A new analysis technique for estimating zonal irregularity drifts and variability in the equatorial F region using spaced receiver scintillation data

A new technique for analyzing spaced receiver measurements of equatorial scintillation is applied to VHF scintillation data. The technique is based on a model that includes both propagation effects and the statistical characteristics of scintillation-producing irregulatities. Nonlinear least squares fitting is used to fit the model to measured auto- and cross-correlation functions of the signal amplitude fading on spaced receivers. The results are compared with mean and “random” drift estimates obtained using the classical type of correlation analysis.