Computer simulation studies of a spaced-receiver drift experiment

A one-dimensional model of a spaced-receiver drift experiment is presented in which radio fading is produced by reflections from a perfectly reflecting wavy ionosphere. It is shown that this model, depending on the parameters of this wavy ionosphere, is capable of simulating many aspects of observed ionospheric drift records. These simulated drift records are then reduced by similar fade, correlation and dispersion methods to give drift velocities. For realistic fading rates the drift velocities so derived are found to be approximately equal to twice the translation velocity of the sinusoidal reflecting ionosphere. When the reflecting ionospheric contour is assumed to be given by the sum of two or more sinusoids moving at different translational velocities, similar fade and correlation analysis gives a single drift velocity that is approximately equal to twice a value lying between the translational velocities of the individual sinusoids. A dispersion analysis, utilizing only amplitude fading records, is found to be able to discriminate the motions of the individual sinusoids, however.