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IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
Volume 47 Number 1, January 1999

Table of Contents for this issue

Complete paper in PDF format

Experimental Observation and Statistics of Multipath from Terrain with Application to Overland Height Finding

Lisa M. Zurk

Page 121.

Abstract:

Data is presented from an airborne experiment designed to evaluate electromagnetic pulse scattering from a variety of terrain types for the application of overland height finding. The one-way propagation data was collected at ultrahigh frequency (UHF) and very high frequency (VHF) frequencies using a 3-MHz pulsed CW signal with the radars mounted on two aircraft. A statistical analysis of the data shows that the probability of a detectable ground reflection and the strength of that reflection vary as a function of the terrain roughness. We introduce a broad-band synthesis technique in which Fourier theory is used to generate a time-domain response from a CW propagation model. Results from this technique agree well with the experimental observations, but the lack of detailed terrain information does not allow exact reproduction of the fine details.

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