Characterization of global near-nadir backscatter for remote sensing radar design

In order to evaluate side-lobe contamination from the near-nadir region for Ku-band radars, a statistical characterization of global near-nadir backscatter is constructed. This characterization is performed for a variety of surface types using data from TRMM, Seasat, and TOPEX. An assessment of the relative calibration accuracy of these sensors is also presented.