Rigorous Simulations of Microwave Scattering From Finite Conductivity Two-Dimensional Sea Surfaces at Low Grazing Angles

Abstract—We present a boundary integral method for the solu-tion of the rigorous problem of microwave scattering from finite conductivity sea surfaces under grazing illumination. Following the locally perturbated plane approach, the roughness is flattened at the edges of a finite patch, allowing us to use a plane wave as inci-dent field. Both theoretical formulation and numerical implemen-tation are addressed. We present simulations of full-polarization radar cross-sectional diagrams for 2-D ocean-like surfaces in both bistatic and monostatic configurations. The conductivity of the sea water is taken into account with a curved surface-impedance ap-proximation, and results are compared with a perfectly conducting surface model. Simulations are finally confronted to approximate theories and empirical sea backscatter models for low grazing angles at L-band, vertical polarization, and a wind speed of 3 m/s. Index Terms—Computational modelling, integral equations, method of moments, radar cross-sections, sea surface. I