Analysis of L-band multi-channel sea clutter

The authors conducted a sea clutter trial using a DSTO (Defence Science and Technology Organisation, Australia) built, vertically polarised, L-band, 16-channel receive array during May 2008, at Kangaroo Island, South Australia. This study reports various properties of sea clutter which the authors measured including the backscatter coefficient, spatial and temporal correlations, distributions and Doppler spectra. Observed phenomena are explained. Techniques for calibrating the collected data are also presented.