Abstract
This is a general review of the existing climatological models of ionospheric radio scintillation for high and equatorial latitudes. Trans-ionospheric communication of radio waves from transmitter to user is affected by the ionosphere which is highly variable and dynamic in both time and space. Scintillation is the term given to irregular amplitude and phase fluctuations of the received signals and related to the electron density irregularities in the ionosphere. Key sources of ionospheric irregularities are plasma instabilities; every irregularities model is based on the theory of radio wave propagation in random media. It is important to understand scintillation phenomena and the approach of different theories. Therefore, we have briefly discussed the theories that are used to interpret ionospheric scintillation data. The global morphology of ionospheric scintillation is also discussed briefly. The most important (in our opinion) analytical and physical models of scintillation are reviewed here.
Highlights
The radio scintillation phenomenon is very similar to the twinkling of the stars in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum which are due to variations in tropospheric density due to turbulence
It is important to understand the global morphology of ionospheric scintillation since it will help users to differentiate between fluctuations produced by ionospheric irregularities and those of equipmental or man-made origin
We have presented a general overview of models of ionospheric scintillations for high and equatorial latitudes
Summary
The radio scintillation phenomenon is very similar to the twinkling of the stars in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum which are due to variations in tropospheric density due to turbulence. Scintillations are fluctuations of the parameters of trans-ionospheric waves, i.e., their phase, amplitude, direction of propagation and polarization. Scintillation observations have been used to identify and diagnose irregular structure in highly varied propagation media. The theory of radio wave propagation in random media has been developed, allowing for the physical interpretation of scintillation data in terms of the properties of the ionosphere’s irregular structure (Tatarski 1971; Yeh and Liu 1982; Bhattacharyya et al 1992). We will present and discuss the most important models of ionospheric scintillation. As a system, we identify the propagation of radio waves through the ionosphere with fluctuating electron density. In the case of scintillation modeling, the simulation is a solution of the equations modeling the wave propagation through the irregular ionosphere. As the main objective of the paper, we will review some existing scintillation models
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
