High-frequency bistatic sea-floor scattering from sandy ripple bottom

To obtain the bistatic scattering function on the sandy ripple bottom, high-frequency bistatic sea-floor scattering measurements were made in the shallow waters off the east coast of Korea. A sand ripple field was present at the site, with wavelength generally in the 10-20-cm range. The mean ripple orientation relative to the direction of wave propagation was estimated to be roughly 20/spl deg/-30/spl deg/. Field experiments were made to measure forward (in-plane) and out-of-plane scattering from the ripple bottom. The measured scattering strengths were compared to the predictions of the APL-UW bistatic scattering model. Overall, forward-scattering strength measurements showed favorable comparison with the model predictions. The global scattering characteristics for the ripple bottom gave an augmented out-of-plane scattering.