Radar terrain clutter model with consideration of propagation effects

This paper presents a method to characterize terrain visibility and clutter as seen by a shipboard radar in a coastal environment. The method takes into account the location of the ship, the particular terrain topography, the radar parameters, and the propagation effect. The method incorporates an optical ray-trace program, an electromagnetic parabolic equation model, and a data base of terrain elevations. The approach can account for the effects of refraction, multipath, and diffraction with arbitrary propagation. The calculated clutter received by the radar is strongly affected by the propagation factor, and varies significantly with terrain roughness and radar frequency. The statistical distribution of reflectivity obtained with our method compares favorably with experimental data obtained under conditions similar to those modeled.