RADAR SCATTER FROM LAYERED MEDIA AND ROUGH SURFACES

The generalized function approach for modeling radio wave scattering has been used to develop expressions for the scatter from rough surfaces and for horizontally-stratified media. The scattered field from rough surfaces can be found in closed form if plane wave incidence is assumed, but the method is valid for any realizable source without resorting to using Hertz vectors. This approach was originally developed to model high frequency surface wave radar scattering from the ocean or across layers of ice covering the ocean using vertical polarization. This paper presents three extensions to the existing theory: the x component of the scattered field for rough surface scattering is developed, the assumption of a good conducting surface assumption is removed for a rough surface and the scatter from stratified media is simplified in terms of a scattering coefficient. The shape of the scattered field is not affected by the relative permittivity, but the intensity of the scattered field is weaker due to an increased transmission of energy through the surface. The goal for this research is to better understand how signatures from ice-penetrating radar can be used to distinguish hazardous ice ridges from other ice features. Here, ice ridges are modeled as layered media with a rough surface.