A numerical assessment of rough surface scattering theories: Vertical polarization

Abstract

In a previous paper, we presented a numerical evaluation of the regime of validity for various rough surface scattering theories. The evaluation was done for horizontal polarization by comparing these theories against numerical results obtained by the method of moments. In this paper we address the same issues for vertical polarization. The theories considered here are the small perturbation method, the Kirchhoff approximation, the momentum transfer expansion, the two‐scale expansion, and the unified perturbation method (UPM). All these theories can be derived in a unified manner starting with the extinction theorem. The rough surfaces of interest are oceanlike surfaces, which exhibit height power law spectra. Considering both horizontal and vertical polarizations, the UPM provides best results among all theories considered.