EMI and atmospheric noise measurements for determining HF bandwidth occupancy profile of East-Mediterranean Sea

Surveillance potential of Over-The-Horizon Radar (OTHR) systems increases the interests on the high-frequency (HF) band of the EM spectrum. The frequency management systems in these radars tackle with the problem of channel occupancy and atmospheric noises both of which may change very rapidly even in a short portion of a day. In this work EMI and atmospheric noise measurements have been realized over a certain period in autumn, winter, spring and summer at distinct regions of the East Mediterranean Sea. Dynamic characteristics of channel availability and noise floor have been determined based on time-slots in a day, days in a season and compared with International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) predictions by analyzing measurement data.