Reliability of X-band Dual-polarization Phased Array Radars Through Comparison with an S-band Dual-polarization Doppler Radar

Based on the observations of a squall line on 11 May 2020 and stratiform precipitation on 6 June 2020 from two X-band dual-polarization phased array weather radars(DP-PAWRs)and an S-band dual-polarization Doppler weather radar(CINRAD/SA-D),the data reliability of DP-PAWR and its ability to detect the fine structures of mesoscale weather systems were assessed.After location matching,the observations of DP-PAWR and CINRAD/SA-D were compared in terms of reflectivity(Z_(H)),radial velocity(V),differential reflectivity(Z_(DR)),and specific differential phase(K_(DP)).The results showed that:(1)DP-PAWR has better ability to detect mesoscale weather systems than CINRAD/SAD;the multi-elevation-angles scanning of the RHI mode enables DP-PAWR to obtain a wider detection range in the vertical direction.(2)DP-PAWR’s Z_(H)and V structures are acceptable,while its sensitivity is worse than that of CINRAD/SA-D.The Z H suffers from attenuation and the Z_(H)area distribution is distorted around strong rainfall regions.(3)DP-PAWR’s Z_(DR)is close to a normal distribution but slightly smaller than that of CINRAD/SA-D.The K_(DP)products of DP-PAWR have much higher sensitivity,showing a better indication of precipitation.(4)DP-PAWR is capable of revealing a detailed and complete structure of the evolution of the whole storm and the characteristics of particle phase variations during the process of triggering and enhancement of a small cell in the front of a squall line,as well as the merging of the cell with the squall line,which cannot be observed by CINRAD/SA-D.With its fast volume scan feature and dual-polarization detection capability,DP-PAWR shows great potential in further understanding the development and evolution mechanisms of meso-γ-scale and microscale weather systems.

Calibration method of phase distortions for cross polarization channel of instantaneous polarization radar system

A novel polarimetric calibration method for new target property measurement radar system is presented. Its applica- tion in the real radar system is also discussed. The analysis indicates that instantaneous polarization radar （[PR） has inherent cross-polarization measurement error. The proposed method can effectively eliminate this error, and thus enhance the polarization scattering matrix （PSM） measurement precision. The phase error caused by digital receiver＇s direct IF sampling and mixing of two orthogonal polarization channels can be removed. Consequently, the inherent error of target polarization scattering measurement of the instantaneous polarization radar system is well revised. It has good reference value for further ploarimetric calibration and high practical application prospect.

Study on the method of polarization suppression of cheating jamming in pulse Doppler radar

A jamming suppression method based on polarization signal detection is proposed under common range and velocity cheating jammingfor pulse Doppler radar. On the basis of the separation of the target and the jamming, the range and velocity track on the true target are realized. Firstly the signal processing model of the full polarization pulse Doppler radar is introduced. Secondly the method of correct target separation is discussed, which is the twice detections of energy and polarization state on the two dimension resolution cells of range and velocity of the radar echo. Finally the simulations are performed and the results prove the validity. What's more, multiple range and velocity cheating jamming can be suppressed at the same time if the target and the jamming are different in the polarization domain.

Modification of polarization filtering technique in HF ground wave radar

The polarization filter using three orthogonal linear polarization antennas can suppress more disturbances than the polarization filter using two orthogonal linear polarization antennas in HF ground wave radar. But the algorithm of the threedimension filter is relatively complicated and not suitable for real-time processing. It can＇t use linear and nonlinear polarization vector translation technique directly. A modified polarization filter which is simple and has same suppressing ability as the three-dimension polarization filter is given. It only has half parameters of the primary one. Some problems about estimation of polarization parameters and selection of disturbances are discussed. A method of holding the phase of radar backscatter signal constantly is put forward so that unstationary disturbance signal can be processed.

Polarization characteristics and controllability mechanism of passive scattering elements

Polarization feature is one of the important features of radar targets,which has been used in many fields.In this paper,the grid models of some typical foreign moving targets are constructed on the simulation platform,such as glider,cruiser,fixed wing aircraft,and rotorcraft.The electromagnetic scattering characteristics of the moving platforms under the incidence of circular polarization waves are calculated.The typical polarization characteristics which the orthogonal and in-phase components have in the echoes are analyzed and proved.Based on the polarization scattering matrix(PSM)theory,from the point of view of the physical reproduction,the technical status quo that the existing technical approaches are difficult to realize the passive simulation of polarization characteristic of the target is summarized.To solve this problem,combined with the vector synthesis law,the realization mechanism of controllable polarization characteristic of target echoes is proposed,the analytical expressions of polarization control matrix and polarization ratio are deduced,and the controllability of polarization ratio feature in the case of circular polarization is verified by simulation calculation.

