Clear-air scintillation analysis of Q-band alphasat link at Spino d'Adda using radiosounding data

Scintillations affect the propagated signal with an unwanted aleatory oscillation at the receiver. A first analysis of data acquired from Alphasat Q-band receiver station, located in Spino d'Adda (Italy), is performed. Correlation between meteorological measurements at the ground and measured scintillation from the Q-band beacon receiver (i.e., fluctuation of the received electromagnetic field) is investigated. Radiosounding data from north Italy station of “Milano Linate” have been collected for the entire year 2015 and used to calculate the refractive index structure constant. Subsequently the amplitude scintillation variance is derived through the use of the Rytov model on the slant path. Results obtained using the scintillation model are compared with measured data from Alphasat beacon receiver, investigating the statistical correlation in clear air condition between simulated and measured data.