A Phased-Array Bistatic Radar Network for Measuring Atmospheric Convection

Multistatic radar networks have the potential to provide three-dimensional Doppler wind velocity measurements at a fraction of the cost of traditional monostatic networks. These multistatic networks consist of a single transmitter, used in conjunction with one or more low cost, lower gain receivers that measure scattering from the transmitted pulse. The potential benefits of using a single phased-array radar as the transmitter to enable rapid scanning of weather targets such as storms and to reduce the effects of sidelobe contamination have been previously discussed. However, previous experiments in bistatic weather radar have only had access to conventional mechanically scanned radars. The use of phased arrays in a bistatic configuration for weather observation has therefore remained untested experimentally.

The Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory (MIRSL) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in conjunction with Stony Brook University/ Brookhaven National Laboratory (SBU/BNL) and the University of Oklahoma, has constructed and tested a passive receiver for use with the SBU/BNL Skyler phased-array radar. Skyler is a mobile phased-array radar with a narrow beamwidth capable of high resolution horizontal and vertical measurements of weather phenomena in a short time span. The receiver is implemented using a commercially available software defined radio (SDR) and is synchronized to the transmitter to allow accurate extraction of Doppler velocities. Preliminary data gathered in 2023 is presented, demonstrating the use of this bistatic system to resolve the vertical components of atmospheric convection in storm-scale events.