Detection of objects buried in wet snowpack by an FM-CW radar

A real-aperture FM-CW radar system was developed for the detection of objects buried in heavily wet snowpack. This radar uses the L-band microwave frequency with a maximum output power of 100 mW and utilizes digital signal processing techniques. A laboratory simulation and two field experiments were carried out to detect and map various objects embedded in the snowpack. It was possible to map a metallic pipe 3 cm in diameter at a depth of 70 cm and a 10*60-cm metallic plate at a depth of 90 cm in natural snowpack. Fundamental detection results are presented.>