3.6.2 Troposphere - Microwave Related Effects Preliminary qualitative analyses have indicated that the heat dissipation at the rectenna site would produce about the same heat island effects as a suburban area, and would be small compared with other man-made installations. Under most situations, the attenuation of the microwave beam in the troposphere will be small and will not produce disturbances of meteorological consequence on any scale. However, careful analyses should be carried out to ensure that any possible unexpected consequences resulting from the processes initiated by such small perturbations have been thoroughly included. For example, even though the waste heat release from the SPS rectenna is small compared with the average natural energy conversion at the surface, the combination of this energy release with the possible alteration of aerodynamic roughness and albedo at the rectenna site may, in certain atmospheric situations, result in some undesirable meteorological effects. The effects of atmospheric electricity on tropospheric weather and climate may require investigation although the effects of SPS on atmospheric electricity have not yet been identified. In the workshop on the atmospheric effects of rectenna operations* it was generally agreed that the direct atmospheric effects of the SPS will be small except during periods of beam misdirection, and that the effects of atmospheric heating need better definition—on both the mesoscale (regional and city size, 10 to 100 km) and "cloud scale” (10 km and less). The effects will vary from one atmospheric condition to another and will be site specific. However, not all conditions can be tested in the two-year feasibility study period and so a few typical configurations of flat land, ocean, and mountainvalley sitings should be focused upon. The longer term objectives are to consider site-specific items and define the effects of the SPS over various regions of the United States. Variations in the refractive index of the atmosphere and the presence of hydrometeors in the atmosphere cause refraction, scattering and absorption of electromagnetic waves. At 2.45 GHz the refractive index of air at fixed pressure depends mostly on water vapor and temperature. In the presence of ^Report in preparation.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==