Terrain backscattering coefficient generator

A backscattering coefficient (σ°) generator for several terrain types under varying measurement conditions is developed. The types of terrain include soils and rocks, trees, grasses, shrubs, short vegetation, roads, urban areas, dry snow, and wet snow with measurements compiled by the University of Michigan. Measurement conditions are defined by (1) incidence angle (0°⩽θ⩽90°), (2) transmitted and received wave polarizations (KH, HV, and VV), and (3) radar band: L, C, S, X, Ka, Ku, and W. Furthermore, the σ° generator output statistics match the first and second moments of the measured data, as well as 72% of the frequency of occurrence histograms. Goodness-of-fit between generated and measured histograms was verified using a chi-square test at a 0.05 rejection level. An alternative validation test for grazing angles was implemented since the amount of available measured data was limited. In general, both tests failed to reject the proposed generator as representative of the measured data. The σ° generator provides a realistic simulation tool for terrain σ° since it portrays the terrain´s true statistical nature