Performance Analysis of Refractivity from Radio Technique in Support of Electromagnetic Environment Prediction
Abstract
Generating vertical atmospheric refractivity profiles from local radio frequency (RF) signals of opportunity is a technique known as refractivity from radio (RFR). The refractivity profiles from RFR provide information on surface-based and elevated ducts, which impacts the performance of radar, communications equipment, and other technology employing the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. Refining the RFR technique is important for producing real-time environmental support. RFR was used during the Coupled Air Sea Processes and Electromagnetic ducting Research West Coast field campaign (CASPER-West), conducted offshore in Southern California in 2017. This area was chosen for its spatial and temporal variability of refractive profiles and for the frequent occurrence of offshore wind events that resulted in surface-based ducts. This thesis focuses on using rawinsonde measurements to assess the performance of RFR. The characteristics of the observations were evaluated independently, concentrating on duct top height, trapping layer base height, duct type, and duct strength. RFR profiles were then analyzed and evaluated against the observed ducting layer properties. It was shown that RFR has better performance for estimating duct top height for ducting layers below 400 m. RFR profiles better represent the atmospheric refractivity conditions at 30 minutes ahead of the observation. Results were provided to the developer of the RFR data studied for use in retrieval algorithm improvement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1069605
Entities
People
- Anna M. Hook
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School