Abstract
The polarization of a downgoing radio wave when it has emerged from the ionosphere into free space is called the ‘limiting polarization’. To calculate it for waves at oblique incidence and medium frequencies, a full wave solution of the electromagnetic equations governing radio wave propagation in an inhomogeneous anisotropic ionized medium is used. The numerical integration method and the appropriate boundary conditions are described and some results for typical ionospheric distributions are given. The underlying problem of wave coupling is briefly discussed and the concept of complex limiting height introduced to describe the position and thickness of the region in the lower ionosphere in which the limiting polarization is established.

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