A NOTE ON THE POLARIZATION AND PHASE CHARACTERISTICS OF RADIO WAVES PROPAGATING THROUGH THE LOWER IONOSPHERE.
Abstract
Some ionospheric radio propagation problems associated with the satellite radar situation have been examined for radar frequencies between 100 and 1000 Mc/s. It has been shown that the maximum number of fades exhibited by a train of radar pulses is governed by the quantity H csc I, where H is the magnetic field intensity and I is the magnetic field inclination, except near the magnetic equator. At 100 Mc/s the maximum number of fades is characteristically less than 50, and since the Faraday rotation is inversely proportional to the square of the radar frequency, only one-half of a fade should be observed at 1000 Mc/s. Faraday rotational signal degradation of a linearly polarized radar signal has been shown to be negligible at 1000 Mc/s except possibly during winter days at sunspot maximum. In all but possibly the polar region, it is suggested that the relationship between irregularity scale Delta L and phase excursion Delta delta is given by Delta L/Delta delta (n sub f) approximately equal to 1000, where Delta L is in meters, Delta delta is in radians, and n sub f is the radar frequency in hundreds of megacycles per second. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 05, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0654707
Entities
People
- John M. Goodman
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory