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Propagation integrals for estimation of ionospheric radar refraction
Author(s) -
Fretwell L. J.
Publication year - 1974
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/rs009i006p00609
Subject(s) - refraction , atmospheric refraction , ionosphere , tangent , radar , wave propagation , mathematical analysis , physics , mathematics , optics , geometry , computer science , geophysics , telecommunications
A systematic, thick refraction medium approach to calculating ionospheric radar refractive effects by means of propagation‐related integrals yields equations valid to second order in the tangent of the propagation angle with respect to the straight line between source and target. Significant differences are found from more intuitive developments currently used. When more than one propagation path exists between source and target, alternate propagation paths cannot be located reliably by the propagation integral method. However, inclusion of the higher‐order terms responsible for the alternate solutions does significantly improve the accuracy of the primary path solution when those terms can be estimated accurately in a strong refraction situation.