Design and Implementation of an SFCW Radar Platform for Environmental Monitoring
Jarne Van Mulders (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Jaron Vandenbroucke (Universiteit Gent)
Merlin Mareschal (Université Catholique de Louvain)
Bert Cox (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Emma Tronquo (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Universiteit Gent)
Hans Peter Marshall (Boise State University)
Sébastien Lambot (Université Catholique de Louvain)
Hans Lievens (Universiteit Gent)
Lieven De Strycker (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
Current satellite-based active microwave observations lack the temporal resolution needed to accurately capture rapid Earth system dynamics such as soil–plant–atmosphere interactions, rainfall interception, snowfall and rain-on-snow events. Ground-based radar systems can resolve these processes but typically rely on high-end VNAs, limiting their affordability and deployment scale. This work presents a low-cost SFCW radar system built around a compact, SDR-based VNA with an enhanced RF front end supported by remote-access firmware and a cloud-based back end with automatic backup. Calibration experiments and preliminary measurements demonstrate that the system achieves stable performance and is capable of capturing high-temporal-resolution microwave signatures relevant for climate monitoring.
help_outline