Some stochastic problems in wave propagation--Part I

The effect of random height variations associated with a conducting surface upon the characteristics of reflected wave energy is ascertained by the methods of physical optics. Average received powers its variance, angular and frequency power spectra, and the field correlation pattern are determined in terms of the statistical parameters of the surface. Volume type problems are treated by ascertaining the effect of refractive index fluctuations within a slab upon an emergent wavefront, and then generalizing to a continuous medium. The results are applied to various problems encountered in tropospheric and ionospheric wave propagation.