Estimation of Doppler velocity from incoherent scatter spectra using context-aware transformers
Abstract
Abstract. We present a context-aware transformer model for estimating Doppler velocity from incoherent scatter radar (ISR) spectra. The model is based on the standard transformer encoder with adaptations from the Vision Transformer. Trained entirely on theoretical spectra, the AI model generalizes well for Arecibo ISR data and outperforms the traditional fitting methods significantly. Simulations show that the velocity error of the conventional least-squares fitting (LSF) is 1.5 to 3.5 times that of the AI model using 5 input heights. An inference from the AI model is approximately 100 times faster than the LSF method and requires minimal hardware, making it practical for large-scale or real-time processing. The AI approach applies to all situations where the spectrum can be parameterized.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Advanced SAR Imaging Techniques
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Applications and Techniques
Radar Systems and Signal Processing
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Atmospheric measurement techniques
- Publisher
- Copernicus GmbH
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 3865–3874
- Publication date
- 12 June 2026
- Language
- EN