Australia has conducted research into over-the-horizon radar(OTHR) for almost sixty years. Early programs focused exclusively onmilitary capabilities, such as the detection of aircraft, missiles andships, but in 1974 a team was formed to design a new OTHR for which aremote sensing mission was proposed. Oceanic wind mapping experimentsin 1977-78 yielded promising results so remote sensing became arecognised mission assigned to the new radar, known as Jindalee StageB. This capability was progressively expanded over the period 1982-87to include mapping of wave height and other oceanographic variables.A real-time data link to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology was setup in 1985, providing daily wind direction maps covering over onemillion square kilometres of the NW Indian Ocean, the Timor Sea andthe Arafura Sea. In concert with user-focused remote sensingprograms, investigations were undertaken to gain a detailedunderstanding of issues relating to propagation, system calibration,radar resource management and scheduling. Many theoretical studiesand radar experiments were conducted to assess the radar's ability tomeasure ever more ambitious geophysical phenomena, ranging from oilspills and tropical rainfall to cyclogenesis and volcanic activity.Inevitably, as the radar evolved into a facility owned and operated bythe Royal Australian Air Force, the remote sensing mission had tocompete with surveillance tasks with higher priorities and the qualityof the routine service provided to the Bureau of Meteorologydeteriorated, eventually being terminated after a decade of activity.Despite this, the knowledge acquired and the practical lessons learnedremain valid today and may be of value to other OTHR programs.
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