Recent Progress in Dual-Polarization Radar Research and Applications in China

Dual-polarization(dual-pol)radar can measure additional parameters that provide more microphysical information of precipitation systems than those provided by conventional Doppler radar.The dual-pol parameters have been successfully utilized to investigate precipitation microphysics and improve radar quantitative precipitation estimation(QPE).The recent progress in dual-pol radar research and applications in China is summarized in four aspects.Firstly,the characteristics of several representative dual-pol radars are reviewed.Various approaches have been developed for radar data quality control,including calibration,attenuation correction,calculation of specific differential phase shift,and identification and removal of non-meteorological echoes.Using dual-pol radar measurements,the microphysical characteristics derived from raindrop size distribution retrieval,hydrometeor classification,and QPE is better understood in China.The limited number of studies in China that have sought to use dual-pol radar data to validate the microphysical parameterization and initialization of numerical models and assimilate dual-pol data into numerical models are summarized.The challenges of applying dual-pol data in numerical models and emerging technologies that may make significant impacts on the field of radar meteorology are discussed.

Practical calibration method for instantaneous polarization radar systems utilizing a metal sphere

A practical calibration method is proposed for instantaneous polarization radar systems.The method only needs one measurement by using a metal sphere.The distortions of system and the actual polarization scattering matrix（PSM）of target can be obtained.First,an instantaneous polarization radar system is presented.The system can obtain PSM by a single pulse echo.The dual-polarization antenna can transmit and receive two orthogonal polarization waves.The multilayer micro-strip patch antenna is adopted for this kind of radar system.Second,based on the multi-port network theory,the operation and system errors of instantaneous polarization radar system are analyzed.By making assumption on the cross-talk factors of antenna,distortion matrices of R and Tare derived.Finally,the calibration method based on instantaneous polarization measurement is introduced.Simulation results show the performance of this calibration method.The values of calibrated PSM are in agreement with the actual ones after calibration.

Identification and Removal of Non-meteorological Echoes in Dual-polarization Radar Data Based on a Fuzzy Logic Algorithm

A major issue in radar quantitative precipitation estimation is the contamination of radar echoes by non-meteorological targets such as ground clutter,chaff,clear air echoes etc.In this study,a fuzzy logic algorithm for the identification of non-meteorological echoes is developed using optimized membership functions and weights for the dual-polarization radar located at Mount Sobaek.For selected precipitation and non-meteorological events,the characteristics of the precipitation and non-meteorological echo are derived by the probability density functions of five fuzzy parameters as functions of reflectivity values.The membership functions and weights are then determined by these density functions.Finally,the nonmeteorological echoes are identified by combining the membership functions and weights.The performance is qualitatively evaluated by long-term rain accumulation.The detection accuracy of the fuzzy logic algorithm is calculated using the probability of detection（POD）,false alarm rate（FAR）,and clutter–signal ratio（CSR）.In addition,the issues in using filtered dual-polarization data are alleviated.

Experimental Research of Dual-Polarization Passive Radar Based on DTTB Signal

The passive radar is a hot research topic. A multi-channel wideband passive radar experimental system is designed and the digital television terrestrial broadcasting (DTTB) signal is chosen to carry out the target detection experiment of civil aviation aircraft. The polarization and spatial filtering methods are used to solve the strong direct path interference suppression problems brought by the receiving system location;combined with the characteristics of DTTB signal, the block length selection interval in the block batch processing method for range-Doppler images calculation is given;the clutter suppression performance is compared through the experimental data receiving from different bistatic polarization channels, the conclusion is different from the monostatic radar and it can guide the passive radar experiment.

Statistics-based Optimization of the Polarimetric Radar Hydrometeor Classification Algorithm and Its Application for a Squall Line in South China

A modified hydrometeor classification algorithm （HCA） is developed in this study for Chinese polarimetric radars. This algorithm is based on the U.S. operational HCA. Meanwhile, the methodology of statistics-based optimization is proposed including calibration checking, datasets selection, membership functions modification, computation thresholds modification, and effect verification. Zhuhai radar, the first operational polarimetric radar in South China, applies these procedures. The systematic bias of calibration is corrected, the reliability of radar measurements deteriorates when the signal-to-noise ratio is low, and correlation coefficient within the melting layer is usually lower than that of the U.S. WSR-88D radar. Through modification based on statistical analysis of polarimetric variables, the localized HCA especially for Zhuhai is obtained, and it performs well over a one-month test through comparison with sounding and surface observations. The algorithm is then utilized for analysis of a squall line process on 11 May 2014 and is found to provide reasonable details with respect to horizontal and vertical structures, and the HCA results---especially in the mixed rain-hail region--can reflect the life cycle of the squall line. In addition, the kinematic and microphysical processes of cloud evolution and the differences between radar- detected hail and surface observations are also analyzed. The results of this study provide evidence for the improvement of this HCA developed specifically for China.

