Simultaneous analysis of downlink beacon dynamics and skybrightness temperature. Part I. Remote sensing of a slant path

This paper investigates the remote sensing of height and displacement velocity of turbulent clouds, composed mainly of liquid water, using a combination of simultaneous radiometric and geostationary satellite beacon measurements. Because a radiometer integrates the sky brightness temperature distribution observed within the solid angle subtended by the antenna beamwidth, the paper shows how this process can be modeled as a low-pass filter using the small angle approximation and the frozen-in hypothesis. The 3-dB cutoff frequency of that filter is used in conjunction with the Fresnel frequency of the amplitude scintillations power spectrum to derive the cross-path wind speed and the height of the turbulent layer/cloud. In order to quantify the 3-dB cutoff frequency of the filter-radiometer, a dual aperture radiometer was constructed and was used in conjunction with a ground station receiver monitoring the 39.5-GHz beacon transmissions of ITALSAT F1 and measuring amplitude scintillations. The experimental results derived on cloud heights are then compared with the vertical profiles obtained by a 94-GHz radar, indicating agreement except in those cases where the thickness of the cloud structure becomes important. This aspect is then discussed in the paper and a radiometric definition is given for the cloud height. Finally, the important aspect of instrumentation is described including the effect of the radiation pattern of a radiometer antenna upon the cross correlation and cross spectrum between two coaxial measured antenna temperatures     

Scattering induced microwave scintillations from clear air and rain on earth space paths and the influence of antenna aperture

The variance and spectrum of amplitude scintillations due to scattering in both turbulent clear air and rain, are investigated. Included are the important aspect of antenna aperture smoothing with special emphasis on earth-space paths and the equations derived are applicable to system design and remote sensing. A detailed comparison with published experimental results is carried out and the agreement found is good. Two approaches are described in detail: 1) the point receiver classical wave scattering results are modified to include aperture effects, 2) a scalar scattering cross-section approach is combined with the radar equation and the results derived are similar to those of 1). In addition, approach 2) includes the case of rain. Among the results found it is shown that because the scintillation intensity depends on the ratio between the antenna diameter and the diameter of the Fresnel zone in the turbulent region, low elevation paths counteract the tendency to smoothing by large earth station antennas and the scintillations observed remain large. Also pure scattering induced rain scintillations, even in the millimeter region, are in general reduced to an almost negligible level due to aperture smoothing even though for a theoretical point receiver they would be very intense. The time variability of rain attenuation and its polarization dependence as a source of apparent scintillations are also discussed.     

Calibration procedure of a microwave total-power radiometer

A total-power radiometer built in combination with a beacon receiver is being used for low-level attenuation measurements. This experimental receiver was built to measure atmospheric propagation impairments, using the ITALSAT satellite 50 GHz signal. The radiometer is mainly used to provide the reference level for the beacon measurements. Its precision should be better than ±3 K, for low attenuation levels, in order to have 0.1 dB accuracy in the attenuation measurements. A suitable calibration procedure is described     

The application of S-band polarimetric radar measurements toKa-band attenuation prediction

In September 1993, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) was deployed into a geostationary orbit near 100° W longitude. The ACTS satellite employs two Ka-band beacons, one at 20.185 GHz and another at 27.505 GHz. Impairments due to rain attenuation and tropospheric scintillations will significantly affect new technologies for this spectrum. Heavy rain at Ka-band can easily produce 30 dB of attenuation along the propagation path. Propagation experiments being conducted in seven different climatic zones involve multiyear attenuation measurements along the satellite-Earth slant path. Measurements in the B2 climatic zone are made with an ACTS propagation terminal located in northeast Colorado. In order to gain move understanding about the physical processes that are responsible for Ka-band attenuation, the Colorado State University CHILL S-band polarimetric radar is used to take radar measurements along the slant path. The Colorado Front Range experiences a variety of weather conditions throughout the year ranging from upslope rain conditions to winter storms. Four such events measured along the slant path are illustrated in this paper. They include two convective cases and two “bright-band” cases. The S-band polarimetric radar data is used to initialize radar-based attenuation-prediction models, which are applied to the four precipitation events described. The comparisons of predicted attenuation to measured attenuation are quite good. It was also found during the course of the experiment that water droplets standing on the antenna surface can cause appreciable attenuation at Ka-band frequencies. That finding needs to be recognized in future model development and statistical analysis     

Characteristics of fading on low-elevation angle Earth-space pathswith concurrent rain attenuation and scintillation

