Theoretical study of a surface clutter reduction algorithm

Backscattering from rough soil surfaces can generate significant radar clutter, as has been demonstrated in ground penetrating radar and soil moisture remote sensing studies. Removal of this clutter is necessary to improve sub-surface target detection and identification algorithms. A specular surface clutter removal algorithm recently developed at The Ohio State University has shown some success in removing smooth surface clutter in experimental data. However, this technique is based on a flat surface assumption for the soil surface, and its performance in more rough ground situations has not been established. In this paper, a theoretical study of the clutter reduction algorithm is performed through use of numerically generated rough surface backscattering coefficients.