Exploration of the Lower Atmosphere with Millimeter-Wave Radar

Abstract

With the high peak power and large antenna gain of the WARLOC W-band (94 GHz) radar, clear-air radar returns from the lower atmosphere, which have no visible underlying scattering mechanism, have been observed. Due to their close resemblance to classical sea spikes from the sea surface scatter, the unknown phenomena are being referred to as air spikes. In this paper, a brief description of the high power WARLOC radar and preliminary observations of radar returns from air spikes are presented. Characteristics of air spikes in terms of height distribution, velocity response, volume density distribution, radar cross section, and spatial extent are discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 25, 2005
Accession Number
ADA454248

Entities

People

  • George J. Linde
  • Mai T. Ngo
  • Winjou J. Cheung

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Temperature
  • Altitude
  • Amplifiers
  • Atmospheres
  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Clear Air Turbulence
  • Elevation
  • Frequency
  • High Resolution
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Millimeter Wave Radar
  • Millimeter Waves
  • Peak Power
  • Radar
  • Radar Cross Sections
  • Turbulence

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Radar Systems Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • 5G
  • 5G - Internet of Things