Forward scatter polarimetric measurements of terrain at 35 and 225 GHz

This paper describes ground based measurements of the forward scatter characteristics for a variety of terrains. The radar system used to make these measurements is a truck-based system of two radars at 35 GHz and 225 GHz. The 35 GHz radar is a coherent polarimeter, while the 225 GHz polarimeter is a non-coherent system. The measurement configuration employed allows forward scatter measurements to be made with a monostatic radar system. In this configuration, the receiver and transmitter are co-located and a trihedral corner reflector is located opposite. This polarization-preserving reflector is used to reflect the transmitted pulse back to the receiver. Therefore, the current monostatic configuration of the radars does not need to be modified and alignment problems are reduced. This paper provides a summary of the radar systems, and operational principles of polarimetry as applied to this problem. Finally, the experiments in and around Amherst, Massachusetts are presented along with comparisons to scattering models