Adding land features including lidar

CLAUDE.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ with AMD AI chip R9-8945HS with 32 GB ram
 
 # Project: C++ OpenGL Radar Simulation
 **Environment:** Ubuntu Linux (Remote SSH from Windows)
-**Tech Stack:** C++20, OpenGL 3.3 Core, GLFW, GLAD, FreeType
+**Tech Stack:** C++20, OpenGL 3.3 Core, GLFW, GLAD, FreeType, GDAL (libgdal-dev)
 
 
 The operating system is Linux (Ubuntu)
@@ -51,6 +51,15 @@ entire directory list is /home/maallyn/new-radar on the Geekom.
 ./LICENSE
 ./src
 ./src/CLAUDE.md
+./map
+./map/lidar_processed
+./map/charts_enc
+./map/charts_enc/US5WA45M.000
+./map/charts_enc/n48_w123_1arc_v3.tif
+./map/lidar_raw
+./map/lidar_raw/wa2022_nooksack_dem_J1364940.zip
+./map/lidar_raw/wa2016_west_dem_J1364939.zip
+
 
 ==================================================================
 
@@ -641,6 +650,16 @@ settings.h — tunable constants:
     - Rain clutter filter: default (0.0 = off), minimum (0.0), maximum (1.0), keyboard step size
     - Wave clutter filter: default (0.0 = off), minimum (0.0), maximum (1.0), keyboard step size
     - Key-hold acceleration for gain, rain clutter, and wave clutter keys
+    - Terrain bounding box (lat/lon min/max) and processed cell size
+    - Terrain material σ° values (soil, rock, concrete, water calm/rough)
+    - Terrain material speckle/grain amplitudes (soil, rock, concrete)
+    - Terrain classification thresholds (rock elevation, rock slope)
+    - Terrain polar grid dimensions (range bins, bearing bins)
+    - Terrain clutter brightness scale for marine PPI
+    - Terrain boat recompute threshold (degrees bearing offset change)
+    - ATC terrain clutter suppressed flag (bool, default true)
+    - ATC terrain shadow enabled flag (bool, default true)
+    - LiDAR structure height threshold for man-made classification
 
 ==================================================================
 
@@ -1055,6 +1074,220 @@ in settings.h so they can be tuned without touching equation code.
 
