SuperDARN scalar radar equations

TL;DR

This paper derives scalar radar equations for SuperDARN radars using a unified approach, accounting for various propagation paths and scattering effects in ionospheric conditions, enhancing data analysis accuracy.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive radar equation framework for monostatic and bistatic sounding, considering ionospheric refraction and scattering mechanisms without polarization effects.

Findings

Radar equations account for different propagation trajectories.

Scattering amplitude depends on ionospheric density and focusing.

Bistatic effects significantly influence scattering in refractive media.

Abstract

The quadratic scalar radar equations are obtained for SuperDARN radars that are suitable for the analysis and interpretation of experimental data. The paper is based on a unified approach to the obtaining radar equations for the monostatic and bistatic sounding with use of hamiltonian optics and ray representation of scalar Green's function and without taking into account the polarization effects. The radar equation obtained is the sum of several terms corresponding to the propagation and scattering over the different kinds of trajectories, depending on their smoothness and the possibility of reflection from the ionosphere. It is shown that the monostatic sounding in the media with significant refraction, unlike the case of refraction-free media, should be analyzed as a combination of monostatic and bistatic scattering. This leads to strong dependence of scattering amplitude on background ionospheric density due to focusing mechanism and appearance of new (bistatic) areas of effective scattering with significant distortion of the scattered signal spectrum. Selective properties of the scattering also have been demonstrated.