There has been an increasing interest in multiple scattering phenomena in recent years. This is primarily due to the discovery of new multiple scattering phenomena and an increasing awareness that a common thread underlies the work of many researchers in such diverse fields as atmospheric optics, ocean acoustics, radio physics, astrophysics, condensed matter physics, plasma physics, geophysics, bioengineering, etc. In addition, waves in random media is one of the most challenging problems to theoreticians. Thus the field of wave propagation and scattering encompasses the most practical as well as the most theoretical questions. The strong interest in this subject is reflected in the launch of a new journal, Waves in Random Media, by the Institute of Physics, United Kingdom in 1991. This paper reviews some of the most recent developments and discoveries in the field of wave propagation and scattering in turbulence and volume and surface scattering. Included are new discoveries of backscattering enhancement and memory effects which may be applicable to tissue optics, ultrasound imaging, ocean acoustics and geophysical remote sensing. Also indicated are recent developments of numerical Monte-Carlo techniques and experimental studies on this subject.

Point-to-point optical and millimeter wave communication has recently been of interest, especially in urban areas. Its benefits include simpler and easier installation compared with a land-based line. However, this technology suffers when adverse weather conditions are present, such as rain, fog and clouds, which induce scattering and absorption of the optical wave. The effects of scattering and absorption degrade the quality of the communication link resulting in increase of bit-error-rate. Therefore, there exists a need for accurate channel characterization in order to understand and mitigate the problem. In this paper, radiative transfer theory is employed to study the behavior of amplitude modulated signal propagating through a random medium. We show the effect of the medium to a modulated signal and relate the outcome on the quality of the communication link.