Statistics of travel time and intensity of two first arrivals of short pulses backscattered by a rough 3D surface

The time history of a pulse backscattered by a rough surface contains information about the position of the surface and the properties of the scatterers. This information is utilized successfully in a number of remote sensing techniques ranging from echo sounding of the ocean bottom to medical ultrasonics and satellite altimetry. In the current paper, statistical properties of backscattered waves are considered in a geometrical optics approximation. The probing pulse duration is assumed to be sufficiently short so that signals backscattered in the vicinity of individual specular points on a rough surface do not overlap in time. Theoretical results previously obtained for a 2D problem I. M. Fuks and O. A. Godin, 2005, Waves in Random and Complex Media, 14, 539-562; M. I. Charnotskii and I. M. Fuks, 2005, Waves in Random and Complex Media, 15, 451-467] are extended to wave scattering by 3D rough surfaces by following a mathematical approach developed in stochastic geometry. Predictions of an asymptotic theory are verified against results of Monte-Carlo simulations. Probability density functions of travel times and intensities of the first and second arrivals of the backscattered wave are quantified in terms of statistical moments of roughness assuming normal distribution of elevations. It is found that, as in the 2D case, the travel time and the intensity are strongly correlated; on average, the earlier a signal arrives, the smaller is its intensity.