Microwave backscattering from a layer of randomly oriented discs with application to scattering from vegetation

Abstract

The backscattering coefficients of a layer of vegetation over a fiat ground using discrete scatter model is studied. The vegetation layer is assumed to consist of randomly oriented leaves. The leaves are modelled by fiat, circular, dielectric discs. The distorted Born procedure is used for computing the mean field in the layer region which is due to an obliquely incident plane wave. Thebackscattering coefficients are then calculated by employing single scattering theory. In performing the necessary averaging, leaves are assumed to have orientation statistics that are azimuthally symmetric with respect to the layer normal. Numerical results for the skin depth of the mean wave and the backscattering coefficients are obtained for vegetation layer which consist of leaves onlyin the Rayleigh and geometric optics regimes.