 ==================================================================
 
+TERRAIN AND LAND CLUTTER
+
+==================================================================
+
+DATA SOURCES
+  map/charts_enc/US5WA45M.000
+      S-57 Electronic Navigational Chart; coastline polygon,
+      pier/breakwater geometry, named landmarks. Parsed with GDAL/OGR.
+
+  map/charts_enc/n48_w123_1arc_v3.tif
+      USGS 1 arc-second (~30 m) DEM GeoTIFF. Terrain elevation for the
+      Bellingham area — Cascades, Chuckanut Mountain, coastal lowlands.
+
+  map/lidar_raw/wa2016_west_dem_J1364939.zip
+      2016 western WA LiDAR DEM. Resolves waterfront structures,
+      breakwaters, piers, Boulevard Park boardwalk, and other man-made
+      features at ~1 m resolution.
+
+  map/lidar_raw/wa2022_nooksack_dem_J1364940.zip
+      2022 Nooksack basin LiDAR DEM. Covers the delta and lowlands
+      northeast of Bellingham Bay; used for terrain shadowing from the
+      northeast quadrant.
+
+  All three sources are processed offline by terrain_preprocess into
+  binary grids in map/lidar_processed/. The raw files are never opened
+  at exhibit runtime. See TERRAIN PREPROCESSING section below.
+
+  GDAL (libgdal-dev) is a required build dependency for
+  terrain_preprocess. It is NOT linked into the main radar binary.
+
+CLASSES
+
+  TerrainMap (Thread 1, read-only after init)
+    Loaded once at startup from map/lidar_processed/. Reads the four
+    binary grids and the metadata JSON. Provides:
+      - Elevation query by lat/lon
+      - Material query by lat/lon
+      - Pre-computed polar clutter grid (range × bearing bins) per
+        fixed radar location
+      - Line-of-sight shadow mask per radar location
+    Thread 1 only after init; no mutex required.
+
+  LandClutter (Thread 1)
+    Queries TerrainMap to generate clutter returns for each scope.
+    Called once per full sweep rotation, not once per frame.
+      - Marine A-Scope: produces amplitude samples along the current
+        antenna bearing for injection into the range trace.
+      - Marine PPI / ATC PPI: produces a polar texture (range × bearing)
+        uploaded to the GPU once per sweep period.
+
+TERRAIN MATERIALS AND RCS
+
+  Each terrain cell is classified as one of four materials. Normalized
+  backscatter coefficient σ° (linear, m²/m²) is defined in settings.h:
+
+    TERRAIN_SIGMA0_SOIL          ~0.010  (−20 dB) — moist vegetated soil
+    TERRAIN_SIGMA0_ROCK          ~0.032  (−15 dB) — exposed rock, rough face
+    TERRAIN_SIGMA0_CONCRETE      ~0.100  (−10 dB) — smooth hard surface;
+                                                     structures produce
+                                                     corner-reflector effect
+    TERRAIN_SIGMA0_WATER_CALM    ~0.0003 (−35 dB) — open water, calm;
+                                                     mostly specular, low
+                                                     backscatter
+    TERRAIN_SIGMA0_WATER_ROUGH   ~0.010  (−20 dB) — choppy sea, sea clutter
+
+  Classification rules applied by terrain_preprocess at build time:
+    - Below sea level or inside S-57 coastline polygon → water
+    - Inside S-57 pier/breakwater/wharf feature        → concrete
+    - Elevation > TERRAIN_ROCK_THRESHOLD_M AND slope
+      > TERRAIN_ROCK_SLOPE_THRESHOLD_DEG               → rock
+    - All remaining land cells                         → soil
+
+RADAR EQUATION FOR TERRAIN (area-extensive / clutter form)
+
+  P_r = (P_t × G² × λ² × σ° × A_cell) / ((4π)³ × R⁴)
+
+  A_cell is the terrain cell area projected along the beam.
+  Evaluated CPU-side in LandClutter for each illuminated cell.
+  Result drives per-cell brightness in the clutter texture.
+  Same radar parameters (P_t, G, λ) used for point targets.
+
+SHADOW / LINE-OF-SIGHT MASKING
+
+  Computed by terrain_preprocess for each fixed radar location and
+  stored in the processed data as uint8 shadow masks. Algorithm: march
+  outward from the radar along each azimuth radial, tracking the maximum
+  elevation angle seen. Any cell whose surface angle falls below that
+  maximum is shadowed — clutter amplitude = 0 and target returns through
+  that cell are attenuated proportionally.
+
+  Shadow masks stored per radar location:
+    map/lidar_processed/shadow_marine.u8  — marine bay platform
+    map/lidar_processed/shadow_atc.u8     — BLI ATC tower
+
+  Bearing offset (k/j keys on PPI scopes):
+    The k/j keys change display heading only — which direction appears
+    at the top of the scope. They do NOT move the radar geographically.
+    The shadow mask is unchanged. The terrain clutter shader receives
+    the offset as a rotation uniform and samples the polar texture at
+    the offset angle. Zero CPU overhead; no shadow recomputation.
+
+  Future boat scenario (not in v1):
+    If the radar antenna physically moves to a new lat/lon, the shadow
+    mask would be recomputed on a background thread while the display
+    continues with the previous mask.
+
+PER-SCOPE TERRAIN BEHAVIOR
+
+  Marine A-Scope:
