Projects per year
Abstract
The low‐frequency radio sky shows the locations of electromagnetic radio sources with a characteristic dilution of precision. Here we report a thorough high‐resolution analysis of radio waves from low‐frequency (∼20–150 kHz) radio communication transmitters which are recorded with a small aperture array of radio receivers during the day. It is found that the observed dilution of precision results from the array geometry of the radio receivers, a birefringent wave propagation, and the correlated multipath propagation of low‐frequency radio waves. The influence of the array geometry on the dilution of precision is reduced by taking into account the impulse response of the array. This procedure reveals for the very first time the splitting of one single radio source into two distinct source locations separated by ∼0.2°–1.9° which result from a birefringent wave propagation. The two locations are yet more clearly identified by using the polarity of the modulated wave number vectors of the radio waves. This polarity is also used to quantify the dilution of precision arising from correlated multipath propagation which is discriminated against wave number fluctuations arising from the timing accuracy of the radio receivers. It is found that ∼69% of the wave number variability is of natural origin and ∼31% originates from the timing accuracy of the receivers. The wave number variability from correlated multipath propagation results in a standard deviation ∼2–8% relative to the source location. This compact measurement of correlated multipath propagation is used to characterize the uncertainty of source locations in the radio sky. The identification of correlated multipath propagation strongly suggests the existence of very fast processes acting on time scales <1 ms in the D region ionosphere with physically meaningful effects on low‐frequency radio wave propagation. This important result has implications for practical applications in that the observed multipath propagation enables the determination of natural limits for the accuracy of navigation and lightning location methods using low‐frequency radio waves.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1141-1149 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Radio Science |
Volume | 50 |
Issue number | 11 |
Early online date | 2 Oct 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2015 |
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Multipath propagation of low-frequency radio waves inferred from high-resolution array analysis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 4 Finished
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Radio Tomography for Atmospheric Science
Natural Environment Research Council
30/04/14 → 29/04/15
Project: Research council
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Relativistic Electron Beams Above Thunderclouds
Natural Environment Research Council
10/01/11 → 9/01/14
Project: Research council
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Sentinel: GNSS Services Needing Trust in Navigation, Electronics and Timing
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
1/01/11 → 31/03/13
Project: Research council
Profiles
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Adrian Evans
- Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering - Deputy Head of Department
- Electronics Materials, Circuits & Systems Research Unit (EMaCS)
- Centre for Digital, Manufacturing & Design (dMaDe)
- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (AAPS CDT)
Person: Research & Teaching, Core staff, Affiliate staff
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Martin Fullekrug
- Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering - Reader
- Electronics Materials, Circuits & Systems Research Unit (EMaCS)
- Centre for Climate Adaptation & Environment Research (CAER)
Person: Research & Teaching, Core staff
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Robert Watson
- Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering - Senior Lecturer
- Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC)
- Electronics Materials, Circuits & Systems Research Unit (EMaCS)
- Centre for Digital, Manufacturing & Design (dMaDe)
- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (AAPS CDT)
- Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (IAAPS)
Person: Research & Teaching, Core staff, Affiliate staff
Datasets
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Data for Multipath Propagation of Low Frequency Radio Waves Inferred from High Resolution Array Analysis
Fullekrug, M. (Creator), University of Bath, 2015
DOI: 10.15125/BATH-00121
Dataset