Characteristics of VHF scintillations in the equatorial anomaly crest region in India

Abstract. The characteristics of ionospheric scintillations at Rajkot in the equatorial anomaly crest region in India are described for the years 1987–1991 by monitoring the 244-MHz transmission from the satellite FLEETSAT. This period covers the ascending phase of solar cycle 22. Scintillations occur predominantly in the pre-midnight period during equinoxes and winter seasons and in the post-midnight period during summer season. During equinoxes and winter, scintillation occurrence increases with solar activity, whilst in summer it is found to decrease with solar activity. Statistically, scintillation occurrence is suppressed by magnetic activity. The characteristics observed during winter and equinoxes are similar to those seen at the equatorial station, Trivandrum. This, coupled with the nature of the post-sunset equatorial F-region drift and h'F variations, supports the view that at the anomaly crest station, scintillations are of equatorial origin during equinox and winter, whilst in summer they may be of mid-latitude type. The variations in scintillation intensity (in dB) with season and solar activity are also reported.