Martian Topographic Roughness Spectra and Its Influence on Bistatic Radar Scattering

Abstract

There are few studies on predicting fully bistatic scattering from the rough surface of Mars, though some bistatic radar observations have been made, such as in the MARS EXPRESS mission. To better understand the interaction of radar signals with a planetary surface in bistatic radar observations, the topographic-scale roughness of Mars, characterized by a two-dimensional power spectrum density (2D-PSD), is examined in view of its global roughness variations and scale dependence on geological units. The analysis shows that the Martian 2D-PSD is strongly dependent on the geological units and that it lies between Gaussian and exponential functions, with a power index equal to 1.9. The bistatic scattering coefficients are calculated by an advanced integral equation model (AIEM) with the 2D-PSD as the input. It shows that the specific surface roughness spectrum and the dielectric inhomogeneity should be taken into account in interpreting the bistatic radar scattering response.