On the Statistics of Sea Clutter

A model for the statistics of sea clutter has been developed from scattering theory and the composite surface-scattering model. The model postulates that sea clutter is exponentially (Rayleigh envelope) distributed for glassy seas and should tend toward the lognormal distribution (in particular for...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Valenzuela, G R, Laing, M B
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Active & Passive Radar Detection & Equipment
EXPONENTIAL DENSITY FUNCTIONS
INTEGRAL EQUATIONS
KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV TEST
MOMENTS
PROBABILITY DENSITY FUNCTIONS
RADAR CROSS SECTIONS
SEA CLUTTER
SEA WATER
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
STATISTICAL DISTRIBUTIONS
STATISTICAL TESTS
Statistics and Probability
SURFACE ROUGHNESS
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A model for the statistics of sea clutter has been developed from scattering theory and the composite surface-scattering model. The model postulates that sea clutter is exponentially (Rayleigh envelope) distributed for glassy seas and should tend toward the lognormal distribution (in particular for horizontal polarization) with increasing roughness. The lognormality of sea clutter arises from the tilting of the slightly rough patches by the large-scale roughness (undulating surface). An empirical identification of the statistics of sea clutter taken with the Four-Frequency Radar system shows that in general the distribution of sea clutter is intermediate between the exponential (Rayleigh envelope) and the lognormal distribution. However, for calm seas and small sample sizes (less than about 200 independent samples) the distribution of sea clutter may be approximated by either the exponential or the lognormal distribution. The first five central moments of sea clutter (in decibels) have been calculated for moderate and rough sea conditions.