+    Land returns appear as stable blips at fixed ranges on the current
+    antenna bearing. Concrete structures give strong returns; soil/hills
+    give moderate returns; shadowed areas return nothing. Period
+    operators were trained to discard stable blips when searching for
+    moving targets.
+
+  Marine PPI (fixed platform and boat heading offset):
+    Land clutter is fully visible. Coastline, hills, piers, and
+    breakwaters paint exactly as on a real period marine radar. The
+    clutter texture updates once per 4-second sweep rotation.
+
+  ATC PPI:
+    Moving Target Indicator (MTI) cancellation suppresses land clutter.
+    Controlled by ATC_TERRAIN_CLUTTER_SUPPRESSED (default true) in
+    settings.h. Terrain shadowing of aircraft IS applied — controlled
+    by ATC_TERRAIN_SHADOW_ENABLED (default true). Aircraft approaching
+    behind a ridge appear at reduced amplitude or disappear until they
+    clear the ridge, as on period ASR equipment.
+
+  Chain Home A-Scope:
+    No terrain data applied. The exhibit scenario faces the English
+    Channel; the transmitter floodlights the sea. Land returns are
+    not simulated for this scope.
+
+  PAR:
+    No terrain clutter. PAR points at a single fixed approach path;
+    the narrow beam and short range make land returns negligible.
+
+TERRAIN CLUTTER SHADER
+
+  terrain_clutter.vert / terrain_clutter.frag
+    Renders the polar clutter texture as a quad overlay on the PPI
+    scope. Converts screen coordinates to polar, samples the clutter
+    texture, and outputs P7-compatible phosphor color and alpha so
+    terrain returns decay on the same timescale as target echoes.
+    Uniforms:
+      u_bearingOffsetDeg   — boat heading correction (default 0.0)
+      u_clutterSuppressed  — bool; 1 = suppress (ATC mode)
+      u_maxRangeM          — current scope max range in meters
+      u_clutterBrightness  — TERRAIN_MARINE_CLUTTER_BRIGHTNESS scale
+    Used by MarinePPIScope and ATCPPIScope.
+
+==================================================================
+
+TERRAIN PREPROCESSING
+
+==================================================================
+
+The raw LiDAR zip files cannot be used at exhibit runtime. The offline
+tool terrain_preprocess processes them once and writes ready-to-use
+binary grids to map/lidar_processed/. Must be run before first launch
+and re-run whenever TERRAIN_BBOX_* or TERRAIN_PROCESSED_CELL_DEG
+constants in settings.h change.
+
+TOOL
+  Build target:  terrain_preprocess  (separate CMake executable)
+  Source:        src/terrain_preprocess.cpp
+  Links:         GDAL only; NOT linked into the main radar binary
+  Run:           ./terrain_preprocess   (from build directory)
+
+PIPELINE (runs in order)
+  1. Unzip both LiDAR archives to a temp directory.
+  2. Inventory tiles — enumerate .tif / .img files, check CRS and
+     native resolution of each.
+  3. Merge tiles within each survey into a GDAL VRT mosaic.
+  4. Warp both surveys to WGS84 (EPSG:4326) at
+     TERRAIN_PROCESSED_CELL_DEG resolution.
+  5. Crop to bounding box: TERRAIN_BBOX_LAT_MIN/MAX,
+     TERRAIN_BBOX_LON_MIN/MAX.
+  6. Merge the two surveys — where they overlap, the 2022 Nooksack
+     data wins over the 2016 western data (higher vintage / resolution).
+  7. Material classification:
+       Load S-57 ENC (US5WA45M.000) via GDAL/OGR.
+       Apply classification rules described in TERRAIN section above.
+  8. Compute shadow mask for marine platform and ATC tower using radial
+     elevation-angle march along each azimuth bearing.
+  9. Write to map/lidar_processed/:
+       elevation.f32       float32 row-major grid, meters, WGS84
+       material.u8         uint8 per cell (0=water 1=soil 2=rock 3=concrete)
+       shadow_marine.u8    uint8 visibility mask for marine radar
+       shadow_atc.u8       uint8 visibility mask for ATC radar
+       terrain_meta.json   grid dimensions, lat/lon origin, cell size,
+                           source file checksums, processing date
+
+RUNTIME VALIDATION
+  TerrainMap reads terrain_meta.json at startup and compares the stored
+  bounding box and cell-size values against current settings.h constants.
+  If they differ it prints a warning and continues with stale data:
+    WARNING: terrain data was built with different bounding box or
+    cell size — re-run terrain_preprocess before exhibit launch.
+  The exhibit does not crash; it runs with the old grid.
+
+OUTPUT FILES (map/lidar_processed/)
+  elevation.f32       — float32 elevation grid
+  material.u8         — uint8 material classification grid
+  shadow_marine.u8    — uint8 line-of-sight mask, marine radar
+  shadow_atc.u8       — uint8 line-of-sight mask, ATC radar
+  terrain_meta.json   — metadata and provenance record
+
+  These five files are the only terrain inputs at runtime.
+  The raw zip archives in map/lidar_raw/ are never opened by
+  the exhibit binary.
+
+==================================================================
+
 FILE LAYOUT (COMPLETE — including additions)
 
