Tropospheric Structure Factors Obtained From Radio Data

When radio waves penetrate the inhomogeneous troposphere the first order effect is a phase perturbation of the field. The field distortions diffract energy into new space frequencies which give information on the size fJf tropospheric irregularities. Simultaneous transmission through the troposphere on several frequencies between a ground station and a high flying airplane has provided experimental diffraction patterns produced by the medium. A dominant scale size of a few miles extent parallel to the earth's surface and a few hundred feet along the vertical has been found.