Variance of the depolarization coefficient of radio waves

A method is proposed for eliminating the discrepancy between theoretical and experimental determinations of the variance of the depolarization coefficient of radio waves scattered from various earth-surface types (e.g., desert, sea, forest, meadow, and urban). Experiments were carried out with a 3-cm CW radar. It is shown that earth-surface types can be distinguished on the basis of measurements of the depolarization coefficient.