 ==================================================================
@@ -1082,6 +1315,13 @@ src/
   rpi_receiver.h / rpi_receiver.cpp
   db_panel.h / db_panel.cpp        — Dear ImGui DB management panel
                                      (--database mode only)
+  terrain_map.h / terrain_map.cpp  — DEM load, shadow mask, polar clutter
+                                     grid; read-only after init, Thread 1
+  land_clutter.h / land_clutter.cpp — per-sweep clutter arrays for A-scope
+                                     range trace and PPI clutter texture
+  terrain_preprocess.cpp           — standalone offline preprocessing tool;
+                                     separate CMake target; links GDAL only;
+                                     NOT part of main radar binary
   settings.h                       — all constexpr constants; no .cpp
 
   imgui/                           — Dear ImGui source, compiled in
@@ -1091,8 +1331,11 @@ src/
     imgui_draw.cpp / imgui_tables.cpp / imgui_widgets.cpp
 
 shaders/
-  phosphor.vert / phosphor.frag    — P1 and P7 via uniforms
+  phosphor.vert / phosphor.frag       — P1 and P7 via uniforms
   graticule.vert / graticule.frag
   text.vert / text.frag
   sweep.vert / sweep.frag
-  bloom.vert / bloom.frag          — FBO bloom post-processing
+  bloom.vert / bloom.frag             — FBO bloom post-processing
+  terrain_clutter.vert / terrain_clutter.frag — polar clutter texture overlay
+                                               on PPI; P7-compatible decay;
+                                               bearing offset rotation uniform

