Refraction Effects for Propagation over Terrain

Abstract

The physical optics (PO) approximations have been applied for numerical simulations of propagation over uneven terrain. They are compared with results of long term measurements of microwave propagation affected by atmospheric refraction profiles. Moreover, they are used for novel comparison with numerical simulations using parabolic equation method and Fock’s spherical surface solution. It is validated that the physical optics could offer trustworthy numerical simulations for diffraction field zone and low altitude propagation for various spatial distributions of the air refraction index.