Characterization and modeling of tropospheric propagation at high latitudes for satcom systems

International audienceThe work presented in this paper aims at developing and evaluating the potentialities of a highresolution meteorological model coupled with an electromagnetic module to produce reliable tropospheric attenuation statistics at polar latitudes. To do so, an Atmospheric Numerical Simulator (ANS) based on the high-resolution weather model PWRF-ARW dedicated to polar latitudes is used to generate 3D daily states of the atmosphere in Svalbard (Norway, 80° north latitude) at high spatial (2×2km²) and temporal (5mn) resolutions. Because of considerable computational times, this preliminary work focuses on the simulation of a single day (2017/02/21) during which typical polar precipitations occur. First, the PWRF meteorological outputs relevant for propagation purposes (3D atmospheric datacubes) are compared with reference reanalysis data (Arome-Arctic, CARRA, ERA5) as well as meteorological measurements collected during the THOR7 propagation experiment based on the Svalbard archipelago. Second, an electromagnetic module is used to convert the PWRF meteorological output datacubes into tropospheric attenuation time series simulating the link at Ka band between the THOR7 beacon and the SvalSat teleport. These are compared with the experimental time series collected during the THOR7 propagation experiment. Synthetic attenuation statistics are also produced for that specific day and compared to the experimental statistics derived from the THOR7 propagation experiment. On the 2017/02/21, the results show a good agreement between PWRF outputs and the other meteorological data sources. Additionally, if the synthetic attenuation times series reproduces quite well the experimental time series dynamics, the statistical analysis reveals overestimations that could be explained by either an approximative modeling of the hydrometeors in mixed-phase or wrong predicted hydrometeors contents