Measurements of ocean wave and current field using dual polarized X-band radar

A new ocean wave and sea surface current monitoring system with horizontally-(HH) and vertically-(VV) polarized X-band radar was developed.Two experiments into the use of the radar system were carried out at two sites,respectively,for calibration process in Zhangzi Island of the Yellow Sea,and for validation in the Yellow Sea and South China Sea.Ocean wave parameters and sea surface current velocities were retrieved from the dual polarized radar image sequences based on an inverse method.The results obtained from dual-polarized radar data sets acquired in Zhangzi Island are compared with those from an ocean directional buoy.The results show that ocean wave parameters and sea surface current velocities retrieved from radar image sets are in a good agreement with those observed by the buoy.In particular,it has been found that the vertically-polarized radar is better than the horizontally-polarized radar in retrieving ocean wave parameters,especially in detecting the significant wave height below 1.0 m.

A new method for the estimation of oceanic mixed-layer depth using shipboard X-band radar images

Shipboard X-band radar images acquired on 24 June 2009 are used to study nonlinear internal wave characteristics in the northeastern South China Sea.The studied images show three nonlinear internal waves in a packet.A method based on the Radon Transform technique is introduced to calculate internal wave parameters such as the direction of propagation and internal wave velocity from backscatter images.Assuming that the ocean is a two-layer finite depth system,we can derive the mixed-layer depth by applying the internal wave velocity to the mixed-layer depth formula.Results show reasonably good agreement with in-situ thermistor chain and conductivity-temperature-depth data sets.

Extraction of internal wave amplitude from nautical X-Band radar observations

One of the most important parameters for oceanic internal waves (IWs) is their amplitude. We have developed a method to retrieve the IW amplitude from nautical X-Band radar images based on the KdV equation for continuous stratified finite depth system. We have also tested the method of measuring the amplitude of IWs from X-Band radar backscatter image sequences acquired on June 2009 in the northeastern South China Sea. The method was applied in several radar images. Experiments show that the retrieval amplitudes are consistent with the in-situ observational amplitudes of IWs by using the towed thermistor chain and conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profile. The uncertainty of the method is also discussed.

Extraction of Sea-State Parameters with an X-Band Radar

Ocean wave spectrum and surface currents can be de- termined from a series of spatial wave images recorded by an X-band marine radar. In the absence of a surface current, the three-dimensional spectral energy found by using the series of images will be confined to a trajectory defined by the still water dispersion relationship. The presence of a surface current will make the three-dimensional spectral energy show a corresponding Doppler shift which may determine the current using the least squares method and obtain the directional wave spectrum. On the basis of conventional wave spectrum and directional function, the paper emulates a series of X-band radar images considering shadowing modulation and simulates numerically the three- dimensional image spectrum both with and without a surface cur- rent, calculates the current velocity by virtue of the Doppler shift, and obtains the two-dimensional image spectrum. Finally the pa- per analyzes measured wave level elevation—a function of time t to obtain one-dimensional image spectrum, and the data comes from an X-band radar in McMaster University.

Effect of Changes in Sea-Surface State on Statistical Characteristics of Sea Clutter with X-Band Radar

We have made observations of X-band radar sea clutter from the sea surface and sea-surface state in the Uraga Suido Traffic Route, which is used by ships entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, and the nearby Daini Kaiho Sea Fortress. We estimated the distributions of reflected amplitudes due to sea clutter using models that assume Weibull, Log-Weibull, Log-normal, and K-distributions. We then compared the results of estimating these distributions with sea-surface state data to investigate the effects of changes in the sea-surface state on the statistical characteristics of sea clutter. As a result, we showed that observed sub-ranges not containing a target conformed better to the Weibull distribution regardless of Significant Wave Height (SWH). Further, sub-ranges conforming to the Log-Weibull or Log-normal distribution in areas contained a target when the SWH was large, and as SWH decreases, sub-ranges conforming to a Log-normal. We also showed that for observed sub-ranges not containing a target, the shape parameter, c, of both Weibull and Log-Weibull distribution correlated with SWH. The correlation between wave period and shape parameters of Weibull and Log-Weibull distribution showed a weak correlation.

A novel algorithm for ocean wave direction inversion from X-band radar images based on optical flow method

As one of the important sea state parameters for navigation safety and coastal resource management, the ocean wave direction represents the propagation direction of the wave. A novel algorithm based on an optical flow method is developed for the ocean wave direction inversion of the ocean wave fields imaged by the X-band radar continuously. The proposed algorithm utilizes the echo images received by the X-band wave monitoring radar to estimate the optical flow motion, and then the actual wave propagation direction can be obtained by taking a weighted average of the motion vector for each pixel. Compared with the traditional ocean wave direction inversion method based on frequency-domain, the novel algorithm is fully using a time-domain signal processing method without determination of a current velocity and a modulation transfer function(MTF). In the meantime,the novel algorithm is simple, efficient and there is no need to do something more complicated here. Compared with traditional ocean wave direction inversion method, the ocean wave direction of derived by using this proposed method matches well with that measured by an in situ buoy nearby and the simulation data. These promising results demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the algorithm proposed in the paper.

