Quantitative analyses of complexity and nonlinear trend of radio refractivity gradient in the troposphere

In this paper, the complexity and nonlinear trends of Radio Refractivity Gradient (RRG) in the troposphere over selected locations in Nigeria are analyzed and discussed extensively. The RRG is an important parameter in estimating path clearance and propagation effects such as ducting, surface reflection and multi-path on terrestrial line of-sights links. Also, radio wave signal propagating in the troposphere is affected by unpredictability of a weather condition which includes the variations of meteorological parameters such as temperature, pressure and relative humidity. The complex state of the atmosphere, which is the medium for the transmission of radio signals tend to have very strong influence such as scintillation and ducting on the quality of the radio signal, amplitude and phase. Variations in the meteorological parameters also induce variations in the refractive index of the atmosphere which in-turn results in the effect known as radio refractivity. For effective prediction and modeling of radio signal propagation, one should be able to characterize the nature and predictability of the computed RRG information. Chaotic Quantifiers (CQ) such as Phase Plot Reconstruction (PPR), Average Mutual Information (AMI), False Nearest Neighbor (FNN), Recurrence Plot (RP) and Recurrence Quantification Analyses (RQA) are used to assess the RRG. The information reveal, however, is based on the prediction techniques, design and frequency planning of microwave networks which may be useful for optimum performances during atmospheric turbulence.