Monte Carlo simulation of backscattering from natural soil surfaces

The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of a multiscale roughness description on the surface radar backscattering response. Surfaces are generated using a 2D fractional Brownian motion process. A Monte-Carlo EM simulation based on the Kirchhoff tangent plane approximation is used to derive the backscattering coefficient. Numerical results are compared with backscattering coefficients obtained by means of the IEM model. Exponential, Gaussian and hybrid autocorrelation functions are considered.