An Improved UWB Microwave Radar for Very Long-Range Measurements of Snow Cover

• Published in: IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement
• Main Authors: Rodriguez-Morales, Fernando, Leuschen, Carlton, Carabajal, Calen L., Paden, John, Wolf, J. Ambrose, Garrison, Sean, McDaniel, Jay W.
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: 46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; Arctic
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1841131; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1841131; https://doi.org/10.1109/tim.2020.2982813

We present an ultra-wideband (UWB) frequency-modulated (FM) microwave radar capable of preserving cm-scale vertical resolution from very long range (verified up to ~6 km). The system can operate either as a conventional frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar (2 GHz to 18 GHz) or in time-delayed stretch processing mode (2 GHz to 14 GHz), providing high sensitivity, fine range resolution and very low range sidelobes. We present an overview of the system and laboratory tests results to validate its performance. Furthermore, we tested the system’s ability to map snow cover thickness on Arctic marine ice as a practical demonstration of its capabilities. Furthermore, we present sample results from airborne measurements carried out at altitudes between ~500-m to ~6 km above ground level onboard a long-range fixed-wing platform.