DESIGN.md

@@ -402,3 +402,205 @@ No raw `new` or `delete` anywhere in the codebase. No `malloc`/`free`.
    3.0 (a mid-range estimate). This is applied in the radar equation computation
    for Chain Home targets only, before the result is passed to the bloom/
    brightness pipeline.
+
+17. **Terrain and land clutter** are rendered from pre-processed binary grids
+   in `map/lidar_processed/`. The offline tool `terrain_preprocess` fuses the
+   SRTM DEM, both LiDAR surveys, and the S-57 ENC into elevation, material,
+   and shadow-mask grids. At runtime `TerrainMap` loads these grids once;
+   `LandClutter` generates a polar clutter texture once per sweep period.
+   See the TERRAIN CLUTTER VISUAL DESIGN REFERENCE section below for
+   per-material appearance and speckle tuning guidance.
+
+---
+
+## Terrain Clutter Visual Design Reference
+
+All tunable values described here have corresponding constants in
+`src/settings.h`. Edit `settings.h` to change values; this section
+explains the perceptual intent behind each constant.
+
+### Purpose
+
+The goal is historical authenticity. Period marine radar operators in the
+1950s saw the Bellingham shoreline as a bright, stable ring of returns that
+formed a recognizable coastline silhouette. Skilled operators mentally
+subtracted this from the display and watched only for moving or changing
+returns. That experience should be reproducible on this exhibit.
+
+---
+
+### Material Visual Character
+
+**SOIL** (vegetated land, fields, low hills)
+
+Period appearance: moderate-brightness, moderately grainy returns. The
+grain (speckle) is high because vegetation is irregular — individual trees,
+bushes, and undulations produce slightly different returns each sweep.
+The overall brightness holds steady between sweeps but the texture shimmers.
+
+- σ° constant:  `TERRAIN_SIGMA0_SOIL` (~0.010, −20 dB)
+- Speckle:      `TERRAIN_SPECKLE_SOIL` (suggested starting value: **0.35**)
+- Appearance:   mid-grey; clearly visible but not dominating. Rolling
+                hillsides read as a diffuse bright edge along the coastline
+                and inland ridges.
+
+---
+
+**ROCK** (exposed cliff faces, upper Chuckanut ridgeline, rock outcrops)
+
+Period appearance: brighter than soil, less speckle. Rock faces are
+geometrically consistent so returns are stable sweep to sweep. Steep faces
+pointing toward the radar return a disproportionately strong echo.
+
+- σ° constant:  `TERRAIN_SIGMA0_ROCK` (~0.032, −15 dB)
+- Speckle:      `TERRAIN_SPECKLE_ROCK` (suggested starting value: **0.20**)
+- Appearance:   noticeably brighter than soil; Chuckanut Mountain's western
+                face reads as a bright arc, stable between sweeps. Little
+                shimmer — the texture is coarser and more consistent.
+
+---
+
+**CONCRETE** (breakwaters, piers, dock structures, Boulevard Park boardwalk,
+harbor facilities)
+
+Period appearance: the strongest land returns on the scope after large steel
+vessels. Structures built over water (piers on pilings, breakwater walls)
+produce corner-reflector effects — the right-angle junction between the
+vertical face and the water surface acts as a retroreflector. Operators used
+these as navigation aids; the Bellingham harbor entrance is identifiable by
+its distinctive bright return pattern.
+
+- σ° constant:  `TERRAIN_SIGMA0_CONCRETE` (~0.100, −10 dB)
+- Speckle:      `TERRAIN_SPECKLE_CONCRETE` (suggested starting value: **0.12**)
+- Appearance:   bright, stable, low shimmer. Breakwaters and piers appear as
+                sharp bright lines or arcs. The Boulevard Park boardwalk over
+                the water appears as a bright thin arc. These features should
+                be the most prominent land returns on the scope after large
+                steel ships.
+
+---
+
+**WATER — CALM** (open bay, light wind)
+
+Period appearance: very weak, near-invisible. Calm water reflects most radar
+energy away from the antenna (specular reflection). Operators saw a nearly
+blank area over open water even at high gain.
+
+- σ° constant:  `TERRAIN_SIGMA0_WATER_CALM` (~0.0003, −35 dB)
+- Appearance:   at normal gain, essentially black. Only visible at extreme
+                gain settings as a faint salt-and-pepper noise floor.
+
+---
+
+**WATER — ROUGH** (choppy bay, wind >10 knots)
+
+Period appearance: a low-level fuzzy return rising from the noise floor,
+affecting the inner ranges most strongly. Sea clutter was a major nuisance
+on small-vessel marine radar. The wave clutter filter (keys 5/6) suppresses
+this.
+
+- σ° constant:  `TERRAIN_SIGMA0_WATER_ROUGH` (~0.010, −20 dB)
+- Appearance:   at normal gain, a hazy shimmer at short ranges that fades