Signal-level variations on Ku-band low-elevation Earth-space paths, where large signal fades due to rain and tropospheric scintillations sometimes occur simultaneously, are examined. The difference in the amplitude variation rate for rain attenuation and scintillation fading is used to extract the effects of the two phenomena individually from raw data with the aid of a filtering technique. Characteristics of signal fading during rain are discussed on the basis of the analysis. It is shown that the decrease of signal level due to scintillation is much smaller than that due to rain attenuation, particularly for time percentages below 0.1%. However, for time percentages above about 1%, the effect of scintillation becomes dominant and no longer negligible, particularly for low-margin systems operating at low elevation angles     

Twelve years of rain attenuation statistics of Earth–space propagation experiment at Ka band in Toulouse

Since 2009, ONERA has been running Ka band propagation experiments in Toulouse (France, latitude 43.57°N, longitude 1.47°E). A rain gauge was also deployed on site to collect rainfall rate measurements concurrently to beacon data. Since April 2011, the beacon receiver has been recording the 20.2 GHz (vertical polarisation) Astra 3B beacon signal along a slant path of 35.1° of elevation angle. All years of the experiment had excellent data availability, hence giving 12 years of data at Ka band. First, the propagation experiment and the data processing methodology are described. Second, a statistical analysis of rain attenuation and rainfall rate is conducted. Comparisons are then performed with the prediction methods of Recommendations ITU-R P.837-7 (rainfall rate), P.618-13 (rain attenuation) and P.678-3 (variability of propagation phenomena).     

Ice depolarization of the COMSTAR beacon at 28.56 GHz during low fades and correlation with radar backscatter

Radar correlation with significant ice depolarization events accompanied by low copolarization fades of the 28.56-GHz COMSTAR beacon signal are described for an experimental program at Wallops Island, VA. Using a Faraday switch at the front end of the receiver, the copolarization and cross-polarization levels of the 28.56-GHz beacon signal are sequentially monitored. A nearby high resolutionS-band radar pointing along the Earth-satellite path monitors the simultaneous ice and rain reflectivity. Excellent correlation is noted between the cross-polarization events and relatively large and extended ice reflectivities along a segment of the Earth-satellite path at altitudes near and above the 0°C isotherm. The radar and receiver data strongly suggest the cross-polarization mechanism is due to a hailshaft which intersects the path at altitudes well below the 0° isotherm. Since the intervening ice results in a cross-polarization signal which either adds or subtracts to the cross-polarization antenna residual, a method is described to remove the residual from the resultant measured cross-polarization level, without employing a phase measurement. Cumulative, month-of-year and time-of-day statistics associated with the depolarization signals are established.     

Comparison of antenna noise temperature with rain attenuation of a satellite beacon signal at 12 GHz

Simultaneous measurements of antenna noise temperature Ta and satellite beacon attenuation were made to examine the quantitative relation between them, and to determine the `apparent? effective medium temperature which provides an accurate estimate of slant-path attenuation. The correlation between the attenuation and the increase in Ta due to rain is very good, and the effective medium temperature derived from the `apparent? one is reasonably consistent with a theoretical result.     

A prediction model that combines rain attenuation and otherpropagation impairments along Earth-satellite paths

The rapid growth of satellite services using higher frequency bands such as the Ka-band has highlighted a need for estimating the combined effect of different propagation impairments. Many projected Ka-band services will use very small terminals and, for some, rain effects may only form a relatively small part of the total propagation link margin. It is therefore necessary to identify and predict the overall impact of every significant attenuating effect along any given path. A procedure for predicting the combined effect of rain attenuation and several other propagation impairments (at frequencies between 4 and 35 GHz) along Earth-satellite paths is presented. Where an accurate model exist for some phenomena, these have been incorporated into the prediction procedure. New models were developed, however, for rain attenuation, cloud attenuation, and low-angle fading to provide more overall accuracy, particularly at very low elevation angles (<10°). In the absence of a detailed knowledge of the occurrence probabilities of different impairments, an empirical approach is taken in estimating their combined effects. An evaluation of the procedure is made using slant-path attenuation data that have been collected with simultaneous beacon and radiometer measurements which allow a near complete account of different impairments. Results indicate that the rain attenuation element of the model provides the best average accuracy globally between 10 and 30 GHz and that the combined procedure gives prediction accuracies comparable to uncertainties associated with the year-to-year variability of path attenuation     

Physical-mathematical model of dynamics of rain attenuation withapplication to power spectrum

