Distribution of seasonal variation of point refractivity gradient and geo-climatic factor over Ede-Nigeria
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Date
2023
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Abstract
The quantification of anomalies in radio signal transmission has been a serious challenge in using data from
radiosondes to determine meteorological parameters in Ede, Nigeria. The point refractivity gradient and geoclimatic factor were
analyzed in this study. Air temperature, relative humidity, and pressure for five years (2017 – 2021) are the meteorological
parameters used. These parameters were collected from the ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts,
2017) radiosonde data archives. The results revealed the monthly and seasonal fluctuations in the point refractivity gradient and
geoclimatic component within the study period. From the results, Geoclimatic Factor (K) and the yearly average Point
Refractivity Gradient (dN1) for Ede are 3.37E-05 and -143.712 N-units/Km respectively. In July, the highest dN1 value of
48.332 N-units/Km was recorded, while the lowest value of -225.534 N-units/Km was recorded in November. In addition, the
wet season has a higher point refractivity gradient than the dry season, although the wet season has a lower geoclimatic factor.
The values obtained in this study are to be considered and adopted for improving the microwave link Quality of service (QoS)
and availability in this region.