Tropospheric scintillation measurements and modelling in Finland

Due to turbulent irregularities in temperature, humidity and pressure, the atmosphere exhibits small-scale variations in refractive index, which cause various refractive effects on electromagnetic waves, that can be observed as random fading and enhancement in the received signal amplitude and phase. This effect is known as 'scintillation'. Generally, the impact of rain attenuation on satellite links is predominant. Scintillation however, becomes important for low fade margin systems operating at high frequencies and low elevation angles.