ice sheet

The authors developed a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing algorithm for airborne/spaceborne ice-sounding radar systems and applied it to data collected in Greenland. By using focused SAR (phase-corrected coherent averaging), they improved along-track resolution by a factor of four and provided a 6-dB processing gain over unfocused SAR (coherent averaging without phase correction) based on a point-target analysis for a Greenland ice-sounding data set. Also, They demonstrated that the focused-SAR processing reduced clutter and enabled them to identify bedrock-interface returns buried in clutter. Using focused-SAR technique, they processed data collected over a key 360-km-long portion of the 2000-m contour line of southwest Greenland. To the best of their knowledge, these are the first high-quality radar ice thickness measurements over this key location. Moreover, these ice-thickness measurements have been used for improving mass-balance estimates of the Greenland ice sheet     

电离层和海态对天波雷达多普勒谱的影响

在Walsh海杂波模型的基础上,结合实测天波超视距雷达(over the horizon radar, OTHR)回波数据,同时考虑海面洋流、电离层垂直运动以及电离层非平稳性引起的相位污染的影响,提出了改进的OTHR海杂波模型。利用改进模型,从OTHR检测舰船速度盲区的角度深入分析了海态和电离层非平稳性对OTHR多普勒谱的影响。仿真数据和实测数据的对比说明了改进模型能够较好的模拟实测海杂波,得出的结论为选择最佳的OTHR工作参数和电离层传播信道提供了理论参考。      

利用KWT进行动目标成像的三通道SAR-GMTI快速目标运动参数估计

该文提出一种基于Keystone-Wigner变换进行运动目标成像的快速目标参数估计方法。快速目标的径向速度会引起距离走动和方位多普勒偏移,仅根据干涉相位值无法获取准确的动目标多普勒中心,而辅以走动率信息则可以解多普勒中心模糊以得到正确的径向速度估计。动目标沿航向速度会引起方位调频率的改变,导致在常规SAR图像中动目标方位散焦,校正动目标距离走动后提取目标信号进行KWT分析,得到动目标调频率值,此时再取干涉相位求得径向速度,最后得到沿航向速度。该文在Dechirp域进行动目标检测,在提取快速目标径向速度过程中同时考虑了脉冲重复频率(PRF)模糊和干涉相位模糊,并最终实现了快速目标的准确定位和测速。实测数据处理结果验证了所提出方法的有效性。     

平台运动引起Bragg海浪谱的展宽及其压缩方法

基于运动叠加原理，推导了以Ｄｏｐｐｌｅｒ频率表征的雷达平台运动条件下高频段海浪杂波的运动方程及由平台运动引起的Ｂｒａｎｎ海浪谱的展宽式，给出了受平台运动调制的Ｂｒａｇｇ浪回波与目标信号在Ｄｏｐｐｌｅｒ域里的二阶模糊关系和动用ＳＴ－ＷＤ（Ｓｈｏｒｔ Ｔｉｍｅ Ａｖｅｒａｇｅ Ｗｉｇｎｅｒ－Ｖｉｌｌｅ Ｄｉｓｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎ；短时间平均Ｗｉｇｎｅｒ－Ｗｉｌｌｅ分布）技术对一阶海浪回波信号的高频相位进     

Comparisons between measured and theoretical results forC- and Ku-bands backscatter from naturally occurringinternal wave current patterns

Predicted and measured values of radar backscatter and of internal wave surface currents are compared using data obtained during the SCATTMOD internal wave experiment. Radar backscatter and surface truth measurements were obtained during six days in August 1985 and cover nine sets of tide-generated internal waves in the Georgia Strait, Canada. The radar portion of this data consists of approximately 75 sets each of C- and Ku-band fanbeam airborne scatterometer signals, each processed to 25 incidence angles and an along-track resolution of either 12.5 or 6.25 m. Aircraft navigation data were also recorded, simultaneous surface measurements, including wave slope, wave height, current, wind, and ship position, were obtained from the CFAV Endeavour. Current meter were located both fore and aft to allow internal wave-phase velocity estimates to be computed     

Rough surface wavelength measurement through self mixing of Doppler microwave backscatter

A microwave backscatter technique is presented that has the ability to sense the dominant surface wavelength of a random rough surface. The purpose of this technique is to perform this measurement from an aircraft or spacecraft, wherein the horizontal velocity of the radar is an important parameter of the measurement system. Attention will be directed at water surface conditions for which a dominant wavelength can be defined, then the spatial variations of reflectivity will have a two dimensional spectrum that is sufficiently close to that of waves to be useful. The measurement concept is based on the relative motion between the water waves and a nadir looking radar, and the fact that while the instantaneous Doppler frequency at the receiver returned by any elementary group of scatterers on a water wave is monotonically changing, the difference in the Doppler frequency between any two scattering "patches" stays approximately constant as these waves travel parallel to the major axis of an elliptical antenna footprint. The results of a theoretical analysis and a laboratory experiment with a continuous wave (CW) radar that encompasses several of the largest waves in the illuminated area show how the structure in the Doppler spectrum of the backscattered signal is related to the surface spectrum and its parameters in an especially direct and simple way when an incoherent envelope detector is the receiver.     

