Efficient path estimation through parallel media for wide‐beam ice‐sounding radar

Abstract

The authors propose an algorithm to estimate the path followed by refracted signals from a source to a target, through a medium formed by uniform parallel layers with known different refractive indices, a common model used for ice radio-echo sounding. The analytical solution is a polynomial with a degree that exponentially depends on the number of layers, being computationally inefficient. For low incidence angles, the small-angle approximation can be used to avoid the polynomial. In their technique, they normalise the governing equations to obtain a framework where to find a narrow angular interval containing the solution, finally estimated interpolating the boundaries. The new approach improves the results regarding the small-angle approximation for a wider angular range at a slightly higher computational time. This method has been applied to focus airborne synthetic aperture radar images for deep ice sounding, reducing the calculation time and improving the detected response in wide beam and squinted geometries, used for high along-track resolution or the detection of sloping internal layers.