Abstract
A commercial-off-the-shelf Ku-band Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system is coupled with a custom built two-dimensional scanning system. This system is installed in an alpine environment and pointed at a snow-unstable mountain slope for the duration of a Utah winter. The radar scanning system, designed to be capable of mapping a snowpack and its layers, is employed to create a series of three-dimensional images from a remote location. Individual images demonstrate the ability to directly detect snow layers, Furthermore, successive images are compared to track volume magnitude and phase values over the course of winter, including many snow deposition and melt events. The digital signal processing techniques used to create a high-resolution voxel (a three-dimensional pixel) map describing these snow layers is discussed. Results are discussed and further work is suggested for improving upon the results of this work.
Degree
MS
College and Department
Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology; Electrical and Computer Engineering
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Bartley, Ryan Natale, "Ku-Band Ultra-High Resolution Radar Tomography of an Alpine Snowpack" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 8401.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/8401
Date Submitted
2020-04-07
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd11153
Keywords
radar, ku-band, remote sensing, high-resolution, penetrating radar, snow, stratigraphy, tomography, backprojection, change detection
Language
English