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Shuttle photo
Shuttle
color photo
(left)
Shuttle
radar
(right)
Sending and Receiving a Pulse of
Microwave EMR - System Components
The pulse of electromagnetic radiation sent out by the transmitter
through the antenna is of a specific wavelength and duration (i.e.,
it has a pulse length measured in microseconds, msec).
Space
Shuttle
Color-
Infrared
Photograph
SIR-C Color
Composite:
• Red = C-band
HV
• Green = L-band
HV
• Blue = L-band
HH
Polarization
It is possible to:
a.
Ka - band, HH polarization look direction
b.
Ka - band, HV polarization N
Radar jargon
Radar
jargon
Azimuth
Direction
a.
X - band, HH polarization look direction
b.
s
X - band, HH polarization look direction
Jensen, 2000
RADAR
Resolution
The range resolution (Rr) at any point between the near and far-
range of the illuminated strip can be computed if the depression
angle () of the sensor at that location and the pulse length (t) are
known. It is possible to convert pulse length into distance by
multiplying it times the speed of light (c = 3 x 108 m sec-1). The
resulting distance is measured in the slant-range previously
discussed. Because we want to know the range resolution in the
ground-range (not the slant-range) it is necessary to convert slant-
range to ground-range by dividing the slant-range distance by the
cosine of the depression angle (). Therefore, the equation for
computing the range resolution is:
t . c
Rr = __________
2 cos
Range
Resolution
Azimuth
Resolution
S .
Ra = ___________
L
• foreshortening,
• layover, and
• shadowing.
RADAR Relief Displacement:
Foreshortening and Layover
interference signal
radar hologram Synthetic
9
Aperture
9 8 9 8 7
RADAR
7
6.5
9 8 7 6.5 9 8 7 6.5 7
d. e.
Fundamental Radar
Equation
1 1
Pr = Pt . Gt ____ Ar
4R2 4R2
˚ =
a
Expected surface
roughness back-scatter
from terrain
illuminated with 3 cm
wavelength microwave
energy with a
depression angle of
45˚.
Surface
Roughness
• The area with smooth surface roughness sends back very little
backscatter toward the antenna, i.e. it acts like a specular reflecting
surface where most of the energy bounces off the terrain away from
the antenna. The small amount of back-scattered energy returned to
the antenna is recorded and shows up as a dark area on the radar
image. The quantitative expression of the smooth criteria is:
h < ____
25 sin
h > ____
4.4 sin
Backscatter from bare surfaces
Backscatter from rough, bare surfaces