The Effect of the Bistatic Scattering Angle on the High-Frequency Radar Cross Sections of the Ocean Surface

Abstract

High-frequency (HF) bistatic Doppler cross sections of the ocean surface are examined with respect to their dependency on the bistatic angle. Previously derived results which incorporate a pulsed dipole source and two orders of scatter are considered. It is trivially seen that the first-order result has a linear dependence on the cosine of the bistatic angle. The second-order echo accounts for a double scatter of incident radiation from first-order surface waves - the so-called electromagnetic term - and a single scatter from a second-order ocean wave. The latter, generally referred to as the second-order hydrodynamic term because it originates from coupling between first-order ocean waves, predominates the Doppler continuum in most regions of interest. The analysis presented here verifies that in addition to a cosine-dependent reduction in cross section magnitude with increasing bistatic angle, both components of the second-order scatter tend to zero under the condition of near-forward scatter for bistatic HF radar operation. Of course, this imposes practical limitations on the region over which a bistatically configured HF radar system may be used to remotely sense ocean surface parameters.