A test of ocean surface-current mapping with over-the-horizon radar

A two-day test with a decametric over-the-horizon (OTH or ionospheric) radar in Virginia attempted to map the radial component of ocean surface currents over a 210 000 km² area that includes the Florida Straits and parts of the Gulf of Mexico as distant as 1500 km. Ionospheric motions distort and bias individual measurements, but their effects are mitigated by a combination of strategies that take advantage of the different space and time scales of oceanic and ionospheric motions. In addition, nearby land echoes are used as zero Doppler references to correct for ionospheric shifts. The result is a composite picture of the Florida Current and ancillary surface flows with 10-15-km resolution. The picture agrees quantitatively with known currents in the region, but reveals dynamical features with new detail. Concurrent sea-surface topography in the Gulf of Mexico, derived using tandem altimetric observations from the TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-1 satellites, confirms that a region where the OTH radar measures a southwestward current greater than 1 m/s^-1 coincides with the confluence of the Tortugas Gyre and the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current. These results suggest that consistent surface current maps can be constructed by using OTH radar to repeatedly interrogate a region of interest, perhaps over several days     

基于笔形波束扫描雷达散射计的海洋表面流测量

为了研究利用雷达散射计进行海洋表面流直接测量的可行性,本文对传统雷达散射计系统参数进行了改进,推导了相关系数模型及去相关因素的表示形式,给出了相位误差模型,并建立了利用雷达散射计进行海洋表面流直接测量的端到端仿真模型.仿真结果表明,在风速大于5m/s的海况条件下,顺轨向和交轨向速度分量标准差可达0.1m/s以下.风速大于7m/s时,可用于海洋表面流反演的刈幅范围大于散射计刈幅宽度的40%.新型散射计的风单元传递误差无论是在低风速还是在高风速条件下均优于扇形波束扫描散射计的风单元传递误差.     

Simulation of ocean waves imaging by an along-track interferometricsynthetic aperture radar

A two-dimensional (2D) model for describing the imaging of ocean waves by an along-track interferometric synthetic aperture radar (AT-INSAR) is derived. It includes the modulation of the normalized radar cross section by the long waves, velocity bunching, and azimuthal image smear due to orbital acceleration associated with long waves and due to the orbital velocity spread within the AT-INSAR resolution cell (parameterized by the scene coherence time). By applying the Monte-Carlo method, AT-INSAR amplitude and phase image spectra are calculated for different sea states and radar configurations. The Monte-Carlo simulations show that velocity bunching affects the AT-INSAR imaging mechanism of ocean waves, and that a unimodal ocean wave spectrum may be mapped into a bimodal AT-INSAR phase image spectrum due to an interference between the velocity term and the velocity bunching term in the AT-INSAR imaging model. It is shown that the AT-INSAR imaging mechanism of ocean waves depends on the ratio of the scene coherence time and the time separation between the observations by the two antennas. If this ratio is larger than one, the AT-INSAR phase image spectra are distorted. Furthermore, the simulations show that the AT-INSAR phase image spectrum is quite insensitive to the ocean wave-radar modulation transfer function. Comparing AT-INSAR with conventional SAR imaging of ocean waves, the authors find that the azimuthal cut-off in AT-INSAR phase image spectra is shifted toward higher wavenumbers than in conventional SAR image spectra. This implies that AT-INSAR can resolve shorter azimuthal wavenumbers than conventional SAR. Thus the authors conclude that AT-INSAR phase images are better suited for measuring ocean waves spectra than conventional SAR images     

Studies of backscattered sea return with a CW, dual-frequency, X-band radar

A coherent, CW, dual-frequency,X-band radar was used to study microwave sea return from the Chesapeake Bay. It is shown that the product of the backscattered fields depends strongly on long surface wave properties. In particular, a sharp line is found in the product power spectrum whose frequency is that of the water wave whose wavelength is in resonance with the spatial period of the beat frequency between the two transmitted signals and whose wave vector is parallel to the horizontal line of sight. Thus, gravity wave dispersion relations can be obtained with the system. Furthermore, the degree of modulation of short waves by long ones is given by the intensity of the line. A broad background corresponding to the convolution of the single-frequency Doppler spectra is also seen in the product power spectrum. These results are shown to be interpretable by composite surface scattering theory.     

Transient interactions of an EM pulse with a dielectric sphericalshell

The authors study the scattering interaction of short electromagnetic pulses with a spherical target. The target is assumed penetrable and they model it as an air-filled dielectric shell. The radar cross-section (RCS) of such a target is obtained and its resonance features are analyzed. A dielectric composition makes the resonance features become very prominent compared with the case of a perfectly conducting sphere. When the interrogating waveform is a pulse of short duration, the resonance features of the RCS can be extracted within the frequency band of the spectrum of the incident pulse. To verify their theoretical predictions they illuminate spherical targets with short, broadband pulses using an impulse radar system. The actual shape of the pulse that is incident on the targets is theoretically modeled using a digital filter design technique together with pulse returns from a reference target. They verify that the shape of the predicted, backscattered pulse that results from their design method agrees well with the experimental findings using three additional targets of different sizes and materials. They investigate in the combined time-frequency domain the development in time of the various frequency features of the spectra of backscattered pulses using time-windowed Fourier transforms. The methodology developed can handle broadband pulses of any sufficiently smooth spectrum, interacting with (lossy or lossless) dielectric scatterers, and can extract resonance features within the frequency band of the spectrum of the transmitted pulse. Accordingly, this method could be also used for assessing the performance of high-power impulse radar systems     

基于多普勒谱优化的HRWS SAR系统通道相位偏差估计算法

方位多通道SAR系统通过抑制多普勒模糊,能够实现高分辨率和宽测绘带(HRWS)对地观测。针对通道间幅相偏差会导致成像结果中出现目标模糊分量的问题,该文提出一种通道相位偏差估计算法。该算法利用通道间相位偏差会造成多通道重构方位谱在主瓣内展宽的特性,通过优化多谱勒谱能够实现通道相位偏差的有效估计。该算法在通道相位偏差估计前不需要进行多普勒中心估计,减小了由多普勒中心估计不准引入的误差,并且在低信噪比的情况下仍然具有良好的估计性能。基于仿真数据和实测数据的实验验证了该文算法的有效性。