Bistatic resolution cell characterization using digital elevation and Land-Use Land-Cover data

Bistatic clutter measurement requires accurate characterization of the incident and scattering geometry, resolution cell area, and terrain type. This paper presents a methodology to characterize the geometry and terrain type of bistatic clutter range-Doppler resolution cells over uneven terrain using digital elevation map (DEM) and Land-Use Land-Cover (LULC) data. A procedure to calculate the local ground plane using DEM data is presented, which enables calculation of the incident and scattering angles relative to the ground plane normal vector. Then, closed form expressions for a parallelogram approximation to the bistatic resolution cell area are presented for arbitrary bistatic geometries. Finally, terrain type is classified using LULC data. These procedures are illustrated using one acquisition from the Multi-Channel Airborne Radar Measurement (MCARM) bistatic clutter collections.