Study of Ducted EM Propagation over the Gulf Stream from Measured Data
and Numerical Simulations
Abstract
Propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves from radar and communication
devices at sea can be significantly affected by the low-altitude
atmospheric refractive conditions. Characterizing the spatial and
temporal variability of refractivity is thus crucial to many important
Navy and civilian applications. Surface layer models based on
Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory (MOST), such as the Navy Atmospheric
Vertical Surface Layer Model (NAVSLaM), can be used to estimate the
vertical refractive structure of the evaporation duct (ED) from measured
or forecasted environmental parameters, assuming a
horizontally-homogeneous stratified atmosphere. As air and sea surface
temperature are two critical inputs to NAVSLaM, the rapid variation in
sea surface temperature (SST) and air-sea temperature difference in the
Gulf Stream region provides a relatively controlled environment for
investigating the utility of NAVSLaM under inhomogeneous ducting
conditions. In this paper, EM propagation in the ED over the Gulf Stream
is investigated using measured data from the Coupled Air-Sea Processes
and Electromagnetic-ducting Research (CASPER) East Coast experiment
conducted off the coast of Duck, NC, during October-November of 2015.
Measurements of the one-way propagation loss between a transmitter and
receiving array as a function of the range were performed during ship
crossings of the Gulf Stream. Concurrent and co-located meteorological
and oceanographic measurements were also collected within the marine
atmospheric boundary layer (MABL), including air temperature, SST,
relative humidity, air pressure and wind speed to be used as inputs to
NAVSLaM. The environmental conditions in the region of the Gulf Stream
are used to model the low-altitude refractivity profiles as a function
of height and range, which are input into the Advanced Propagation Model
(APM) for predicting the EM propagation. Of particular focus is the
effect of the rapid change in SST across the boundary between the warmer
Gulf Stream and the colder surrounding ocean. EM measurements are
compared with the simulated propagation loss based on the
range-dependent refractivity profile predicted from NAVSLaM, as well as
a best-fit Paulus-Jeske ED model. Both stable and unstable conditions
encountered during the CASPER East experiment are investigated.