An improved airborne VHF radar sounder for ice and desert exploration

• Published in: 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) pp. 1 - 4
• Main Authors: Gennarelli, G., Ludeno, G., Catapano, I., Soldovieri, F., Alberti, G., Califano, D., Ciofaniello, L., Palmese, G., Papa, C., Pica, G., Salzillo, G., Facchinetti, C., Longo, F.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.06.2018
• Subjects: Airborne radar sounder; Bandwidth; Lakes; Radar antennas; Spaceborne radar; surface and subsurface imaging; Surface topography; very high-frequencies (VHF)
• ISSN: 2474-3844
• DOI: 10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441555

The paper deals with a VH F airborne radar sounder designed for the exploration of ice sheets and arid sub-surfaces. This radar is an improved version of a previously developed prototype and is the product of a project financed by the Italian Space Agency and carried out thanks to the cooperation of Italian research units. The main characteristics of the radar, and a calibration measurement campaign, which has been performed flying over a volcanic area of Lazio region (Central Italy) in September 2017, are herein described. As discussed in the paper, the calibration campaign confirmed a correct system's operation and, in particular, the enhanced along range resolution with respect to the previous prototype. The developed system was, indeed, capable of retrieving the surface topography over a large scale and in a short time. The obtained encouraging results justified the planning of an extensive validation measurement campaign, which will be performed in May 2018 on desert areas.