Definition and location of homogeneous regions in radar backscatter

Two definitions of radar clutter homogeneity are presented and tested on clutter data supplied by the Signal Processing Laboratory at Rome Air Development Center. The two-dimensional spectra of clutter regions are individually tested for compliance with the rough clutter definition. The isodistributive definition utilizes a non-parametric (Kruskal-Wallis) statistical test to locate clutter regions whose individual resolution cells possess identical backscatter populations. The regions which conform to the rough clutter definition of homogeneity are seen to be areas of low intensity backscatter or areas dominated by thermal noise. The isodistributive regions that are located in the clutter data correspond to the areas between high-intensity regions.