A 150-MHz coherent radar system [ice cap sounding]

Author

Moore, R.K. ; Raju, G. ; Xin, W. ; Davis, C. ; Demarest, K.R. ; Rummer, D.I.

Author_Institution

Kansas Univ., Lawrence, KS, USA

fYear

1989

fDate

29-30 Mar 1989

Firstpage

42

Lastpage

47

Abstract

A 150-MHz coherent radar has been developed for sounding the Antarctic ice cap. The radar has a peak power of 20 W, but it has a chirp gain of 26 and coherent processing gain from 256 to 64000, depending on control settings and application. A low time-bandwidth product was required for the chirp, to allow operation from the surface of the ice with a minimum range of only 250 m. The system uses 17-MHz bandwidth to achieve about 5-m resolution in ice or about 9 m in air. A pair of SAW (surface acoustic wave) dispersive delay lines provide linear FM pulse expansion and compression. The RF and digital portions of the system are described along with the software. The radar was tested successfully in both surface and airborne modes in West Antarctica during December 1987

Keywords

computerised signal processing; geophysics computing; glaciology; height measurement; hydrological equipment; ice; microcomputer applications; radar applications; radar measurement; radar systems; 150 MHz; 17 MHz; 20 W; 250 to 1200 m; AD 1987; Antarctic ice cap; DSP; SAW dispersive delay lines; VHF; West Antarctica; airborne mode; chirp gain; coherent radar system; geophysics; glaciology; hydrology; instrument; linear FM pulse compression; linear FM pulse expansion; microcomputer DP system; sounding; surface mode; Acoustic pulses; Acoustic waves; Antarctica; Bandwidth; Chirp; Delay lines; Dispersion; Ice surface; Radar applications; Surface acoustic waves;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Radar Conference, 1989., Proceedings of the 1989 IEEE National

Conference_Location

Dallas, TX

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/NRC.1989.47613

Filename

47613