METHODS OF DETECTION AND ESTIMATION ERRORS IN ST RADAR STUDIES

The classical theory of detection using the Neyman-Pearson principle is applied to stratosphere-troposphere (ST) radar signals. It is extended to provide information regarding the detection of weak signals which complements the detectability method usually employed in ST radar studies. It is shown that for ST radar signals of low amplitude and a detectability around 3 (a value commonly invoked in literature), the probability of detection is about equal to the probability of false alarm. The question of threshold detectability is also discussed. Spectral moments errors are evaluated by a method which is an extension of the analytical method of estimation developed by Miller and Rochwarger and the results compared to other statistical and analytical models. As already known, three factors can affect the error on the estimated parameters: the signal-to-noise ratio, the spectral width and the incoherent integration number. For high signal-to-noise ratios, analytical results are in good agreement with Barrick's and Denenberg's theoretical models and with Yamamoto's statistical one. For low signal-to-noise ratios, the spectral parameters are more sensitive to the selected model but overall variability is similar.