Excitation of the Earth–ionosphere waveguide by downgoing whistlers - II. Propagation in the magnetic meridian

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Abstract
The excitation of the Earth–ionosphere waveguide by a downgoing whistler with wave normal in the magnetic meridian is discussed. It is suggested that the wave normal is scattered into the acceptance cone by spread-F irregularities. The model of the ionosphere used is a slowly varying magnetoionic medium terminated by a sharp boundary at the bottom. The ground is treated as a perfect conductor. Reflexion and coupling coefficients are defined and derived. It is shown that for some angles of incidence the signal is trapped in the waveguide. The range in the waveguide is computed as a function of angle of incidence. The properties of the waveguide modes are discussed and their excitation for a plausible incident signal computed. It is shown that the least attenuated modes are very weakly excited while those modes which are strongly excited are rapidly attenuated. This explains why the field of view of a receiver is limited to about 15° of latitude.

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