BACKSCATTER OF RADIO WAVES FROM THE GROUND
Abstract
At 16 Mcs, the backscatter coefficient for sea is found to be 10 dB higher than for land for angles of elevation between 25 and 15 degrees. At lower angles there is a knee effect, and the backscatter coefficient decreases very rapidly. The knee angle is lower for sea than for land. For a given surface, and at angles above the knee, the variation of backscatter coefficient with elevation angle is consistent with the type of scatter expected from upright objects such as trees or wave crests, and the fading of the echoes is ascribed to the Doppler movement of these objects. The frequency of observation of Sporadic-E by backscatter sounding is strongly influenced by whether the backscatter occurs on the land or on the sea. Sporadic-E itself appears to be uniformly distributed. In observations of F region propagation by the backscatter technique, the nature of the terrain should be taken into account. This is particularly important in the case of trans-equatorial one-hop propagation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0464699
Entities
People
- J. G. Steele
Organizations
- Stanford University