Systems and methods for monitoring river flow parameters using a VHF/UHF radar station
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring river flow parameters, the system comprising:
- a radar station having at least two antenna arrays located in operative relationship with a riverbank;
at least one receive channel coupled to each antenna array;
a direction finding module coupled to outputs of the at least one receive channel;
a de-aliasing module coupled to the direction finding module; and
a microprocessor,the system configured via instructions executed by the microprocessor to;
convert broad beam-width data received from the antenna arrays to narrow bearing angle spacing data using direction finding module, in conjunction with the microprocessor,determine whether de-aliasing of the converted data is appropriate, andde-alias Doppler information present in the output of Doppler spectral versus bearing angle data, if determined appropriate.
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Abstract
Systems and methods are described for monitoring the surface flow velocity and volume discharge of rivers and channels using a VHF/UHF radar located in operative relationship with a riverbank. This frequency region allows precise estimation and removal of the Bragg wave velocity; it also is matched to the short wind-wave roughness periods existing on river surfaces so that operation is possible nearly all the time. Methods of bearing determination are also disclosed. Up/downriver surface velocity profiles vs. distance across the river may be constructed from maps of the radial velocity component from a single radar at thousands of points within the radar'"'"'s coverage. Methods to compensate for Doppler aliasing under high flow conditions are also shown.
20 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring river flow parameters, the system comprising:
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a radar station having at least two antenna arrays located in operative relationship with a riverbank; at least one receive channel coupled to each antenna array; a direction finding module coupled to outputs of the at least one receive channel; a de-aliasing module coupled to the direction finding module; and a microprocessor, the system configured via instructions executed by the microprocessor to; convert broad beam-width data received from the antenna arrays to narrow bearing angle spacing data using direction finding module, in conjunction with the microprocessor, determine whether de-aliasing of the converted data is appropriate, and de-alias Doppler information present in the output of Doppler spectral versus bearing angle data, if determined appropriate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for determining river flow parameters, the method comprising:
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receiving broad beam width data from a radar station comprising a antenna arrays with a broad beamwidth, the radar station located in operative relationship with a riverbank; pre-processing the received broad beam width data; converting the broad beam width data to narrow bearing angle spacing data; assessing either the received broad beam width data or the converted narrow bearing angle spacing data and determining if the flow rate is above an aliasing threshold; applying a de-aliasing algorithm to the converted narrow bearing angle spacing data if the flow rate is above the threshold; and performing at least one of the following steps; calculating a profile of downriver surface flow as a function of distance across a river; and employing a subset of surface velocities measured by the radar station to estimate a river discharge. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer readable medium having a computer program recorded thereon that causes a computer to perform the steps of:
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receiving broad beam width data from a radar station comprising an antenna array with a broad beam width, the radar station located in operative relationship with a riverbank; pre-processing the received broad beam width data; converting the broad beam width data to narrow bearing angle spacing data; assessing either the received broad beam width data or the converted narrow bearing angle spacing data and determining if the flow rate is above an aliasing threshold; applying a de-aliasing algorithm to the converted narrow bearing angle spacing data if the flow rate is above the threshold; and at least one of; calculating a profile of downriver surface flow as a function of distance across a river; and employing a subset of surface velocities measured by the radar station to estimate a river discharge. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification