Results from a study of scintillation behavior at 12, 20, and 30 GHz using the results from the Virginia Tech Olympus receivers

Tropospheric scintillations are rapid fluctuations of signal caused by multiple scattering from the small scale turbulent refractive index inhomogeneities in the troposphere. They can strongly impair satellite communications links operating at frequency above 10 GHz. The VA Tech OLYMPUS propagation experiment which includes 12, 20, and 30 GHz beacon receivers at an elevation angle of 14 degrees provides us with valuable multifrequency scintillation data. A long term analysis of tropospheric scintillation results from the VA Tech OLYMPUS experiment is presented. It includes statistics of both the scintillation intensity and the attenuation relative to clear air as well as seasonal, diurnal and meteorological trends. A comparison with the Consultative Committee for International Radio (CCIR) predictive model for scintillation fading is presented.