+                outward. Heavy speckle — random wave facets scatter
+                incoherently. The wave clutter filter reduces this.
+
+---
+
+### Speckle / Grain Tuning Guide
+
+Speckle simulates pulse-to-pulse amplitude variation caused by incoherent
+scattering from irregular surfaces. Implemented as a per-cell random
+fraction multiplied by the computed P_r each sweep:
+
+```
+Speckle = P_r × (1.0 + TERRAIN_SPECKLE_xxx × random(−1, +1))
+```
+
+Values close to 0.0 give stable, solid returns (correct for concrete and
+large flat surfaces). Values closer to 0.5 give vigorous shimmer (correct
+for vegetation and choppy water). Values above 0.5 are unrealistically noisy
+for terrain — avoid unless simulating a very rough or complex surface.
+
+Suggested starting values:
+
+| Constant                    | Value | Character                               |
+|-----------------------------|-------|-----------------------------------------|
+| `TERRAIN_SPECKLE_SOIL`      | 0.35  | visible shimmer, naturalistic           |
+| `TERRAIN_SPECKLE_ROCK`      | 0.20  | moderate, stable with some texture      |
+| `TERRAIN_SPECKLE_CONCRETE`  | 0.12  | mostly stable; slight flicker from edge |
+
+**Tuning procedure:**
+1. Set max range to 6 miles on the Marine PPI.
+2. Rotate to a bearing showing the Bellingham breakwater and open bay.
+3. Adjust `TERRAIN_MARINE_CLUTTER_BRIGHTNESS` until the breakwater return
+   is clearly bright but does not wash out nearby ship targets.
+4. Adjust `TERRAIN_SIGMA0_CONCRETE` if breakwater brightness relative to
+   soil hills looks wrong.
+5. Adjust speckle values until soil hillsides shimmer naturally and concrete
+   structures hold steady between sweeps.
+6. Verify at all three marine range settings (2, 4, 6 miles) that clutter
+   does not overwhelm vessel targets at any range.
+
+---
+
+### Overall Brightness Balance
+
+The most important perceptual tuning parameter is
+`TERRAIN_MARINE_CLUTTER_BRIGHTNESS`. It is a linear scale factor applied to
+all terrain return brightness before the clutter texture is uploaded to the
+GPU. It does not change the relative balance between materials — it scales
+all terrain uniformly.
+
+**Target appearance goal:**
+- A steel AIS vessel at 3 miles range should be 2–3× brighter than the
+  strongest adjacent land clutter return (a concrete breakwater).
+- The coastline silhouette should be clearly readable as geography — a
+  visitor who knows Bellingham Bay should recognize the shape.
+- Open water should be visually clean at default gain settings.
+
+Suggested starting value: `TERRAIN_MARINE_CLUTTER_BRIGHTNESS = 0.55`
+
+**ATC PPI:** `ATC_TERRAIN_CLUTTER_SUPPRESSED = true` means land clutter is
+hidden by MTI cancellation — no brightness tuning needed for ATC. If
+suppression is disabled for debugging, use `TERRAIN_MARINE_CLUTTER_BRIGHTNESS`
+as a guide.
+
+---
+
+### Shadow Zones
+
+Shadow zones are the most dramatic visual effect on the Marine PPI. They
+appear as dark wedge-shaped gaps in the land clutter pattern, pointing
+outward from the radar, behind ridgelines and hills.
+
+Key shadow features visible from the marine bay platform:
+- **Chuckanut Mountain** (southwest) casts a prominent shadow into the
+  southern bay and beyond.
+- **Lummi Island** (northwest) shadows a sector of the northern bay.
+- **Bellingham waterfront bluff** shadows part of the inner harbor.
+
+These shadows are inherently dark against surrounding clutter — no tuning
+required. Shadow = zero amplitude, computed geometrically by the preprocessor.
+
+For the ATC scope with `ATC_TERRAIN_SHADOW_ENABLED = true`, shadows affect
+aircraft returns only (not the display background, which is suppressed). An
+aircraft descending behind Chuckanut Mountain will fade out and reappear as
+it clears the ridge on final approach — authentic behavior of period ASR radar.
+
+---
+
+### Polar Clutter Texture Resolution
+
+`TERRAIN_POLAR_BEARING_BINS` and `TERRAIN_POLAR_RANGE_BINS` control the
+resolution of the GPU texture carrying terrain clutter to the shader.
+Recommended values:
+
+| Scope               | Bearing bins | Range bins | Notes                        |
+|---------------------|-------------|------------|------------------------------|
+| Marine PPI (6 mi)   | 720         | 512        | 0.5° matches marine beamwidth|
+| ATC PPI (20 mi)     | 720         | 1024       | wider range needs more bins  |
+
+The texture is regenerated once per sweep period (every 4–5 seconds), not
+every frame. Upload cost is not time-critical. Reducing to 360 bearing bins
+is acceptable and halves the texture upload cost at the expense of slightly
+blocky angular transitions near prominent features.

