Affiliation:
1. Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço—IAE São José dos Campos Brazil
2. William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences University of Texas at Dallas—UT Dallas Richardson TX USA
3. Centro de Estudos em Telecomunicações Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (CETUC/PUC‐Rio) Rio de Janeiro Brazil
4. Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica—ITA São José dos Campos Brazil
5. Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho—UNESP Presidente Prudente Brazil
Abstract
AbstractSignals recorded by two stations in the Brazilian region: [Fortaleza (3.74°S, 38.57°W) and Inconfidentes (22.31°S, 46.32°W)], receiving L1 transmissions from different geostationary satellites, were used to evaluate the amplitude scintillation index S4 and several characteristics of scintillation events (continuous record with S4 > 0.2) during nighttime hours (18:00 LT–02:00 LT) in the years 2014–2016. The effects from solar activity, season, and local time on the number of scintillation events per night, maximum scintillation, scintillation event duration, and spacing between consecutive events will be discussed. The results indicate that: (a) scintillation occurs from September to March in both links; (b) the most likely numbers of observed scintillation events per night were two or three, particularly during the first 2 years; (c) on average, the first scintillation event usually had larger maximum S4 values when compared to those of the later ones along the night; (d) the first scintillation event had a longer mean duration than the succeeding ones in a given night; (e) the durations of scintillation events, regardless of their numbers per night and the location, decreased with local time; (f) the opposite dependence of spacings between consecutive events on local time was observed; (g) the cumulative distribution functions of the scintillation onset time indicated a strong dependence on the dip latitude of the station; and (h) early occurrences of onset times are directly related to the increased probability of the occurrence of multiple scintillation events.
Funder
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
University of Texas at Dallas
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)