Simulation of subsurface imaging for remote sensing and buried object detection from airborne platforms

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of efficient simulations of the signal backscattered from buried structures. The proposed modelling of subsurface soil structure is based on a geologically–and hydrologically-motivated approach by using of real geological database. Six different Soil Typological Units have been used to model the inhomogeneous and geological soil structures as well as for moisture profile simulation. We use the semi-empirical pedotransfer function to calculate the Complex Relative Effective Permittivity in frequency range of 0.3–1.3 GHz. The subsurface penetration capabilities have been analysed with the regard to attenuation along the propagation path in a layered structure. We use the backward-propagation matrix and ray-tracing method to compute the backscattered signals from five targets located at five different depths in order to analyse the defocusing effects due to EM wave propagation. The computation was performed for three different radar systems with various bandwidths and carrier frequencies.