Microwave backscattering by the sea surface in the transition range of incidence angles (10° — 20°): Theory and experiment

Backscattering of a microwave radar signal by the sea surface in the transition range of incidence angles (10°-20°) was considered and an advanced model for the Doppler spectrum of the Bragg component of the reflected field was discussed. It is shown that the proposed approach allows restricting the power increase of the radar cross section for the Bragg scattering mechanism at small incidence angles. For the first time, the Doppler spectrum at small incidence angles was measured from a sea platform and the obtained results can be used for validating theoretical scattering models.