A curvelet-based method to determine wave directions from nautical X-band radar images

A new method to determine wave directions from nautical X-band images is proposed. The signatures of ocean waves show obvious scale and directional characteristics in nautical X-band radar images. Curvelet transform(CT) possesses very high scale and directional sensitivities. Therefore, it has good capability to analyze ocean wave fields. The radar images are decomposed at different scales, in different directions, and at different positions by CT, and curvelet coefficients are obtained. Given to the scale and directional characteristics of surface waves,the information of ocean waves is centralized in the curvelet coefficients of certain directions and at certain scales.Therefore, the wave orientations can be determined. The 180 ambiguity is removed by calculating crosscorrelation coefficients(CCCs) between continuous collected images. The proposed method is verified by the dataset collected on the Northwest coast of the Zhangzi Island in the Yellow Sea of China from March to April 2009.

Ocean surface current retrieval and imaging with a new shore-based X-band radar based on time-shifted up-and-down linear frequency modulated signal

This paper proposes a multifunction radar that can not only measure sea currents but also perform sea-surface imaging.The fundamental aspect of the proposed radar comprises transmitting time-shifted up-and-down continuous wave linear frequency modulated signals that allow for the offset of two one-dimensional range images of the sea surface that respectively correspond to the upward linear frequency modulated(LFM)signal and the downward LFM signal.Owing to the Doppler frequency shift from the sea surface,a range offset,which is proportional to the radial velocity of the sea surface,occurs between the upward and downward LFM signals.By using the least-squares linear fitting method in the transformed domain,the range offset can be measured and the current velocity can be retrieved.Finally,we verify the accuracy of current measurement with simulation results.

Reduction of rain effect on wave height estimation from marine X-band radar images using unsupervised generative adversarial networks

An intelligent single radar image de-raining method based on unsupervised self-attention generative adversarial networks is proposed to improve the accuracy of wave height parameter inversion results.The method builds a trainable end-to-end de-raining model with an unsupervised cycle-consistent adversarial network as an AI framework,which does not require pairs of rain-contaminated and corresponding ground-truth rain-free images for training.The model is trained by feeding rain-contaminated and clean radar images in an unpaired manner,and the atmospheric scattering model parameters are not required as a prior condition.Additionally,a self-attention mechanism is introduced into the model,allowing it to focus on rain clutter when processing radar images.This combines global and local rain clutter context information to output more accurate and clear de-raining radar images.The proposed method is validated by applying it to actualfield test data,which shows that compared with the wave height derived from the original rain-contaminated data,the root-mean-square error is reduced by 0.11 m and the correlation coefficient of the wave height is increased by 14%using the de-raining method.These results demonstrate that the method effectively reduces the impact of rain on the accuracy of wave height parameter estimation from marine X-band radar images.

Application of X-band Polarimetric Phased-array Radars in Quantitative Precipitation Estimation

The performance of different quantitative precipitation estimation(QPE) relationships is examined using the polarimetric variables from the X-band polarimetric phased-array radars in Guangzhou,China.Three QPE approaches,namely,R(ZH),R(ZH,ZDR) and R(KDP),are developed for horizontal reflectivity,differential reflectivity and specific phase shift rate,respectively.The estimation parameters are determined by fitting the relationships to the observed radar variables using the T-matrix method.The QPE relationships were examined using the data of four heavy precipitation events in southern China.The examination shows that the R(ZH) approach performs better for the precipitation rate less than 5 mm h-1, and R(KDP) is better for the rate higher than 5 mm h-1, while R(ZH,ZDR) has the worst performance.An adaptive approach is developed by taking the advantages of both R(ZH) and R(KDP) approaches to improve the QPE accuracy.

Analysis of the joint detection capability of the SMILE satellite and EISCAT-3D radar

The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)satellite is a small magnetosphere–ionosphere link explorer developed cooperatively between China and Europe.It pioneers the use of X-ray imaging technology to perform large-scale imaging of the Earth’s magnetosheath and polar cusp regions.It uses a high-precision ultraviolet imager to image the overall configuration of the aurora and monitor changes in the source of solar wind in real time,using in situ detection instruments to improve human understanding of the relationship between solar activity and changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.The SMILE satellite is scheduled to launch in 2025.The European Incoherent Scatter Sciences Association(EISCAT)-3D radar is a new generation of European incoherent scatter radar constructed by EISCAT and is the most advanced ground-based ionospheric experimental device in the high-latitude polar region.It has multibeam and multidirectional quasi-real-time three-dimensional(3D)imaging capabilities,continuous monitoring and operation capabilities,and multiple-baseline interferometry capabilities.Joint detection by the SMILE satellite and the EISCAT-3D radar is of great significance for revealing the coupling process of the solar wind–magnetosphere–ionosphere.Therefore,we performed an analysis of the joint detection capability of the SMILE satellite and EISCAT-3D,analyzed the period during which the two can perform joint detection,and defined the key scientific problems that can be solved by joint detection.In addition,we developed Web-based software to search for and visualize the joint detection period of the SMILE satellite and EISCAT-3D radar,which lays the foundation for subsequent joint detection experiments and scientific research.

A target parameter estimation method via atom-reconstruction in radar mainlobe jamming

Mainlobe jamming(MLJ)brings a big challenge for radar target detection,tracking,and identification.The suppression of MLJ is a hard task and an open problem in the electronic counter-counter measures(ECCM)field.Target parameters and target direction estimation is difficult in radar MLJ.A target parameter estimation method via atom-reconstruction in radar MLJ is proposed in this paper.The proposed method can suppress the MLJ and simultaneously provide high estimation accuracy of target range and angle.Precisely,the eigen-projection matrix processing(EMP)algorithm is adopted to suppress the MLJ,and the target range is estimated effectively through the beamforming and pulse compression.Then the target angle can be effectively estimated by the atom-reconstruction method.Without any prior knowledge,the MLJ can be canceled,and the angle estimation accuracy is well preserved.Furthermore,the proposed method does not have strict requirement for radar array construction,and it can be applied for linear array and planar array.Moreover,the proposed method can effectively estimate the target azimuth and elevation simultaneously when the target azimuth(or elevation)equals to the jamming azimuth(or elevation),because the MLJ is suppressed in spatial plane dimension.

Overview of radar detection methods for low altitude targets in marine environments

In this paper,a comprehensive overview of radar detection methods for low-altitude targets in maritime environments is presented,focusing on the challenges posed by sea clutter and multipath scattering.The performance of the radar detection methods under sea clutter,multipath,and combined conditions is categorized and summarized,and future research directions are outlined to enhance radar detection performance for low-altitude targets in maritime environments.

Robust adaptive radar beamforming based on iterative training sample selection using kurtosis of generalized inner product statistics

In engineering application,there is only one adaptive weights estimated by most of traditional early warning radars for adaptive interference suppression in a pulse reputation interval(PRI).Therefore,if the training samples used to calculate the weight vector does not contain the jamming,then the jamming cannot be removed by adaptive spatial filtering.If the weight vector is constantly updated in the range dimension,the training data may contain target echo signals,resulting in signal cancellation effect.To cope with the situation that the training samples are contaminated by target signal,an iterative training sample selection method based on non-homogeneous detector(NHD)is proposed in this paper for updating the weight vector in entire range dimension.The principle is presented,and the validity is proven by simulation results.

Metal–Organic Gel Leading to Customized Magnetic‑Coupling Engineering in Carbon Aerogels for Excellent Radar Stealth and Thermal Insulation Performances

Metal–organic gel(MOG)derived composites are promising multi-functional materials due to their alterable composition,identifiable chemical homogeneity,tunable shape,and porous structure.Herein,stable metal–organic hydrogels are prepared by regulating the complexation effect,solution polarity and curing speed.Meanwhile,collagen peptide is used to facilitate the fabrication of a porous aerogel with excellent physical properties as well as the homogeneous dispersion of magnetic particles during calcination.Subsequently,two kinds of heterometallic magnetic coupling systems are obtained through the application of Kirkendall effect.FeCo/nitrogen-doped carbon(NC)aerogel demonstrates an ultra-strong microwave absorption of−85 dB at an ultra-low loading of 5%.After reducing the time taken by atom shifting,a FeCo/Fe3O4/NC aerogel containing virus-shaped particles is obtained,which achieves an ultra-broad absorption of 7.44 GHz at an ultra-thin thickness of 1.59 mm due to the coupling effect offered by dual-soft-magnetic particles.Furthermore,both aerogels show excellent thermal insulation property,and their outstanding radar stealth performances in J-20 aircraft are confirmed by computer simulation technology.The formation mechanism of MOG is also discussed along with the thermal insulation and electromagnetic wave absorption mechanism of the aerogels,which will enable the development and application of novel and lightweight stealth coatings.