additions.lidar

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+I just added the following directories (alrady mentioned in the existing CLAUDE.md file
+./map
+./map/lidar_processed
+./map/charts_enc
+./map/charts_enc/US5WA45M.000
+./map/charts_enc/n48_w123_1arc_v3.tif
+./map/lidar_raw
+./map/lidar_raw/wa2022_nooksack_dem_J1364940.zip
+./map/lidar_raw/wa2016_west_dem_J1364939.zip
+
+We need code for the marine a scope and marine ppi scope and the
+on-boat ppi radar to show reflectivity from the ./map/charts_enc/US5WA45M.000
+and ./map/charts_enc/n48_w123_1arc_v3.tif (include whatever addional shader
+files that may be needed. Consider with the topographical map the effect of higher hils
+closer to lower hills will shadow the lower hills from the radar where ever the radar is,
+which will change if there is a radar on a boat.
+
+The ./map/lidar_raw/wa2016_west_dem_J1364939.zip contains information for the lidar
+mapping of any man made structures, including features on the waterfront; breakwaters,
+piers, and structures built over the water such as the boulevard park boardwalk
+
+We will need to include the information in the ./map/lidar_raw/wa2016_west_dem_J1364939.zip
+file to contribute to the reflection on the shore and land features. 
+
+The marine a-scope and the maring PPI scope and the on boat ppi scope needs to show  these
+features.
+
+The Air traffic control radar in the day would blank out the shore features, but would show
+the effects of shadowing of aircraft by the taller hils. 
+
+The land featuresl should be subject
+to the effects of the radar equation. Consider the materials be soil, rock, and concrete.
+
+In order to provide visual balance, the grain for returns of the shoreline, the mountains and
+hills and the man made structures should be included in the settings.h file and DESIGN.md file
+

src/settings.h

@@ -361,6 +361,122 @@
  *                                        range is approximately 2–5)
  */
 
