Design considerations for bistatic radar probing of winds in clear air conditions

A bistatic radar system for measurement of clear-air winds is considered. The proposed system exploits bistatic Bragg scattering from refractive index turbulence which is visible to short wavelength radars (e.g. C-band and higher frequencies) for particular scattering geometries. Beam-limited scattering volume is considered, and the relative influences of Bragg scattering and Rayleigh scattering from particulate tracers are compared, as well as their influences on retrieved wind estimates. Provided system design constraints can be addressed, systems with relatively low power (e.g. hundreds of watts) are feasible.