Scattering function approach for modeling time-varying sea clutter returns

Historically radar returns from the sea surface have generally been modeled in one of two ways-either a) a quasi-deterministic fashion using electromagnetic scattering theory combined with a random realization of physical sea surface based on insights from hydrodynamics or b) using a statistical model of the amplitude envelope based on assumptions about the distribution of scatterers within a resolution cell visible from a given observation angle. However, these models usually suffer from either excessive computational and/or conceptual complexity or have highly restrictive regimes of applicability. In this work we present an alternative characterization of sea clutter returns utilizing statistical linear time-varying system theory in an attempt to provide a more general model that works in a wider variety of circumstances while retaining a competitively low computational burden. It is hoped that the compactness of this mathematical representation will facilitate more rapid development of effective clutter mitigation techniques in the future.