Aspects of Parallel-Polarized and Cross-Polarized Radar Returns from a Rough Sea Surface

This paper contains an introductory summary and simplification of a comprehensive theoretical analysis of radar scattering from a rough sea surface. It includes computed curves which display received signal power integrated over the antenna beam and range gate as a function of radar geometry. An important feature of the work is that polarization is defined with respect to the antenna aperture rather than the sea surface. Because of the finite antenna beamwidth, there is some cross polarization in the radar return which is predictable from first-order perturbation theory.