Radar placement based on a geometric uncertainty multiplier reduction criterion

In this paper the problem of retrieving wind field information from Doppler radar data motivates the formulation of a method to design radar network configurations. The problem of estimating wind velocities from radar data is posed and used to construct a certain retrieval operator. This operator contains a factor that may be interpreted as an uncertainty multiplier. It depends on the geometry of the configuration of the radar network. The uncertainty multiplier is shown to vary continuously with perturbations of the network configuration. It is also shown to be a generalization of the Doppler angle condition used in meteorology. Numerical examples are presented to determine a network of five radars minimizing the uncertainty multiplier for the problem. Also, a configuration of sites is determined that maximizes the area of the Doppler region.