Earth–ionosphere waveguide Earth and the ionosphere. The round-the-world nature of the waveguide produces resonances, like a cavity, which are at ~7 Hz. Radio propagation within the ionosphere depends on frequency, angle of incidence, time of day, season, Earth's magnetic field, and solar activity. At vertical incidence, waves with frequencies larger than the electron plasma frequency (f) of the F-layer maximum (1) f = 9 (N) kHz (N in cm is the electron density) can propagate through the ionosphere nearly undisturbed. Waves with frequencies smaller than f are reflected within the ionospheric D-, E-, and F-layers. f is of the order of 8–15
Atmospheric duct of astronomical objects and the Novaya Zemlya effect. Atmospheric duct In telecommunications, an atmospheric duct is a horizontal layer in the lower atmosphere in which the vertical refractive index gradients are such that radio signals (and light rays) are guided or ducted, tend to follow the curvature of the Earth, and experience less attenuation in the ducts than they would if the ducts were not present. The duct acts as an atmospheric dielectric waveguide and limits the spread of the wavefront to only the horizontal dimension. Atmospheric ducting is a mode of propagation of electromagnetic radiation, usually in the lower