The Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Mission

The Radarsat Earth-observation satellite was launched on November 4, 1995 aboard a Delta 2 rocket. Equipped with a sophisticated synthetic aperture radar (SAR), Radarsat can produce images of extraordinary clarity even through clouds, smog, haze, smoke, and darkness. The SAR has a variety of operating modes. It can be adjusted to produce swathes between 35 and 500 km in width, with ground resolutions from 100 m to as low as eight. In addition, the beam can be steered at angles up to 49° from the satellite's nadir vector, giving it the unique ability to image areas it is not directly overflying. In exchange for the launch, CSA agreed to provide NASA with access to the SAR data, and to execute a 180° yaw-around of Radarsat twice during its lifetime to map the Antarctic continent. Preliminary results from the first of these Antarctic Mapping Missions, dubbed AMM-1, are presented     

Synthetic Aperture Radar

The general theory of side-looking synthetic aperture radar systems is developed. A simple circuit-theory model is developed; the geometry of the system determines the nature of the prefilter and the receiver (or processor) is the postfilter. The complex distributed reflectivity density appears as the input, and receiver noise is first considered as the interference which limits performance. Analysis and optimization are carried out for three performance criteria (resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and least squares estimation of the target field). The optimum synthetic aperture length is derived in terms of the noise level and average transmitted power. Range-Doppler ambiguity limitations and optical processing are discussed briefly. The synthetic aperture concept for rotating target fields is described. It is observed that, for a physical aperture, a side-looking radar, and a rotating target field, the azimuth resolution is ?/? where ? is the change in aspect angle over which the target field is viewed, The effects of phase errors on azimuth resolution are derived in terms of the power density spectrum of the derivative of the phase errors and the performance in the absence of phase errors.     

Experiments with a Low Polarization Error Loop Array Direction Finder

A previously reported HF loop antenna array for multipolarization direction finding consisting of two spaced loops is described. The method is compatible with twin channel Watson-Watt operation as an Adcock so that the direction finding process is independent of polarization characteristics of the element pattern. Experimentally measured direction finder (DF) bearings were compared with near simultaneous polarimeter data and conventional crossed loops bearings. A major reduction in polarization error was obtained at the expense of full 360° azimuth response. It is theoretically possible to cover 360° with two similar arrays of the type investigated or with crossed loops elements with quadrature phase shifters.     

Sampled-Data Control System Analysis Using the Poisson Summation Rule

A technique is presented which simplifies the analysis of sampled-data control systems. The use of a finite-term approximation to the Poisson summation rule, in conjunction with digital computer evaluation, is presented as a good alternative to use of the Z transform whenever frequency-domain analysis is required. The Poisson summation rule is reviewed and its application to sampled-data system analysis is discussed. The form of the computer program used in the analysis is presented, along with a design criterion to evaluate the accuracy of the technique. A detailed example of a typical application is presented.     

Effect of clinostating on photosynthetic apparatus of pea plants.

The photosynthetic membrane composition and low temperature fluorescence spectra were analyzed for pea chloroplasts from control and clinostated plants. Clinorotation induces a decrease in the amount of the oligomeric form of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex (LHCII) and an increase of its monomeric form. Some changes in organization of photosystem 1 (PS1) complex were revealed as well. These changes are in accordance with the variations of fluorescence characteristics and photochemical activity.     

Growth of wheat under one tenth of the atmospheric pressure.

Wheat plants were grown in twin closed growth chambers under normal and reduced atmospheric pressures. For the first 22 days from sowing, the reduced pressure was maintained at 200 hPa, and at 100 hPa for the remaining 27 days until harvest. These pressures were obtained by evacuation of the chamber and adding oxygen (170 and 79 hPa respectively) and carbon dioxide (0.65 and 1.0 hPa respectively; about 2 and 3 times above the control). Eighty-seven per cent of the final dry mass was produce under 100 hPa treatment. Growth and development of wheat are not negatively affected by low pressure treatment. Compared to the control, final dry mass increased by 76%, leaf number by 133%, and ear number by 35%, probably due to elevation of CO2. Shortening of shoot parts and increases in chlorophyll and proteins content are not in accordance with a predicted CO2 effect and could be attributed to the N2 removal and the subsequent alteration in gas diffusion rate.