The effect of tropospheric layer structures on long-range VHF radio propagation

Long-distance radio communication at VHF is investigated by the waveguide mode theory taking into account the strong gradient, layered structure of the troposphere. A linear-segmented numerical method for the squared refractive index profile is developed to calculate the wave modes. This method reduces the reflection error from the discontinuities that occur in the conventional step-function approximation. The frequency at which only one mode is reasonably well trapped is used to determine the lowest usable frequency for tropospheric communication. It is found that such communication is possible at almost all VHF frequencies when the refractive index contrast (
\Delta n
) is greater than
40N
units. However, if
\Delta n
is reduced to
10N
units or less, the troposphere is almost transparent for VHF radio signals. The received field in terms of the field in free space is calculated for antennas located either above or below the layer. It is shown that various long-distance radio observations can be explained by whispering-gallery modes in the troposphere.