Tropospheric wave propagation:

Troposphere encompasses the atmospheric region within 16 km above the

earth’s surface.

The main contributing factors to the field strength at the receiver end are the
following: direct ray from transmitter; ground reflected ray; reflected and
refracted rays from the troposphere; diffracted rays around the curvature of
the earth, hills and so on.
The main applications of tropospheric propagation are in FM, TV and radar
and employs the frequency range above 30MHz.
Field strength due to space wave propagation for flat earth:

Direct and ground reflected rays in space wave

Factors affecting the space wave field strength :
The factors affecting the space wave field strength are the following:
curvature of the earth; earth’s imperfections and roughness; hills, tall
buildings and other obstacles; height above the earth; transition between
ground and space wave; polarization of the waves.
A. Curvature of the earth:
The expression for the resultant field strength of the receiver antenna has
been derived by assuming that the earth surface is flat. When the distance
between the transmitting and receiving antennas is very large, the curvature
of the earth has to be taken into consideration which are as follows: the field
strength at the receiver antenna becomes weak as the direct ray may not be
able to reach the receiving antenna. Hence the possible distance of
transmission is reduced. Also, the ground reflected rays diverge after their
incidence on the earth. Moreover, the earth’s curvature creates shadow
zones where no signals can reach. Shadow zones are also known as
diffraction zones. Due to earth’s curvature, the resultant field strength at the
receiver antenna becomes

All these explains are represented below:

Effect of earth’s curvature

Effective and actual heights of antennas

B. Effect of earth’s imperfections and roughness:

It is a well known fact that the earth is basically imperfect and electrically
rough. The reflection coefficient for the perfect earth is unity but differs
from the same for the actual earth’s shape. For the actual earth, the value of
the phase change becomes different from 180o. Also, the amplitude of
ground-ref lected ray becomes smaller than that of direct ray. Moreover, the
resultant field strength at the receiver antenna gets reduced by earth’s
imperfection and roughness.
 C.Effects of hills, buildings and other obstacles:
The presence of hills, buildings and other obstacles create shadow zones,
thereby reducing the possible distance of transmission.

Effect of obstacles

D. Effect of the height above the earth:

Typical variation of field strength with height

The above figure portrays the typical variation of the resultant field
with height above the earth. The resultant field is characterized by the
presence of maxima, minima and nulls. It is observed that the
corresponding maxima and minima depend on frequency, height of the
transmitting antenna, ground characteristics and polarization of the
wave.
E. Effect of transition between ground wave and space wave:
When the transmitting antenna is close to earth’s surface, ground wave
sets in. Then the resultant field strength becomes independent of the
 antenna height. But when the transmitting antenna is placed at a height
of 16km above the earth’s surface, it is observed that the resultant field
strength is affected by the antenna height depending on the frequency,
polarization, and constants of the earth. For vertically polarized wave,
it is observed that the ground wave does not dominate at heights of the
order of λ or 2 λ. But space wave dominates at higher heights. For
horizontally polarized waves, transition between the ground wave and
space wave takes place for heights less than .

F. Effect of polarization:
It is observed that for any angle of incidence other than θi = 0 or 90o,
the magnitude of the reflected wave will be less with vertical
polarization than that with horizontal polarization, thereby resulting in
the reduction of the ground-reflected wave amplitude. It is also
observed that the height below which ground wave action is to be taken
into account is much less with horizontal polarization than that with
vertical polarization. Moreover, it is observed that the electromagnetic
interference created by ignition systems, domestic and consumer
electrical, electronic and communication equipment etc. is vertically
polarized. Horizontal polarization is useful for discrimination against
these disturbances occurring in TV and FM broadcasting.

