I have noticed several posts about the tracking of aircraft being extended by distance . That is picking up flights that would not previously or normally been within the range of their equipment. Radio and Radar signals have to pass through the atmosphere to reach the receiver. Is it not a possibility that due to less aircraft in the skies in some areas as well as ground transportation has resulted in a significant reduction of pollution. Very clear skies as often seen with good weather results in greater distances a radio signal can travel as it can go further without ‘bouncing’ off polluted skies. Often radio signals in good weather can bounce or ‘skip’ on the upper layers of the atmosphere. I am not a scientist or anyway that knowledgeable about ADS-B radio waves but I remember the days in the UK when CB radio was all the craze and when the atmospheric conditions were good communication was such that people without any signal boosting or ‘burner’ as it was known were talking to each other in distances that they had never encountered before. Maybe ADS-B has that characteristic at present. PLease correct me anybody if I am very wrong with this observation as I said I am still learning ADS-B
Tropospheric ducting has nothing to do with pollution. (at least i wouldn’t know any relation)
Wiedehopf is correct, RF propagation has nothing to do with the level of pollution in the sky. There has been a bit of tropo about over the last few days which has resulted in extended range.
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