LINE-OF-SIGHT PROPAGATION PHENOMENA

Turbulent and precipitation conditions in the real atmosphere are considered in their effect on the line-ofsight propagation of electromagnetic waves. It is found that tropospheric scattering and phase scintillation mechanisms place an interesting limit on the accuracy with which one may determine the angular position of a distant radiator. Superposition of the same perturbed signals gives rise to waveform distortion in communication systems. Theoretical expressions for angular power distributions and phase error spectra are derived from phenomenological atmospheric models. Ray bending by cloud formations and rainstorms is also computed for representative weather conditions.