International Journal of
Physical Sciences

  • Abbreviation: Int. J. Phys. Sci.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1992-1950
  • DOI: 10.5897/IJPS
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 2574

Full Length Research Paper

Microwave propagation attenuation due to earth’s atmosphere at very high frequency (VHF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) bands in Nsukka under a clear –air condition

Ernest Benjamin Ikechukwu Ugwu
  • Ernest Benjamin Ikechukwu Ugwu
  • Natural Science Unit, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.
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Maureen Chioma Umeh
  • Maureen Chioma Umeh
  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.
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Obiageli Josephine Ugonabo
  • Obiageli Josephine Ugonabo
  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.
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  •  Received: 26 April 2015
  •  Accepted: 01 June 2015
  •  Published: 16 June 2015

Abstract

The microwave propagation attenuation due to earth’s atmosphere under a clear-air condition for fade depth of 10 dB was investigated using refractivity data calculated from weather vagaries measurement carried out between January and December 2008. The International Telecommunication Union-Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) model for multipath fading for small percentage of time with link distance of 100 km was used. The result showed that at this distance, the refractivity gradient has a strong correlation of 0.747 with percentage of time that the fade depth was exceeded. It was also observed that the percentage of time that the fade depth was exceeded increases with frequency until about 1.2GHz when the result becomes unreliable.
 
Key words: Attenuation, fade depth, microwave, multipath fading, refractivity gradient.