SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR IMAGERY OF AIRPORTS AND SURROUNDING AREAS: ARCHIVED SAR DATA

This report is the first in a series of three which address the statistical description of ground clutter at an airport and in the surrounding area. These data are being utilized in a program to detect microbursts. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data were acquired from the ERIM SAR data archive and were examined for utility to this program. Eight digital scattering coefficient images were created. Data used were of four airports observed with a set of parameters which more closely matched those which are anticipated to be encountered by an aircraft on its approach to an airport. This report describes these data and the results of the clutter study. These scenes which are greater than 6 km x 6 km scene were imaged at 9.38 GHz and HH-and VV-polarizations, and contained airport grounds and facilities, industrial, residential, fields, forest, and water. Incidence angles ranged from 12 deg to 72 deg. Even at the largest depression angles the distributed targets such as forest, fields, water, and residential rarely had mean scattering coefficients greater than -10dB. Eighty-seven percent of the image had scattering coefficients less than -17.5dB. About 1% of the scattering coefficients exceeded 0 dB, with about 0.1% above 10 dB. Sources which produced the largest cross-sections were largely confined to the airport grounds and areas highly industrialized. The largest cross-sections were produced by observing broadside large buildings surrounded by smooth surfaces. Example combinations include terminals/tarmac, docks/water, industrial-facility/parking-lot, and refinery-tanks/ground.

• Corporate Authors:

  Environmental Research Institute of Michigan

  3300 Plymouth Road
  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48107
• Authors:
  • Onstott, R G
  • GINERIS, D J
• Publication Date: 1989-11

Media Info

• Pagination: 215 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aircraft; Airports; Clouds; Coefficients; Docks; Forests; Imagery; Industrial areas; Industrial buildings; Intermodal terminals; Microbursts; Openings; Parking lots; Petroleum refineries; Radar; Radar clutter; Radar devices; Rainfall; Residential areas; Synthetics; Water
• Uncontrolled Terms: Apertures; Ground
• Old TRIS Terms: Aperture systems; Cloudbursts; Fields; Ground image; Refineries
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Design; Environment; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Terminals and Facilities; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00496296
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NASA-202600-19-T, DOT/FAA/DS-89/14
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 31 1990 12:00AM