Engineering topics

Durden, Stephen L.

Publications and source records attributed to Durden, Stephen L..

62 records · Page 4

NASA NTRS1992

Modeling Characteristics Of Surfaces For Radar Polarimetry

Paper reviews mathematical models of polarimetric radar backscattering characteristics of various types of terrain; forests, grasslands, and lava fields. Represents approach to imaging radar polarimetry in which one accumulates models predicting realistic polarization signatures and represent distinct scattering processes, without attempting full vector solutions of Maxwell's equations in all cases. Idea to develop ability to invert models to identify unknown terrain depicted in polarimetric radar images. Describes models, major scattering characteristics predicted by models, and interpretation of characteristics in terms of dominant scattering mechanisms. Models predict realistic polarization signatures.

Van Zyl, Jakob J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Calibrated imaging radar polarimetry - Technique, examples, and applications

The authors developed a calibration procedure for imaging radar polarimeters and applied it to a set of images acquired by the NASA DC-8 multifrequency radar system. The technique requires the use of ground reflectors known cross-section for absolute calibration, that is, solution for sigma exp 0; however, the image data themselves can usually provide all information necessary for phase calibration and for antenna crosstalk correction. The accuracy of the approach, as measured by calculating the cross-section residuals of known targets in each calibrated scene, is on the order of +/- 1-2 dB at P- and C-band, but improves to +/- 0.5 dB at L-band. The authors present the results of applying this technique to radar scenes of lava flows of varying roughness, temperate and tropical rain forests, and ocean water surfaces. They also present several example applications which are feasible with calibrated data but which would be difficult to implement with uncalibrated data.

Zebker, Howard A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Radar measurement of L-band signal fluctuations caused by propagation through trees

Fluctuations of an L-band, horizontally polarized signal that was transmitted from the ground through a coniferous forest canopy to an airborne radar are examined. The azimuth synthetic aperture radar (SAR) impulse response in the presence of the measured magnitude fluctuations shows increased sidelobes over the case with no trees. Statistics of the observed fluctuations are similar to other observations.

Durden, Stephen L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Polarimetric radar measurements of a forested area near Mt. Shasta

The authors present the results of an experiment using the NASA/JPL DC-8 AIRSAR (aircraft synthetic-aperture radar) over a coniferous forest near Mt. Shasta (California) in 1989. Calibration devices were deployed in clearings and under the forest canopy and passes at 20, 40, and 55 deg incidence angles were made with the AIRSAR. A total of eight images at differing incidence angles have been processed and calibrated. The multipolarization, multifrequency data were examined, and it was found that the C-band cross section averaged over like and cross polarizations is the best parameter for distinguishing between two stands with differing forest biomass. The average cross section at P- and L-bands is useful only for smaller incidence angles. Parameters describing the polarization behavior of the scattering were primarily useful in identifying the dominant scattering mechanisms for forest backscatter. It was found that both branch scattering and ground/tree interactions are important at P-band. At L-band and C-bands, the return is primarily from the canopy. Comparison with model calculations verified this conclusion.

Durden, Stephen L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The unpolarized component in polarimetric radar observations of forested areas

A polarimetric radar measures the complete scattering matrix of a target. For the forest and other natural targets, the average return is, in general, partially polarized. Conditions on the second-order statistics of the scattering matrix under which the return is fully polarized are derived, and it is shown that these conditions are connected with the eigenvalues of the covariance matrix. The result of this analysis is a set of three quantities which indicate the ability of a scatterer to generate an unpolarized component. These quantities for forested areas are shown.

Durden, Stephen L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A numerical study of the separation wavenumber in the two-scale scattering approximation

The choice of the separation wavenumber Kd for the two-scale scattering approximation is examined by the comparison of two-scale calculations with exact numerical solutions using the moment method. It was found that the optimal choice of Kd is near k/2 when attempting to optimize for all incidence angles. When optimizing for specific incidence angles, Kd varied from k/5 at low incidence angles to just below k at higher incidence angles. These numerical results are in rough agreement with previous theoretical derivations of the separation wavenumber.

Durden, Stephen L.↗

NASA NTRS1989

On the ability of rough surface scattering approximations to predict hydrodynamic modulation of the ocean radar cross section - A numerical study

Scattering from the ocean surface at microwave frequencies is often described by the Bragg scattering model or the two-scale model. Here, the ability of these models to predict cross section modulation is investigated by comparing Bragg and two-scale cross-sections with cross sections calculated by a numerical electromagnetic approach. The numerical method is used as the standard of comparison. For slightly rough surfaces, the Bragg model is found to be very accurate, but for much rougher surfaces, the two-scale model is superior and should be used for calculating both the absolute cross section and the change in cross section due to spatial or temporal modulation of the ocean wave height spectrum. These results are relevant to the interpretation of SAR images of ocean surface phenomena which perturb the wave height spectrum at ripple wavelengths.

Durden, Stephen L.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Modeling and observation of the radar polarization signature of forested areas

To understand radar measurements of forested areas, the authors have developed a model of L-band (25-cm) microwave scattering from a forest. The forest floor is modeled as a rough dielectric surface above which is a layer of nearly vertical dielectric cylinders representing tree trunks. Above this layer is a second layer consisting of randomly oriented cylinders which represent branches. The authors identify several scattering mechanisms and calculate the corresponding Stokes matrices, which combine to give the total Stokes matrix and resulting polarization signature. It is found that this simple model permits accurate prediction of the polarization of the scattered waves and that additional mechanisms, including the effects of leaves and twigs, are not required for the 25-cm observation of the forests studied. The authors present measurements of the polarization signature acquired over a forested area and show comparisons with model calculations.

Durden, Stephen L.↗