干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The low attenuation of millimeter-wave radiation propagating through sandstorms has created an interest in using millimeter-wave imagers in desert environments. The ground in desert environments can have significant differences in polarization properties depending on the angle of observation. Perturbations to the natural desert surface will change these polarization properties and by using a polarization difference technique these changes are highlighted. This technique has been applied to millimeter-wave images from a desert environment for several different objects including holes in the ground, footsteps, and changes to the surface created by digging.