Detection of UAV Target Based on Continuous Radon Transform and Matched Filtering Process for Passive Bistatic Radar

Long-time integration technique is an effective way of improving target detection performance for unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)in the passive bistatic radar(PBR),while range migration(RM)and Doppler frequency migration(DFM)may have a major effect due to the target maneuverability.This paper proposed an innovative long-time coherent integration approach,regarded as Continuous Radon-matched filtering process(CRMFP),for low-observable UAV target in passive bistatic radar.It not only mitigates the RM by collaborative research in range and velocity dimensions but also compensates the DFM and ensures the coherent integration through the matched filtering process(MFP).Numerical and real-life data following detailed analysis verify that the proposed method can overcome the Doppler mismatch influence and acquire comparable detection performance.

Coarse-fine joint target parameter estimation method based on AN-RSC in OFDM passive radar

In this paper,we study the accuracy of delay-Doppler parameter estimation of targets in a passive radar using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM)signal.A coarse-fine joint estimation method is proposed to achieve better estimation accuracy of target parameters without excessive computational burden.Firstly,the modulation symbol domain(MSD)method is used to roughly estimate the delay and Doppler of targets.Then,to obtain high-precision Doppler estimation,the atomic norm(AN)based on the multiple measurement vectors(MMV)model(MMV-AN)is used to manifest the signal sparsity in the continuous Doppler domain.At the same time,a reference signal compensation(RSC)method is presented to obtain highprecision delay estimation.Simulation results based on the OFDM signal show that the coarse-fine joint estimation method based on AN-RSC can obtain a more accurate estimation of target parameters compared with other algorithms.In addition,the proposed method also possesses computational advantages compared with the joint parameter estimation.

Equalization Reconstruction Algorithm Based on Reference Signal Frequency Domain Block Joint for DTMB-Based Passive Radar

Channel equalization plays a pivotal role within the reconstruction phase of passive radar reference signals.In the context of reconstructing digital terrestrial multimedia broadcasting(DTMB)signals for low-slow-small(LSS)target detection,a novel frequency domain block joint equalization algorithm is presented in this article.From the DTMB signal frame structure and channel multipath transmission characteristics,this article adopts a unconventional approach where the delay and frame structure of each DTMB signal frame are reconfigured to create a circular convolution block,facilitating concurrent fast Fourier transform(FFT)calculations.Following equalization,an inverse fast Fourier transform(IFFT)-based joint output and subsequent data reordering are executed to finalize the equalization process for the DTMB signal.Simulation and measured data confirm that this algorithm outperforms conventional techniques by reducing signal errors rate and enhancing real-time processing.In passive radar LSS detection,it effectively suppresses multipath and noise through frequency domain equalization,reducing false alarms and improving the capabilities of weak target detection.

Modulated-ISRJ rejection using online dictionary learning for synthetic aperture radar imagery

In electromagnetic countermeasures circumstances,synthetic aperture radar(SAR)imagery usually suffers from severe quality degradation from modulated interrupt sampling repeater jamming(MISRJ),which usually owes considerable coherence with the SAR transmission waveform together with periodical modulation patterns.This paper develops an MISRJ suppression algorithm for SAR imagery with online dictionary learning.In the algorithm,the jamming modulation temporal properties are exploited with extracting and sorting MISRJ slices using fast-time autocorrelation.Online dictionary learning is followed to separate real signals from jamming slices.Under the learned representation,time-varying MISRJs are suppressed effectively.Both simulated and real-measured SAR data are also used to confirm advantages in suppressing time-varying MISRJs over traditional methods.

BEV-radar:毫米波雷达-相机双向融合的三维目标检测

在自动驾驶场景下的3D目标检测任务中,探索毫米波雷达数据作为RGB图像输入的补充正成为多模态融合的新兴趋势。然而,现有的毫米波雷达-相机融合方法高度依赖于相机的一阶段检测结果,导致整体性能不够理想。本文提供了一种不依赖于相机检测结果的鸟瞰图下双向融合方法(BEV-radar)。对于来自不同域的两个模态的特征,BEV-radar设计了一个双向的基于注意力的融合策略。具体地,以基于BEV的3D目标检测方法为基础,我们的方法使用双向转换器嵌入来自两种模态的信息,并根据后续的卷积块强制执行局部空间关系。嵌入特征后,BEV特征在3D对象预测头中解码。我们在nu Scenes数据集上评估了我们的方法,实现了48.2 m AP和57.6 NDS。结果显示,与仅使用相机的基础模型相比,不仅在精度上有所提升,特别地,速度预测误差项有了相当大的改进。代码开源于https://github.com/Etah0409/BEV-Radar。