HF PROPAGATION

The Ionosphere
D Layer E Layer
F Layer Sporadic E
Propagation Near the Polar Regions Modes
Solar Flares Polarization
A Prediction Example A Measured Example

The HF, or shortwave, band is generally considered to spread from 3 to 30MHz. At

these
frequencies it is possible to communicate over the horizon by effectively
reflecting radio waves
off the ionosphere. About 50 years ago, HF was extensively used for long distance
communication. Large networks of relay stations were constructed to communicate
this traffic.
The ionosphere is, however, a complex and constantly changing phenomenon. Simpler
and
more reliable methods such as satellites and cable replaced these networks. But
now digital
technologies are giving the HF band a new lease of life. Techniques for
automatically selecting
and maintaining a suitable transmission frequency have been developed.
Equalisation, coding
and interleaving enables data to be reliably transmitted over constantly changing
HF channels.

The Ionosphere

The ionosphere is a region of the earth's atmosphere where

charged particles exist. The ionosphere starts at altitudes above
80km (50miles). At this height the atmosphere is thin enough
that free electrons can exist for short periods before they are
captured by a nearby positive ion. The ionosphere has
properties of both a gas and a plasma. Solar radiations
dislodges electrons from gas atoms or molecules by UV and
higher frequency solar radiation. Ionization is balanced by
recombination where free electrons are captured by positive
ions. The degree of ionization varies with altitude. At the highest
levels the solar radiation is the most intense but the number of
atoms is small so there are few charged particles. As the altitude

decreases the number of gas atoms increases, increasing the ionization process and
also the
recombination process as the chance of a free electron encountering an ion
increases. Also the
solar radiation intensity decreases as more photons are absorbed at higher levels.

The earth's atmosphere is composed of a number of different gasses. Up to about

100km the
gasses are well mixed due to turbulence. Above this height the composition of the
gasses varies
according to their molecular weight. In the lower ionosphere molecular oxygen and
nitrogen are
abundant. Above 200km atomic oxygen predominates. The differing capability of the
sun to
ionize the different gasses and differences in the recombination processes results
in several
distinct ionization peaks called the D, E, F1 and F2 layers.
D Layer

This is the lowest layer occurring around 50 to 90km. As the lowest layer, the
atmospheric
density is the highest and recombination of ionized particles occurs rapidly.
Ionization is created
by short wave X rays and cosmic rays. Longer wavelength radiation (100nm plus)
ionizes nitrous
oxide. Constant solar energy is needed to sustain ionization. Consequently this
layer is only
present during daylight hours. Noon electron densities reach 10 8 to 10 9
electrons/m 3 . As the
sun sets this layer recombines and disappears. There is also a strong seasonal
variation with a
maximum in summer.

At HF the layer absorbs rather than refracts (VLF and ELF is reflected). As energy
from the
electromagnetic wave sets electrons in motion, there is a high probability that
the energy will be
absorbed in a collision with a neutral particle. The electromagnetic energy is
turned into kinetic
energy (heat) and, as far as radio propagation is concerned, lost.

E Layer

This occurs around from 90 to 130km. Radio waves interacting with this layer
undergo refraction
back towards the earth. This can be visualized as reflection off the ionosphere at
some virtual
height. Molecular ions are formed by X and ultra-violet solar radiation. This
layer is still low
enough for recombination to rapidly occur. The layer consequently only exists
during daylight
hours. Maximum density occurs around midday (10 11 electrons/m 3 at the maximum
which
occurs about 110km) and it disappears after sunset. A seasonal maximum also occurs
in
summer.

F Layer

This occurs in the least dense portion of the atmosphere. During the night it
consists of a single
layer at about 300km. This layer remains ionized throughout the night with the
ionization density
falling to a minimum just before sunrise. The F layer is ionized by solar
radiation with
wavelengths between about 15 to 80nm.

During the day two separate layers occur called F1 and F2 in the regions 130 to
210km and 250
to 400km respectively. Why is this? In the F layer the peak of ion production
occurs at around
160km but the ion loss process decreases even faster resulting in a peak in
electron density at
around 250 to 400km (where plasma diffusion limits the density). In the F layer
the loss process
is ion-atom exchange where an ion interacts with an atom to produce a molecular
ion which then
captures an electron. Below this height dissociative recombination predominates
where
molecular ions exist which capture electrons. If the changeover height for these
two loss
processes is higher than the peak of ion production then the electron density
peaks at the peak
height of production, producing the F1 layer. The peak is around 2x10 11
electrons/m 3 . The
density then decreases with increasing height until loss through ion-atom exchange

predominates and the density starts to increase again. The F2 layer peaks at about
10 12
electrons/m 3 during the day and 5x10 10 electrons/m 3 during the night. The F1
layer is
occasionally the reflecting layer but usually waves that penetrate the E layer
also penetrate the
F1 layer, just suffering some additional absorption.

The F layer is probably the most useful layer as it exists through the night and
is has the highest
electron density. This means that it will 'reflect' signals that pass through the
other layers. Each
layer has its maximum useable frequency (MUF) above which it will not 'reflect'
signals back
towards the earth. The F layer, as it has the highest electron density, has the
highest MUF. The
optimum transmission frequency (frequence optimum de travail FOT) is typically 70
to 80% of
the F2 layer MUF during the daytime. Below this, even though the signals may pass
through the
D and E layers, they will suffer increasing absorption.

The F layer is strongly influenced by winds, diffusion and other dynamic effects
making it hard to
model. Height and ionization varies over the day, seasonally and with sunspot
cycle It does not
simply follow the sun's zenith angle in a simple way since, with such low
collision rates, solar
energy can be stored for many hours. Near the equator the ionization varies
strongly with
latitude. At high latitudes there is a region of strongly depressed electron
density.

