VHF radar echoes from layering scatter media and applications to lunar exploration and landslides monitoring

A theoretical model of stratified media with non-spherical scatterers and rough interfaces for numerical simulation of polarimetric radar pulse echoes is developed. The time domain Mueller matrix solution derived from vector radiative transfer formulations contains seven scattering mechanisms of the stratified media: surface scattering from the rough top and bottom interfaces, volumetric scattering from random non-spherical scatterers, and their multi-interactions. Temporal characteristics and image features of the polarimetric echo profile as functional dependences on the model parameters, such as the layered structure, thickness and dielectric properties etc., are numerically simulated. Polarimetric pulse echoes may reveal internal structure and other useful information of the layered media, and demonstrate a potential new way to explore the lunar regolith layers and monitor the landslides, etc.