Research to Operations of Ionospheric Scintillation Detection and Forecasting
Abstract
Ionospheric Scintillation refers to random fluctuations in phase and amplitude of electromagnetic waves caused by a rapidly varying refractive index due to turbulent features in the ionosphere. Scintillation of trans-ionospheric VHF/UHF satellite communications and L-Band navigation radio frequency signals is particularly troublesome. This phenomenon degrades signal strength and integrity, negatively affecting satellite communications and navigation, radar, or radio signals from other systems that traverse or interact with the ionosphere. Although ionospheric scintillation occurs in both the equatorial and polar regions of the Earth, the focus of this modeling effort is equatorial scintillation. The ionospheric scintillation model is data-driven in the sense that scintillation observations are used to perform detection and characterization of scintillation structures. These structures are then propagated to future times using drift and decay models to represent the natural evolution of ionospheric scintillation. The impact on radio signals is also determined by the model and represented in graphical format to the user. A frequency-scaling algorithm allows for impact analysis on frequencies other than the observation frequencies. The project began with lab-grade software, and, through a tailored Agile development process, deployed operational-grade code to a DoD operational center. The Agile development process promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, continuous improvement, regular collaboration with the customer, and encourages rapid and flexible response to customer-driven changes. The Agile philosophy values individuals and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a rigid plan. The result was an operational capability that met customer expectations. Details of the model and the process of operation
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 18, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1001972
Entities
People
- Brandon Erickson
- David R. Payne
- Drew Ebelhar
- James C. Jones
- Jody Karmann
- Kevin Scro
- M. Starks
- Nelson A. Bonito
- R. G. Caton
- Ryan Ruhge
- Sage Andorka
Organizations
- Air Force Space Command