A radar land clutter model and its verification

Presents a site-specific method to characterize terrain visibility and clutter as seen by a shipboard radar in a coastal environment. The method takes into account the ship location, terrain topography, radar parameters, and radar propagation. The method incorporates an optical ray-trace program, an electromagnetic parabolic equation model, and a data base of terrain elevations; it accounts for refraction, multipath, and diffraction with arbitrary propagation. The statistical distribution and geographical pattern of reflectivity obtained with the authors' method compares favorably with experimental data obtained under conditions similar to those modeled.<
>