Date of Award
2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Physics and Astronomy
Committee Chair
Don A. Gregory
Committee Member
Kenneth Herren
Committee Member
Geoffrey N. Pendleton
Subject(s)
Radio waves -- Scintillation, Atmospheric turbulence, Refractive index
Abstract
It has been well established that scintillation, or random fades and enhancements of a propagating wave due to turbulence-induced fluctuations of the refractive index, can have deleterious effects on radar and satellite communications systems, especially for frequencies above 10 GHz (3 cm). Kolmogorov theory characterizes turbulence along a given propagation path in terms of the refractive index structure parameter C(superscript 2)(subscript n) . Tropospheric scintillation models are typically driven by C(superscript 2)(subscript n)(z) profiles developed from atmospheric measurements/predictions of pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed/direction along a given propagation path. In this work, high-resolution distributions of outer-scale, wind shear, and squared buoyancy frequency will be analyzed and used to describe an alternative scintillation model. To conclude, the modified method will be invoked on Global Forecast System (GFS) data and the results compared to measurement data and predictions of existing models.
Recommended Citation
Suggs, James L. Jr., "A modified model for the long-term prediction of tropospheric scintillation from coarse-resolution atmospheric data" (2022). Theses. 370.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-theses/370