Effects of absorption on high latitude meteor scatter communication systems

Data acquired with the Geophysics Laboratory´s high-latitude meteor scatter testbed between Sondrestrom Air Force Base (AFB) and Thule AFB, Greenland, during the solar disturbances of March and August 1989 are presented. These events provided an opportunity to observe the effects of a number of naturally occurring disturbances on meteor scatter links operating in the frequency range 35 to 147 MHz. The two events presented are very different. The August event was dominated by ionospheric absorption, which affected meteor arrival rates and duty cycles primarily at the lower frequencies (35 and 45 MHz), although some effects could also be seen at the higher frequencies (65 to 147 MHz). The March event combined weak ionospheric absorption with large solar noise bursts. The effects of this event on the testbed were dominated by increased solar noise at all frequencies. The relative influence of solar noise and ionospheric absorption during the events is discussed