Premium
A morphological study of gigahertz equatorial scintillations in the Asian region
Author(s) -
Fang D. J.,
Liu C. H.
Publication year - 1983
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/rs018i002p00241
Subject(s) - geostationary orbit , ionosphere , sunspot , geography , climatology , meteorology , environmental science , satellite , geology , physics , astronomy , geophysics , quantum mechanics , magnetic field
Concerted efforts were made from 1978 to 1980 to monitor ionospheric scintillations in the Asian region. Two geostationary satellites (Intelsat IV F8, Pacific Ocean Region, and Intelsat IV‐A F1, Indian Ocean Region) and five earth stations (Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Hawaii, and Sri Lanka) with a total of eight up/downlink signals at 4 and 6 GHz, respectively, were involved. Twenty‐nine months of 4‐GHz data received at the Hong Kong earth station were used for analysis. This measurement period coincided with the solar maximum period of the current solar cycle 21. Scintillations of severe intensity with peak‐to‐peak fluctuations of up to 14 dB were recorded. This paper examines the morphological aspect of scintillations in the Asian region, including the equinoctial occurrence pattern, diurnal onset characteristics, relationship between scintillations along the eastward and westward links during sunset, and correlation with sunspot numbers. These findings, complementary to information already available from American and European‐African regions, provide an essential element in understanding the global behavior of gigahertz ionospheric scintillations.