A Study of Anomalous Propagation in Persian Gulf

Problem of anomalous propagation with regard to radio broadcasting in the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf is studied in this paper. The extreme conditions of humidity, temperature, water vapor and atmospheric pressure result in anomalous propagation conditions that disturbs the normal mode of radio propagation. The daily and seasonal changes in the meteorological conditions directly affect the carrier to interference plus noise ratio (CINR) in the coverage area with the consequence that the desired minimum CINR within the designated coverage area cannot be guaranteed. In this paper, we study these changes to the propagation conditions by analyzing the meteorological data over nearly three decades and develop a signal strength prediction model that integrates these conditions with the environmental features. The contour maps of refractive index and its gradient over the Persian Gulf Area are produced. To validate the developed model, signal propagation conditions were simulated and measurements made over an experimental link between Manamah in Bahrain and Dhahran in Saudi Arabia.