Some observations of anomalous depolarization on 19 and 12 GHz earth‐space propagation paths

Abstract

During the summer of 1976 anomalous depolarization events associated with precipitation have been observed on 19 and 12 GHz earth‐space propagation paths. These events are characterized by strong depolarization (> −20 dB) occurring with low signal attenuation (often <1 dB). They are not explained by contemporary atmospheric propagation theory. The anomalous events could significantly affect performance of satellite communications systems using the same frequencies on two orthogonal polarizations.