Atmospheric effects in space wave propagation:

The dielectric constant of the earth’s atmosphere is found to be slightly greater than unity
due to the presence of gas molecules and water vapour. Also, the dielectric constant and
hence refractive index of air depends on the height above the earth’s surface as the density
of air and water vapour vary with height. It is observed that the dielectric constant decreases
with height. The variation of refractive index with height gives rise to different phenomena
like refraction, ref lection, scattering, duct propagation and fading. It is a well known fact
that refractive index,
But in the case of troposphere, due to the variation of refractive index with height, one has
to consider a modification in the expression for refractive index known as the modified
refractive index M. M is def ined as the sum of the refractive indices at a given height above
the mean geometrical surface and the ratio of the height to the mean geometrical radius.
It is observed that at high altitudes, 𝜀𝑟 or n is independent of heigh. The modified refractive
index M is found to increase by 0.048 units/ft. But near that earth, M is found increase
linearly at a constant rate which is less that the above mentioned figure.
The standard atmospheric condition is defined as follows:

The phenomenon of refraction in the troposphere is shown below.

Refraction in troposphere

The effective radius of earth is defined as the equivilant radius of earth used to correct the atmospheric
refraction approximately, as the refractive index of atmosphere changes linearly with height.
Duct propagation:

Duct propagation is a phenomenon which makes use of the atmospheric

duct region. The duct region exists between two levels where the variation
of modified refractive index with height is minimum. It is also said to exist
between a level, where the variation of modified refractive index with
height is minimum, and a surface bounding the atmosphere. The duct
phenomenon or super refraction arises due to temperature inversion zones.
In duct propagation, the ray which is parallel to the earth’s surface travels
round the earth in a series of hops with successive relections from the earth
and is shown below.

Duct propagation

The salient features of duct propagation are as follows: It happens

when dM/dh is negative and when the dielectric constant changes
with height adiabatically. It is a specific case of refraction of RF
energy. It takes place at VHF, UHF and microwave range and in areas
contiguous to oceans. It is similar to waveguide propagation of
microwaves. It is not a standard propagation. It is a rare phenomenon.
As it happens only during monsoons, it is non dependable always.
Long distance communication is possible when duct phenomenon
takes place. The transmitting antenna should be within the duct.
Otherwise, the signal, even when powerful, will not propagate. It
happens due to temperature inversion. It occurs due to super
refraction. It takes place when low and high moisture regions exist.
Radio horizon:
Radio horizon of an antenna is defined as the
locus of distant points at which the direct rays
from the antenna become tangential to a
planetary surface. The distance to the horizon is
affected by the atmospheric refraction.

Equivalent radius of earth

Salient features of radio horizon:
Radio horizon is the range by which a direct ray from transmitting
antenna reaches receiving antenna. The earth’s curvature exhibits a
horizon to space-wave propagation known as the radio horizon. The
radio horizon extends beyond optical horizon for standard atmosphere.
This is due to bending or refraction of the radio wave. Radio horizon
is about 4/3 times the optical horizon. The refraction of the wave takes
place because of changes in density of troposphere, temperature, water-
 vapour content and relative conductivity. The radio horizon can be
increased by increasing antenna heights. The radio horizon distance
between transmitting and receiving antennas

Troposcatter:
Troposcatterer is a mechanism by which propagation is possible by the
scattered and diffracted rays. The scattering takes place in the tropospheric
region. This mode of propagation occurs in the high frequency range from
160 MHz onwards. This mechanism helps to get unexpectedly large field
strengths at the receivers even when they are in shadow zone. The
electromagnetic waves generated by high powered transmitters with high
gain directive antennas reach the upper layer of troposphere. Scattering of
waves takes place due to considerable variation of refractive index. The
scattered wave reaching the receiver is shown below.

Troposcatter

Fading of electromagnetic waves in troposphere:

Fading is a loss of signal due to change in electrical characteristics of
troposphere. It is mainly due to the following: variation of dielectric
constant; presence of regional and eddies; uneven variations of refractive
index; variation of effective earth’s radius factor, K.
Line of sight (LOS):
LOS is defined as the distance that is covered by a direct space wave from
the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna. It depends on the
following factors: height of the receiving antenna; height of the transmitting
antenna; effective earth’s radius factor, K.
For standard atmosphere, K = 4 ⁄ 3.
The line of sight distance, dLOS is given by