Influence of obstacle on electromagnetic wave propagation in evaporation duct with experiment verification

In this paper, the influence of obstacle on electromagnetic wave propagation in an evaporation duct is investigated,both from numerical simulation and experimental observation. A comparison of electromagnetic wave propagation in evaporation duct with and without obstacle for a typical case is presented. The presence of obstacle causes a significant increase in path loss. The obstacle has significant impact on electromagnetic wave propagation when the frequency is higher than 5 GHz and when the evaporation duct height is higher than 10 m. The influence of an island on electromagnetic wave propagation was observed in the experiment held in the South China Sea, October 2012. The experiment result shows that the island causes about 30–40 d B increase in path loss. The discrepancy between model and measurement is analyzed and the errors of transmitting antenna height and relative humidity are the possible causes of the discrepancy.