A new unified full wave approach for sea surface scatter cross sections

Microwave remote sensing of rough surfaces has stimulated the need for better understanding of the interaction of radar signals with random rough surfaces. A new unified full wave approach based on the original full wave solutions for the like and cross sections of random rough surfaces (that accounts for tilt modulation in and perpendicular to the plane of incidence) is presented. The composite (multi-scale) rough sea surfaces are assumed to be characterized by the Pierson-Moskowitz spectral density function. The probability density functions (PDFs) for the rough surface heights and slopes are assumed to be Gaussian. The backscatter incoherent like and cross polarized cross sections are calculated using this new full wave approach.