Investigation of methods for updating ionospheric scintillation models using topside in-situ plasma-density measurements. Rept. for 1 May 90-30 Apr 91

Technical Report · Wed May 15 04:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5862213

Secan, J A

Modern military communication, navigation, and surveillance systems depend on reliable, noise-free transionospheric radio-frequency channels. They can be severely impacted by small-scale electron-density irregularities in the ionosphere, which cause both phase and amplitude scintillation. Basic tools used in planning and mitigation schemes are climatological in nature and thus may greatly over- and under-estimate the effects of scintillation in a given scenario. This report summarizes the results of the first year of a three-year investigation into the methods for updating ionospheric scintillation models using observations of ionospheric plasma-density irregularities measured by DMSP Scintillation Meter (SM) sensor. Results are reported from the analysis of data from a campaign conducted in January 1990 near Tromso, Norway, in which near coincident in-situ plasma-density and transionospheric scintillation measurements were made. Estimates for the level of intensity and phase scintillation on a transionospheric UHF radio link in the early-evening auroral zone were calculated from DMSP SM data and compared to the levels actually observed.

• Research Organization: Northwest Research Associates, Inc., Bellevue, WA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5862213
• Report Number(s): AD-A-243378/7/XAB; NWRA-CR--91-R072; CNN: F19628-90-C-0072
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661320* -- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AURORAL ZONES
COMMUNICATIONS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRON DENSITY
EUROPE
EVALUATION
IONOSPHERE
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NAVIGATION
NORWAY
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
PLASMA DENSITY
RADIATIONS
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
SCANDINAVIA
SCINTILLATIONS
SURVEILLANCE
WAVE PROPAGATION