|
|
 |
|
|
Ann. Geophys., 20, 1023-1030, 2002
www.ann-geophys.net/20/1023/2002/
© European Geosciences Union 2002
Determining characteristics of HF communications links using SuperDARN
J. M. Hughes1, W. A. Bristow1, R. A. Greenwald2, and R. J. Barnes2
1Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA
2Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA
Correspondence to: J. M. Hughes (hughesj@gi.alaska.edu)
Abstract. Space weather effects can
strongly influence high-frequency (HF) communications by changing the
ionospheric environment through which the radio waves propagate. Since many
systems utilize HF communications, the ability to make real-time assessments of
propagation conditions is an important part of space weather monitoring
systems. In this paper, we present new techniques for measuring high-latitude
HF communications link parameters using data from SuperDARN radars. These
techniques use ground-scatter returns to define the variation in skip distance
with frequency. From these data, the maximum usable frequency (MUF) as a
function of range is determined and ionospheric critical frequencies are
estimated. These calculations are made in near-real-time and the results are
made available on the World Wide Web. F-region critical frequencies calculated
using this method show good agreement with ionosonde data.
Key words. Ionosphere (active
experiments; instruments and techniques) – Radio science (ionospheric
propagation)
Full Article in PDF (813 KB) |
|
|