The author presents a physical-mathematical model of the dynamics of rain attenuation and applies it to predict the power spectrum of attenuation. Compared to experimental data at 19.77 GHz (beacon from satellite Olympus) the prediction is very good     

Optimum utilization of the channel capacity of a satellite link inthe presence of amplitude scintillations and rain attenuation

By considering the global fading process on the link caused by rain attenuation and amplitude scintillations, particularly at K_a band, it is possible to derive a long-term statistical model of the satellite channel capacity. The four-parameter distribution, which combines amplitude scintillations and rain fade within an up/down link system, is presented. Also presented are the degradation (and improvement) of bit error rate (BER) in the presence of amplitude scintillations, thus complementing the flat fade effect due to rain only. By implementation of adaptive communication systems, a more efficient channel capacity utilization is possible. The concepts and the use of novel analytical expressions combining a log-normal model of rain fade with a Moulsley-Vilar distribution for scintillations are illustrated. These are then applied to a very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) example of a 29/19-GHz digital communications link through the Olympus satellite using M-ary phase shift keying (PSK) modulation schemes     

Predicting Antenna Noise Temperature Due to Rain Clouds at Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Frequencies

Model-oriented methods to predict antenna noise temperature due to rainfall along slant paths are developed and illustrated for communication systems at Ka-band and above. The adopted Sky Noise Eddington Model (SNEM) relies on an accurate analytical solution of the radiative transfer equation and on stratiform and convective rainfall stratified structures, synthetically generated from cloud-resolving model statistics. The approach to predict antenna noise temperature is based on the multiple regression analysis, trained by SNEM-derived cloud radiative data sets, and can handle either slant-path attenuation or columnar liquid water or rain rate as input predictors. Statistical scaling with respect to frequency and zenith angle is also analyzed and modeled in the microwave and millimeter-wave range. In order to test the proposed prediction technique, measurements of the ITALSAT satellite ground-station at Pomezia (Rome, Italy) are taken into consideration for two case studies. Combined data from the ITALSAT three-beacon receiver at 18.7, 39.6, and 49.5 GHz and from a three-channel microwave radiometer at 13.0, 23.8, and 31.6 GHz are processed. Results are shown and discussed in terms of antenna noise temperature estimation by using the satellite-beacon path attenuation as predicting variable.     

Propagation measurements due to rain and ice using the OTS satellite over the period January 1979–May 1980

In this paper, we summarize propagation measurements along a slant path to the Orbital Test Satellite, OTS. Measurements were made using the circularly polarized beacon at 11.786 GHz. We present possible explanations for some of the measured propagation activity using a theoretical model incorporating rain, ice and a segmented rain and ice path. We also discuss measurements made with two electric field probes. Lastly the effect of a rain event on a glass-fibre radorne is illustrated and compared to the same event received via a co-located radome-less antenna.     

Predictive methods for rain attenuation using radar and in-situ measurements tested against the 28-GHz Comstar beacon signal

A program to measure the rain attenuation of the Comstar beacon signal at 28.56 GHz has been in continuous operation since March of 1977 at Wallops Island, VA. During the summer of 1977 simultaneous radar and disdrometer measurements at the site were also made and used for predicting path attenuation. The best-fit values ofaandbof the relationk = aZ^{b}were deduced for each rain period from the raindrop size measurements, wherekis the attenuation coefficient [dB/km] andZis the reflectivity factor [mm⁶/m³]. The measuredk-Zrelations and the simultaneous radar reflectivity measurements along the beacon path were injected into a computer program for estimating the path attenuation. Predicted attenuations, when compared with the directly measured ones, show generally good correlation on a case-by-case basis and very good agreement statistically after an empirical calibration adjustment is applied to the radar data. A method was also tested for predicting fade statistics at another frequency (e.g., 19 GHz) using simultaneous rain rate and fade distributions (28 GHz) in conjunction with disdrometer data. The predicted distributions showed good agreement with radar-predicted levels. The results demonstrate the utility of using radar in conjunction with disdrometer and rain gauge measurements for predicting fade events, long-term fade distributions, and establishing predictive criteria associated with earth-satellite telecommunications.     