+/*
+ * ================================================================
+ * TERRAIN — BOUNDING BOX AND GRID
+ * ================================================================
+ * The preprocessor crops both LiDAR surveys to this box and builds
+ * the binary grids at TERRAIN_PROCESSED_CELL_DEG resolution.
+ * If any of these values change, re-run terrain_preprocess.
+ * TerrainMap validates these against terrain_meta.json at startup
+ * and warns if a mismatch is found.
+ *
+ * TERRAIN_BBOX_LAT_MIN          Southern edge of processed grid (degrees)
+ * TERRAIN_BBOX_LAT_MAX          Northern edge of processed grid (degrees)
+ * TERRAIN_BBOX_LON_MIN          Western edge of processed grid (degrees)
+ * TERRAIN_BBOX_LON_MAX          Eastern edge of processed grid (degrees)
+ *   Default box covers all three fixed radar locations plus the full
+ *   20-mile ATC radius:  48.5 N to 49.05 N,  122.0 W to 123.2 W
+ *
+ * TERRAIN_PROCESSED_CELL_DEG    Cell size in degrees; ~0.0003° ≈ 30 m
+ *                               at this latitude. Matches SRTM resolution;
+ *                               LiDAR detail is resampled to this grid.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * ================================================================
+ * TERRAIN — MATERIAL CLASSIFICATION THRESHOLDS
+ * ================================================================
+ * Applied by terrain_preprocess during material classification pass.
+ * Cells above both thresholds are classified as rock; all other
+ * non-water, non-structure land cells are classified as soil.
+ *
+ * TERRAIN_ROCK_THRESHOLD_M          Minimum elevation for rock class (meters)
+ * TERRAIN_ROCK_SLOPE_THRESHOLD_DEG  Minimum local slope for rock class (degrees)
+ * TERRAIN_STRUCTURE_HEIGHT_THRESHOLD_M
+ *                                   Minimum height above surrounding terrain
+ *                                   to classify a LiDAR feature as man-made
+ *                                   concrete (meters; default 2.0)
+ */
+
+/*
+ * ================================================================
+ * TERRAIN — MATERIAL BACKSCATTER COEFFICIENTS (σ°)
+ * ================================================================
+ * Normalized radar backscatter coefficient per material, linear
+ * (m²/m²). Used in the clutter radar equation inside LandClutter.
+ * Multiply by cell area and radar equation factors to get P_r.
+ *
+ * TERRAIN_SIGMA0_SOIL          ~0.010   (−20 dB) moist vegetated land
+ * TERRAIN_SIGMA0_ROCK          ~0.032   (−15 dB) exposed rock, rough face
+ * TERRAIN_SIGMA0_CONCRETE      ~0.100   (−10 dB) hard smooth surface;
+ *                                                corner reflectors from
+ *                                                structure edges
+ * TERRAIN_SIGMA0_WATER_CALM    ~0.0003  (−35 dB) flat water, specular
+ * TERRAIN_SIGMA0_WATER_ROUGH   ~0.010   (−20 dB) choppy sea, sea clutter
+ */
+
+/*
+ * ================================================================
+ * TERRAIN — SPECKLE / GRAIN AMPLITUDES
+ * ================================================================
+ * Random amplitude variation applied per cell per sweep to simulate
+ * the characteristic grainy texture of real radar land clutter.
+ * Values are fractional (0.0–1.0) multiplied by the computed P_r
+ * for each cell. See DESIGN.md for perceptual tuning guidance.
+ *
+ * TERRAIN_SPECKLE_SOIL          Speckle fraction for soil returns
+ * TERRAIN_SPECKLE_ROCK          Speckle fraction for rock returns
+ * TERRAIN_SPECKLE_CONCRETE      Speckle fraction for concrete returns
+ *                               (lower than soil — structures are
+ *                               geometrically stable, less random)
+ */
+
+/*
+ * ================================================================
+ * TERRAIN — POLAR CLUTTER GRID DIMENSIONS
+ * ================================================================
+ * The polar texture uploaded to the GPU for PPI rendering. Larger
+ * values give finer angular and range resolution but cost more VRAM
+ * and upload time. Texture is regenerated once per sweep period.
+ *
+ * TERRAIN_POLAR_BEARING_BINS    Number of angular bins (360 minimum;
+ *                               720 for 0.5° resolution)
+ * TERRAIN_POLAR_RANGE_BINS      Number of range bins across max range
+ *                               (512 is sufficient for 6-mile marine;
+ *                               1024 for 20-mile ATC)
+ */
+
+/*
+ * ================================================================
+ * TERRAIN — RENDERING AND DISPLAY FLAGS
+ * ================================================================
+ *
+ * TERRAIN_MARINE_CLUTTER_BRIGHTNESS
+ *                               Overall brightness scale factor for
+ *                               land clutter on marine PPI (0.0–1.0).
+ *                               Tuned for visual balance against live
+ *                               target returns. See DESIGN.md.
+ *
+ * TERRAIN_BOAT_RECOMPUTE_THRESHOLD_DEG
+ *                               Reserved for future boat scenario.
+ *                               Minimum bearing offset change (degrees)
+ *                               before a background shadow recompute
+ *                               is triggered when the boat moves.
+ *                               Not used in v1 (fixed platforms only).
+ *
+ * ATC_TERRAIN_CLUTTER_SUPPRESSED
+ *                               true = suppress land clutter on ATC PPI
+ *                               (MTI cancellation; default true).
+ *                               Set false to show raw land clutter for
+ *                               debugging or demonstration purposes.
+ *
+ * ATC_TERRAIN_SHADOW_ENABLED    true = apply terrain shadow attenuation
+ *                               to aircraft returns on ATC PPI.
+ *                               Aircraft behind hills appear at reduced
+ *                               amplitude or absent (default true).
+ */
+
 /*
  * ================================================================
  * PAR GEOMETRY