Patent ID: 8884805

Claim:
A system, comprising: a radar system comprising: a radar transmitter configured to transmit a radar signal having a predetermined frequency into a subterranean region, wherein the radar transmitter is configured to contact ground for directing at least ninety percent of generated energy of the radar signal into the ground and penetrate at least ten kilometers into Earth's crust, wherein the predetermined frequency is a frequency selected from about ten kilohertz to about three-hundred megahertz and the predetermined frequency is varied over a dwell time of the radar system to meet phase drift tolerances; a radar receiver configured to receive a portion of the transmitted radar signal reflected from the subterranean region; a control system for controlling the dwell time; and a processor adapted to generate an image of at least a portion of the subterranean region based at least in part on the reflected signal, and to adjust transmitting segments of the radar transmitter and receiving segments of the radar receiver to obtain different look angles and optimize the image generated, wherein the radar system includes a receive aperture greater than about one-hundred meters and the transmitting segments for transmitting respective signals at different frequencies for three-dimensional imaging of the subterranean region at a resolution of less than one foot, wherein transmit hopping across the transmitting segments is used to improve depth perception in the three-dimensional imaging and the three-dimensional imaging is weighted by phase and amplitude statistics formed across multiple images to suppress sidelobes and noise.