Satellite site diversity: Results of a radiometer experiment at 13 and 18 GHz

Joint attenuation statistics for a model site-diversity satellite system which would operate at 18 and 30 GHz were gathered in a radiometer experiment conducted at sites near Atlanta, GA, and Denver, CO. The receiver is of the classic Dicke radiometer type, monitoring sky-noise power at 13.6 and 17.8 GHz. Scaling provides the means to derive 30 GHz performance. The experiment, which commenced in May 1973, provides an expedient means of acquiring essential rain attenuation statistics without the use of active signal sources, such as a satellite beacon. This article describes the experiment and presents the results, including representative data samples from the 1½A year measurement period. Based on these measurements, a model satellite system operating during, the measuring period in Atlanta, at 18 and 30 GHz with 8 and 18 dB fade margins, respectively, would require 14-mi site diversity to insure no more than 0.005 percent propagation outage. During the same time period, site diversity was found unnecessary to satisfy this objective with operation in Denver.     

Measurement of rain-induced zenith-path attenuation using 19.9 GHz radiometer at Amritsar (India)

The paper presents the results of 19.9 GHz radiometric propagation studies conducted over a period of one year at Amritsar, for determining rain-induced zenith path attenuation. The zenith path attenuation has been determined by the measurements of sky noise temperature received by the radiometer. The results obtained from the experiment are presented in the form of annual cumulative distributions of rain rate, sky noise temperature, and zenith path attenuation together with worst-month statistics. The rainfall rate cumulative distribution as predicted by ITU-R for our geographical location is lower than the actually measured rainfall rate cumulative distribution. The cumulative distribution of zenith path attenuation predicted by using ITU-R model overestimates the measured cumulative distribution of zenith path attenuation.     

Melting layer attenuation at 28.6 GHz from simultaneous comstar beacon and polarisation diversity radar data

Attenuation data at 28.6 GHz obtained from measurements of the Comstar beacon show that, for moderate rain, slant path attenuation may significantly exceed that calculated from simultaneous radar reflectivity measurements. Polarisation diversity radar data were used for positive identification of the rain and the melting layer, and for estimating the rain attenuation along the path. These results indicate that the melting layer attenuation is significant.     

A theoretical and experimental study of angular scintillations in earth space paths

The theoretical framework and experimental results of an antenna offsetting technique which has been used to investigate angle of arrival fluctuations in the microwave region for medium (30deg) and low elevation (9deg) angles is presented. The receiver antenna is depointed by a small angle and the antenna gain slope in dB/deg transforms angle fluctuations into amplitude fluctuations. The sensitivity and resolution of the apparatus together with the limitations due to amplitude scintillations, their time variability, and the noise floor of the system are discussed in detail. Experimental results are presented and compared with the theory developed in the paper. The study reveals that the important parameter is the productC^{2}_{n}Land values are presented and discussed. The experimental values for the root mean square (rms) angular deviationsigma(theta)and of the spectral densityW_{theta}(f)show a great variability between day and night and between winter and summer with values ofsigma(theta)ranging from below 1 mdeg up to 20 mdeg. Low elevation studies at9degindicate angular scintillations less intense than expected, and never exceeding 4 mdeg.     

The role of rain in satellite communications

The most fundamental obstacle encountered in design of satellite communication systems at frequencies above 10 GHz is attenuation by rain. The microwave power radiated toward an earth station, being limited by factors such as available primary power and size of antenna on the satellite, is insufficient, with present technology, to overcome the large attenuation produced by intense rain cells on the earth-space path. The resultant loss of signal makes for unreliable transmission. In what follows, methods of measurement of this attenuation at various frequencies and a technique called path diversity that substantially improves the reliability are presented. Other degradations produced by rain, such as depolarization, interference, increase in earth-station noise, and deterioration of earth-station antenna performance, are also discussed.     

ACTS propagation experiment: experiment design, calibration, anddata preparation and archival

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) propagation experiment was designed to obtain slant-path attenuation statistics for locations within the United States and Canada for use in the design of low-margin Ka-band satellite communication systems. Experimenters at seven different locations have collected propagation data for move than two years. The propagation terminals used for the experiment were identical. A single preprocessing program was used by the experimenters to provide for automatic calibration, generation of attenuation histograms, and data archival. In this paper, the calibration procedures are described mid estimates given for measurement accuracy. ACTS provided beacons at 20.2 and 27.5 GHz for use in making attenuation measurements. In addition to the beacon receivers, each ACTS propagation terminal has two total power radiometers with center frequencies at the beacon frequencies. The radiometers are used to establish the beacon signal reference levels needed for calculating beacon attenuation values. For the combined radiometer and beacon measurement system, the attenuation measurement error was less than a maximum of 1.0 dB and was generally less than 0.3 dB. The dynamic range for attenuation measurement varied from site to site depending on location relative to the peak of the satellite beacon antenna pattern. For locations within the continental United States, the dynamic range was better than 20 dB