IONOSPHERIC ABSORPTION OF HF RADIO WAVE IN VERTICAL PROPAGATION

Document Type : Regular Paper

Authors

1 Department of Science Teaching, Faculty of Education, Inonu Univ., 44280 Malatya, Turkey

2 Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Arts, Firat Univ., 23169 Elazig, Turkey

Abstract

In this study, absorption of high frequency radio waves in the ionospheric plasma have been
investigated. The wave equation was obtained in terms of ionospheric parameters. The numerical values of
the absorption have been calculated for 4 MHz, 4.5 MHz and 5 MHz waves. The necessary parameters for
calculation have been obtained using an International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) Model. The altitudinal,
diurnal, seasonal and the variations of absorption with frequency have been examined. The calculations show
that the highest absorption occurs in the D-region. The absorption is higher in summer than in other seasons
and is maximum at daylight. In addition, absorption decreases with the increase of frequency.

Keywords