Radars are used to retrieve physical parameters related to clouds and fog. With these measurements, models can be developed for several application fields such as climate, agriculture, aviation, energy, and astronomy. In Chile, coastal fog and low marine stratus intersect the coastal topography, forming a thick fog essential to sustain coastal ecosystems. This phenomenon motivates the development of cloud radars to boost scientific research. In this article, we present the design of a Ka-band cloud radar and the experiments that prove its operation. The radar uses a frequency-modulated continuous-wave with a carrier frequency of 38 GHz. By using a drone and a commercial Lidar, we were able to verify that the radar can measure reflectivities in the order of −60 dBZ at 500 m of distance, with a range resolution of 20 m. The lower needed range coverage imposed by our case of study enabled a significant reduction of the instrument cost compared to existent alternatives. The portability and low-cost of the designed instrument enable its implementation in a distributed manner along the coastal mountain range, as well as its use in medium-size aerial vehicles or balloons to study higher layers. The main features, limitations, and possible improvements to the current instrument are discussed.

中文翻译：

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低成本Ka波段云雷达系统，用于大气边界层内的分布式测量

雷达用于检索与云雾有关的物理参数。通过这些测量，可以为多个应用领域开发模型，例如气候，农业，航空，能源和天文学。在智利，沿海雾和低层海洋层与沿海地形相交，形成了浓厚的雾，这对维持沿海生态系统至关重要。这种现象激发了云雷达的发展，以促进科学研究。在本文中，我们介绍了Ka波段云雷达的设计以及证明其运行的实验。雷达使用载波频率为38 GHz的调频连续波。通过使用无人驾驶飞机和商用激光雷达，我们能够验证雷达在500 m距离和20 m的距离分辨率下可以测量-60 dBZ量级的反射率。与现有的替代方案相比，我们的研究案例所要求的较低的覆盖范围使仪器成本大大降低。所设计仪器的便携性和低成本使其能够在沿海山脉上以分布式方式实施，并且可以在中型飞行器或气球中用于研究高层。讨论了当前仪器的主要功能，局限性和可能的​​改进。