Enhanced backscattering at grazing angles.

Backscattering signals at small grazing angles are important for space vehicle atmospheric reentrance and subsurface radar sensing applications. They are also useful in Fourier-transform infrared grazing-angle microscopy. Recently we performed an experimental study of far-field scattering at small grazing angles, in particular, of enhanced backscattering at grazing angles.

High-frequency diffraction corrections to backscattering cross sections from a rough three-dimensional surface.

Diffraction corrections to scalar wave fields at perfectly free and rigid rough surfaces were derived by two iterations of the corresponding integral equations. These diffraction corrections to the pressure or normal velocity (which, in the geometrical optics limit, are doubled at perfectly rigid and free surfaces, respectively) were obtained with an accuracy of approximately 1k(2), where k is the wave number of incidence radiation. Based on these corrections to the surface fields, the backscattering cross sections at normal incidence from the statistically rough Gaussian surfaces were derived.

Statistics of specular points at a randomly rough surface.

Statistical parameters are obtained for an ensemble of specular points at a randomly rough Gaussian statistically isotropic surface at normal incidence. The joint probability density functions (PDFs) of specular point heights and total curvatures are derived separately for maxima, minima, and saddle points. The joint PDFs of brightness and surface elevations of specular points of different types are obtained analytically in an explicit form.

A multifrequency scintillation method for ocean flow measurement.

The transverse flow of inhomogeneous fluid produces fluctuation of the acoustic signal passing through it. The coherence of frequency-spaced signal fluctuation is related to the advection of the inhomogeneous medium through the sound path, thus providing a basis for the current velocity measurement. This method can be considered to be the "frequency-domain" version of the conventional scintillation approach to the current velocity registration based on the measurement of the signal correlation transmitted from the source to the two separated in space receivers (space-domain scintillation) [S.