Long-term morphological and power spectral studies of VHF amplitude scintillations recorded over Waltair (17.7°N, 83.3°E), India

Abstract

This research reports on recently recorded 250 MHz amplitude scintillations at Waltair (17.7°N, 83.3°E), a low-latitude station in India, using the signals radiated from a geostationary satellite (FLEETSAT, 73°E) during a six-year period (2008 - 2013), which covers extremely low and higher solar activity years (2008 and 2013). The morphological features in terms of local time, month, and season during different geophysical conditions are presented. The scintillation patches (segregated based on their occurrence durations) have shown an increasing trend with the increasing sunspot activity. The scintillation patches with 30-min duration show increasing trends with increasing sunspot activity, and their occurrence frequencies also show increasing trends with increasing sunspot activity. The scintillation activity during disturbed epochs (Kp index lies between 3+ and 9) is found to be less compared to its quiet day counterparts. The plausible mechanisms for these observational results are discussed. In addition, power spectral characteristics, including Fresnel frequency, upper role of frequency and spectral slope of scintillations are calculated and the salient results are presented.