Amplitude And Phase Errors Involved in Retrieving Depolarized Radar Cross Section Measurements

The backscatter of electromagnetic waves from natural surfaces has been of theoretical and experimental interest for a number of years. Of particular interest in recent years is the response of radar systems to linearly polarized (both like and cross polarized) interaction processes associated with earth/land targets. Particularly disconcerting is the general lack of agreement near nadir between depolarized radar data and the theoretical models which attempt to describe these processes. In this paper consideration is given to the geometry of the measurement situation and the nonideal nature of realistic antennas in an attempt to quantify possible measurement system error. The results indicate that induced system error can account for several dB of error in the depolarized measurement. These errors are most significant at the nadir measurement configuration.