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Long‐Term Evolution of The Surface Refractivity for Arctic Regions
Author(s) -
Bettouche Y.,
Obeidat H.,
Agba B.,
Kouki A.,
Alhassan H.,
Rodriguez Jonathan,
AbdAlhameed R.,
Jones S.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1029/2018rs006671
Subject(s) - environmental science , context (archaeology) , term (time) , atmospheric sciences , arctic , climatology , meteorology , geography , geology , physics , oceanography , archaeology , quantum mechanics
In this paper, local meteorological data for a period of 35 years (from 1979 to 2013) from Kuujuaq station have been used to calculate the surface refractivity, N (a link for the data is available in the acknowledgements), and to estimate the vertical refractivity gradient, dN 1 , in the lowest atmospheric layer above the ground. Monthly and yearly variations of the mean of N and dN 1 are provided. The values obtained are compared with the corresponding values from the ITU maps. The long‐term trend of the surface refractivity is also investigated. The data demonstrate that the indices N and dN 1 are subject to an evolution that may have significance in the context of climate change. Monthly means of N show an increasing departure from ITU‐R values since 1990. Yearly mean values of the dN 1 show a progressive decrease over the period of study. Seasonal means of dN 1 show a decrease over time, especially for summer. Such a trend may increase the occurrence of superrefraction. However, currently available ITU‐R recommendations for microwave link design assume a stationary climate, so there is a need for a new modeling approach.