Mitigation of cross-eye jamming using a dual-polarization array

This paper presents an approach for mitigating the cross-eye jamming using a dual-polarization array. By transmitting a sum beam and a difference beam in two orthogonal polarimetric channels, a synthesized transmitted beam with spatially varying polarization is produced, such that the polarization of the transmitted radar wave varies in azimuth or elevation. Thus, the phases of the signals received on the two antennas of a cross-eye jammer become unequal, and an additional phase difference is introduced to disrupt the 180？ phase shifting in the retrodirective loop of the jammer. By means of beam scanning in a small angular range,the optimal beam steering configuration can be found to maximize the phase error for the mitigation of cross-eye jamming. As a result, the jamming performance of the cross-eye jammer degrades largely. Theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate that the proposed method is valid and feasible.

Solution for polarimetric radar cross section measurement and calibration

The exact radar cross-section （RCS） measurement is difficult when the scattering of targets is low. Ful polarimetric cali-bration is one technique that offers the potential for improving the accuracy of RCS measurements. There are numerous polarimetric calibration algorithms. Some complex expressions in these algo-rithms cannot be easily used in an engineering practice. A radar polarimetric coefficients matrix （RPCM） with a simpler expression is presented for the monostatic radar polarization scattering matrix （PSM） measurement. Using a rhombic dihedral corner reflector and a metal ic sphere, the RPCM can be obtained by solving a set of equations, which can be used to find the true PSM for any target. An example for the PSM of a metal ic dish shows that the proposed method obviously improves the accuracy of cross-polarized RCS measurements.

Oil spill detection by a support vector machine based on polarization decomposition characteristics

Marine oil spills have caused major threats to marine environment over the past few years.The early detection of the oil spill is of great significance for the prevention and control of marine disasters.At present,remote sensing is one of the major approaches for monitoring the oil spill.Full polarization synthetic aperture radarc SAR data are employed to extract polarization decomposition parameters including entropy（H） and reflection entropy（A）.The characteristic spectrum of the entropy and reflection entropy combination has analyzed and the polarization characteristic spectrum of the oil spill has developed to support remote sensing of the oil spill.The findings show that the information extracted from（1-A）×（1-H） and（1-H）×A parameters is relatively evident effects.The results of extraction of the oil spill information based on H×A parameter are relatively not good.The combination of the two has something to do with H and A values.In general,when H〉0.7,A value is relatively small.Here,the extraction of the oil spill information using（1-A）×（1-H） and（1-H）×A parameters obtains evident effects.Whichever combined parameter is adopted,oil well data would cause certain false alarm to the extraction of the oil spill information.In particular the false alarm of the extracted oil spill information based on（1-A）×（1-H） is relatively high,while the false alarm based on（1-A）×H and（1-H）×A parameters is relatively small,but an image noise is relatively big.The oil spill detection employing polarization characteristic spectrum support vector machine can effectively identify the oil spill information with more accuracy than that of the detection method based on single polarization feature.

Multiple interferences suppression with space-polarization null-decoupling for polarimetric array

The adaptive digital beamforming technique in the space-polarization domain suppresses the interference with forming the coupling nulls of space and polarization domain.When there is the interference in mainlobe,it will cause serious mainlobe distortion,that the target detection suffers from.To overcome this problem and make radar cope with the complex multiple interferences scenarios,we propose a multiple mainlobe and/or sidelobe interferences suppression method for dual polarization array radar.Specifically,the proposed method consists of a signal preprocessing based on the proposed angle estimation with degree of polarization(DoP),and a filtering criterion based on the proposed linear constraint.The signal preprocessing provides the accurate estimated parameters of the interference,which contributes to the criterion for null-decoupling in the space-polarization domain of mainlobe.The proposed method can reduce the mainlobe distortion in the space-polarization domain while suppressing the multiple mainlobe and/or sidelobe interferences.The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulations.

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.

