Some Limiting Cases of Radar Sea Clutter Noise

Radar return from the rough surface of the wind disturbed sea is a source of noise that affects the over-all signal-to-noise ratio of radars operating over water. This paper presents the results of an analysis showing some limiting values of the effective radar scattering area per unit area of the sea surface (σ
⁰
) vs radar depression angle (Θ) for perfectly smooth and perfectly rough surfaces. Available experimental data are shown to be consistent with the theoretical limits.