Literaturseminar, 8. Jan. 2004 (C.

Mtzler)

Parabolic Equations for Wave Propagation and the Advanced Atmospheric Effects Prediction System (AREPS)
Motivation Long-range radar signals from airplanes in the troposphere can strongly fade, sometimes loosing the signal completely. The Parabolic Equation is a key to the modeling of this behavior. The general Parabolic Equation (PE) for propagation in a refractive medium Following Levy (2000), we first assume a harmonic time variation of the form e i t (1) Second, the spatial scalar wave (x,z) is described by the 2-dimensional Helmholtz Equation 2 2 + 2 + k 2 n 2 = 0 (2) 2 x z in a medium with slightly variable refractive index n=n(x,z), where k=/c is the vacuum wave number, and homogeneity is assumed in the spatial y dimension. Third, for a wave propagating more or less parallel to the +x direction, a field u with reduced phase variation can be introduced u ( x, z ) = e ikx ( x, z ) (3) Inserting u in (2) yields 2u 2u u + 2 + 2ik + k 2 (n 2 1)u = 0 (4) 2 x z x which can be formally equated as (5) + ik (1 Q) + ik (1 + Q) u 0 x x where Q is a pseudo-differential operator such that

Q(Q(u )) =

1 2u + n 2 u , or formally: Q = k 2 z 2

1 2 + n2 k 2 z 2

(6)

Nulling the first factor + ik (1 Q) u = 0 x represents a forward-travelling wave, whereas + ik (1 + Q) u = 0 x represents a backward-travelling wave. The Parabolic Equation (PE) is the first case, u = ik (1 + Q)u = ik (1 + 1 + Z )u (7) x This is a first-order pseudo-differential equation in x, and second order in z, hence the term parabolic. In order to check Q, let us assume for the moment that is a plane wave propagating at a small angle with respect to the x direction. In a homogeneous medium we have
u = exp{ikx(n cos 1) + ikzn sin }, giving Qu = n 2 sin 2 + n 2 u. For n21, and for small angles , the argument of the square root is near 1, i.e. Q = 1+ Z (8)

with Z n 2 1 2 , a small correction in comparison to 1. More generally, the definition

1 2 + n2 1 (9) 2 2 k z gives the right-most expression in (7). A formal solution of (7) is given by u ( x + x, z ) = exp ikx( 1 + Z 1) u ( x, z ) (10) which is also called the marching solution with marching step x along the paraxial direction.
Z=

The Standard Parabolic Equation (SPE) For small Z, i.e. for propagation limited to small angles (<10) around the paraxial direction, Z u ikZ the square root is approximated by 1 + Z 1 + , giving u , or inserting Z and = 2 x 2 rearranging leads to the SPE 2 u (11) 2ik = 2 + k 2 (n 2 1)u x z Wide-angle representations Much work has been invested in improvements of (11) to find better approximations to 1 + Z , and simultaneously avoiding higher-order Taylor-Series expansions (Levy, Chapters 2.3, 3.4, 12.2). Tropospheric propagation and earth flattening transformation The PE and its narrow-angle version SPE are used to model wave propagation in the troposphere for near-horizontal propagation, i.e. the direction with significant refractive effects. The PE is also used in strong fluctuations caused by atmospheric turbulence (Ishimaru, 1978).

In order to account for the geometry of the spherical earth, the wave equation in cylindrical coordinates is adapted in the so-called earth-flattening transformation by replacing the refractive index n by a modified refractive index m (Levy, Chapter 4.4-4.5, and Figure 4.7): m( x, z ) = n( x, z ) exp( z / a) n + z / a ; 0 n-1<<1, z<<a (12) where z is the height above the earth surface, and a is the earth radius, usually assumed to be the radius of the volume-equivalent sphere of 6371 km. Now, Z is changed to 1 2 Z = 2 2 + m2 1 (13) k z

and m2-1 is usually represented by the modified refractivity (from N to M) m 2 1 2(m 1) = 2 106 M (14) For horizontal polarization, the electrical field E with its component E in azimuthal direction is related to and to u by z ( x, z ) = u ( x, z ) exp(ikx) = ka sin( x / a ) exp( ) E ( x, z ) (15) 2a and x is the range along a great circle between the transmitter (x=0) and receiver (or radar target) measured at the earth surface. The square-root factor in (15) accounts for the spreading of the E field with cylindrical symmetry around the z axis. Remark: For the reference atmosphere: N ( z ) = 106 (n 1) = 315e 0.136 z ; z in km (16)
Surface boundary condition In order to account for the earth, a boundary condition has to be applied at the surface. The simplest solution is found for a perfectly conducting sphere with its surface at z=0, leading to (x, z=0) = 0, i.e. complete reflection of incident waves. This situation is well approximated by a calm ocean at near grazing incidence. Partial reflection could be assumed over very dry, flat land. The boundary condition is fulfilled by adding a mirror source. Modification by terrain - the Terrain Parabolic Equation Model (TPEM) If the surface has a variable height h above sea level the boundary condition becomes (x, z=h) = 0. Barrios (1994) showed (see also Levy, Section 7.2.3) that for sufficiently smooth surfaces the PE formulation can be applied with small modifications, with a surface-following height coordinate =z-h and a further modification of the refractive index to mmod d 2 h( x ) (17) mmod ( x, z ) = n( x, z ) + / a dx 2 i.e. the curvature of the surface profile along the propagation path is required, leading to the TPEM. A wide-angle approximation is required to allow significant terrain slopes. This is possible without additional computational effort, using a so-called split-step Fourier Transform Method in z. Implementation by AREPS AREPS is a freely available PC software with a support service to compute path loss and other quantities of relevance to tropospheric wave propagation. AREPS is based on the Advanced Propagation Model (APM) coded in FORTRAN. APM is a hybrid model to enhance speed, effectively merging the TPEM of Barrios (1994) with a Radio Physical Optics (RPO) model. The capabilities include range-dependent refractivity profiles, variable terrain height, and the selection of various antenna types with h or v polarization. Some examples will be shown below. References 1. Mireille Levy, Parabolic equation methods for electromagnetic wave propagation, IEE Electromagnetic Waves Series 45, Padstow, England (2000). 2. Akira Ishimaru, Wave propagation and scattering in random media, Vol. 2, Academic Press, New York, NY (1978). 3. Amalia E. Barrios, A terrain parabolic equation model for propagation in the troposphere, IEEE Trans. Ant. Propag. 42, 90-98 (1994). 4. Users Manual for Advanced Refractive Effects Prediction System, Version 3.0, umAREPS-30, http://sunspot.spawar.navy.mil, San Diego, CA, August (2003).

Examples The following examples are propagation loss (dB) versus range (0 - 400 km) and height (0 10 km) from so-called AREPS Research Project computations at 3 GHz with a gaussian transmitter antenna at 2000 m altitude with horizontal axis, 3dB beamwidth of 3. 1. Standard atmosphere with knife-edge shaped peak at 1400m:

2. Atmosphere defined by Payerne radiosonde profile of Oct 15, 2003, midnight