Kinematics and Microphysical Characteristics of the First Intense Rainfall Convective Storm Observed by Jiangsu Polarimetric Radar Network

The polarimetric radar network in Jiangsu Province has just been operationalized since 2020.The first intense precipitation event observed by this polarimetric radar network and disdrometer occurred during August 28-29,2020 and caused severe flooding and serious damage in eastern Jiangsu Province.The microphysics and kinetics for this heavy precipitation convective storm is diagnosed in this study,in order to promote the application of this polarimetric radar network.Drop size distribution(DSD)of this event is estimated from measurements of a ground disdrometer,and the corresponding three-dimensional atmospheric microphysical features are obtained from the multiple polarimetric radars.According to features of updraft and lighting,the evolution of the convective storm is divided into four stages:developing,mature with lightning,mature without lightning and dissipating.The DSD of this event is featured by a large number of raindrops and a considerable number of large raindrops.The microphysical characteristics are similar to those of warm-rain process,and ice-phase microphysical processes are active in the mature stages.The composite vertical structure of the convective storm indicates that deep ZDR and KDP columns coincide with strong updrafts during both mature stages.The hierarchical microphysical structure retrieved by the Hydrometeor Identification Algorithm(HID)shows that depositional growth has occurred above the melting level,and aggregation is the most widespread ice-phase process at the-10℃level or higher.During negative lightning activity,the presence of strongest updrafts and a large amount of ice-phase graupel by riming between the 0℃and-35℃layers generate strong negative electric fields within the cloud.These convective storms are typical warm clouds with very high precipitation efficiency,which cause high concentration of raindrops,especially the presence of large raindrops within a short period of time.The ice-phase microphysical processes above the melting layer also play an important role in the triggering and enhancing of precipitation.

Signal processing method of a novel polarized array radar seeker

This paper proposes a novel polarized radar seeker based on the polarized antenna array. A fully polarized signal processing method for the proposed radar seeker is studied under the environments with electromagnetic interferences. A dual polarized antenna array is employed to transmit and receive the radar signals. The instantaneous polarization signal processing technique is used to detect and recognize the targets. The direction of arrival （DOA） of the target is measured through the spatial spectrum with high resolution for the polarized array radar seeker system. The fully polarized signal model of the polarized array radar seeker is formulated and a specific signal processing algorithm is expounded. The theoretical research and numerical simulation results demonstrate that the proposed radar seeker has good performances in target detection and electronic warfare. The research results can provide an effective technical approach to develop and research the new generation radar seeker.

Scheme of adaptive polarization filtering based on Kalman model

A new kind of adaptive polarization filtering algorithm in order to suppress the angle cheating interference for the active guidance radar is presented. The polarization characteristic of the interference is dynamically tracked by using Kalman estimator under variable environments with time. The polarization filter parameters are designed according to the polarization characteristic of the interference, and the polarization filtering is finished in the target cell. The system scheme of adaptive polarization filter is studied and the tracking performance of polarization filter and improvement of angle measurement precision are simulated. The research results demonstrate this technology can effectively suppress the angle cheating interference in guidance radar and is feasible in engineering.

Aspect sensitivity of polar mesosphere summer echoes observed with the EISCAT VHF radar

The European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association(EISCAT) Very High Frequency(224 MHz) Radar has been used to investigate the aspect sensitivity of polar mesosphere summer echoes(PMSE) in the period 13–15 July 2010. The aspect sensitivity of PMSE using this radar and at such a high frequency has not been previously reported. Data concerning the aspect sensitivity of PMSE were collected by traversing the antenna beam from the zenith direction, and comparing the received power. Surprisingly, as the intensity received by the oblique beam was often larger than that of the vertical beam, suggesting the presence of tilted dusty plasma layers as a potential cause, a theoretical model was developed to confirm the existence of these layers and their formation process. The experimental results and theoretical model presented help elucidate the structural properties of the possible generation mechanism of strong radar echoes in the polar summer mesosphere region.

Semi-Empirical Algorithm for Wind Speed Retrieval from Gaofen-3 Quad-Polarization Strip Mode SAR Data

Synthetic aperture radar(SAR)is a suitable tool to obtain reliable wind retrievals with high spatial resolution.The geophysical model function(GMF),which is widely employed for wind speed retrieval from SAR data,describes the relationship between the SAR normalized radar cross-section(NRCS)at the copolarization channel(vertical-vertical and horizontal-horizontal)and a wind vector.SAR-measured NRCS at cross-polarization channels(horizontal-vertical and vertical-horizontal)correlates with wind speed.In this study,a semi-empirical algorithm is presented to retrieve wind speed from the noisy Chinese Gaofen-3(GF-3)SAR data with noise-equivalent sigma zero correction using an empirical function.GF-3 SAR can acquire data in a quad-polarization strip mode,which includes cross-polarization channels.The semi-empirical algorithm is tuned using acquisitions collocated with winds from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.In particular,the proposed algorithm includes the dependences of wind speed and incidence angle on cross-polarized NRCS.The accuracy of SAR-derived wind speed is around 2.10ms−1 root mean square error,which is validated against measurements from the Advanced Scatterometer onboard the Metop-A/B and the buoys from the National Data Buoy Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.The results obtained by the proposed algorithm considering the incidence angle in a GMF are relatively more accurate than those achieved by other algorithms.This work provides an alternative method to generate operational wind products for GF-3 SAR without relying on ancillary data for wind direction.