Sporadic E

This is enhanced ionization that occurs at E region heights resulting in much

greater critical
frequencies. It can cause long distance propagation at frequencies much higher
than HF, for
example causing TV signals to interfere. As well as enhancing E layer propagation
it can disrupt
F layer propagation by reflecting signals that would normally pass through up to
the F layer. Its
occurrence is latitude dependent. In central Europe, for example, it occurs more
often in summer
and during the day. In high latitudes it mostly occurs at night. In low latitudes
it predominantly
occurs during the day.

Propagation near the Polar Regions

In the auroral regions the ionosphere may carry a current approaching or exceeding
a million
amps. This may effect the propagation conditions in these regions resulting in,
for example,
large Doppler shifts.

Modes

Given the complex layer structure of the ionosphere, signals may propagate by a
number of
paths from the transmitter to the receiver. They may 'reflect' directly off the E
layer (1E) in a
single hop. They may reflect off the E layer back to earth, back up to the E layer
again before
arriving at the receiver i.e. 2 hop (2E). Three or more hops can occur. The
signals may
propagate off the F layers in one or more hops. They may arrive at the receiver
via both or a
combination of the different layers. Multiple hops are less visible during the
daytime where the
absorption of the lower layers prevents their propagation.

The different propagation modes can result in multiple versions of the signal
arriving at the
receiver with a delay spread up to typically 10ms.

Solar Flares

Solar flares may disrupt HF communications either by causing increased D layer

absorption or
by depressing F2 layer electron densities. They do this by causing increased X-ray
and ultra
violet radiation leading to a 'Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance', releasing high
energy protons
causing polar cap absorption and streams of charged particles causing ionospheric
storms.

Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID)

A solar flare transmits UV and X-ray radiation that rapidly reaches the earth
(this takes about 8
minutes). This produces abnormally high ionization in the D region causing
increased absorption
of MF, HF and VHF frequencies and also increased reflection of LF and VLF. It can
cause a
complete and sudden loss of HF propagation. This can only occur on the sunlit side
of the earth
and is most frequent at the maximum of the sun spot cycle.

Ionospheric Storms

These may last for several days and are caused by streams of charged particles
(protons and
electrons). They may take 1 or 2 days to reach the earth and are deflected by the
earth's
magnetic field towards the auroral zones. They cause increased ionization in the D
region and
an expansion and diffusion of the F2 layer, causing decreased critical frequencies
and higher
heights. Again ionospheric storms are most severe at solar maximum but are,
perhaps, more
significant at solar minimum.

Magnetic storms and auroral effects also occur with ionospheric storms. Magnetic
storms are
disturbances of the earth's magnetic field where the earth's field fluctuates over
much wider
limits than normally occurs. They can last from a few hours to several days.

Polar Cap Absorption (PCA)

There are infrequent but major disturbances that occur throughout the polar
regions. They are
caused by high energy protons that are guided by the earth's magnetic field
towards the polar
regions. These may take from 15minutes to 3 hours to reach the earth from the sun.
These are
called polar cap absorption events or solar proton events (SPE). They cause a
considerable
increase in D layer ionization resulting in strong HF and VHF absorption, blacking
out HF
communication in the polar regions for up to a day. The SPE itself may last for up
to a week or
more. They are almost always preceded by a major flare and occur most often at a
sunspot
maximum.

Polarisation

When a radio wave travels through the ionosphere its electric field imparts an
oscillatory motion
on the electrons. These re-radiate modifying the velocity of the radio wave and,
if the electron
concentration is changing, refracting the wave back towards the earth if its
frequency is not too
high. The earth's magnetic field modifies the oscillatory motion of the electrons
causing them to
move in complicated orbits. Their re-radiation is not, generally, in the same
polarisation. The
polarisation changes continuously as the wave travels through the ionosphere. It
becomes split
into two components; the ordinary and extraordinary waves. The ordinary wave
behaves
practically the same as if the magnetic field was not present. This effect is most
apparent for
waves that have traveled in the upper F region. The layer appears to split as the
ordinary and
extraordinary waves propagate with slightly different delays.

A Prediction Example
The above figure gives the predicted MUFs for each layer for the propagation
between Berlin
and London. This was run for June 2000 with a relatively high sun spot number of
100. The clear
daytime variation of the E and F1 layers is apparent while the MUF of the F2 layer
remains
relatively constant throughout the day.

This shows how the predicted virtual heights and mode strengths (in decibels)
varies through the
day at 6MHz, again for the Berlin-London link. The F2 layer is always present. The
three night
time heights are for the 1-hop, 2-hop and 3-hop propagation modes. E, sporadic E
and F1
modes are predicted to occur during the day. The strongest modes occur during the
night. The
lowest signal strengths occur at midday when D layer absorption is at its peak.
A Measured Example

This shows a measured evening ionogram. The D layer has dissipated revealing a
number of
different propagation paths. Just after 1ms is a strong E layer reflection
extending to almost
4MHz. At about 1.6ms is smaller F1 mode extending to 3MHz. The F2 reflection
starts at 2ms
and is present until almost 10MHz. The splitting into the ordinary and
extraordinary components
can be seen at the higher frequencies. At 2.5ms a small two hop mode off the E
layer can be
seen. At longer delays multiple hop reflections off the F2 layer are apparent.

The following graph, taken at a different time, shows how a channel can vary over
time. This
plots the channel impulse response for a multiple hop F2 channel.

16 July, 2000 Michael Wells