ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Ocean Observation
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1611884
This article is part of the Research TopicMaritime Complex Environment and Wireless CommunicationView all articles
Numerical modeling of electromagnetic wave propagation in spatiallyvarying evaporation duct conditions via 3D parabolic equation method
Provisionally accepted
Hanjie Ji1
Lixin Guo1Yan Zhang1Tianhang Nie1Yiwen Wei1*Jinpeng Zhang2*Qingliang Li2Xiangming Guo2Yusheng Zhang2- 1Xidian University, Xi'an, China
- 2National Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Environment, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
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This study numerically investigates electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation in spatially-varying evaporation ducts over rough sea surfaces. Conventional two-dimensional (2D) models assume homogeneous refractive index distribution along the cross-range dimension in a single propagation plane, limiting their ability to capture the 3D spatial heterogeneities present in real-world scenarios. Under significant horizontal gradient variations in evaporation ducts, EM wave propagation effects across the cross-range dimension become significant. We investigate an advanced 3D parabolic equation (3DPE) framework that synergistically integrates anisotropic refractive profiles with seasurface roughness characterization. An even-odd splitting Fourier transform algorithm enables efficient computational analysis of EM wave propagation across azimuthal planes. Quantitative analysis reveals that the 3DPE framework delivers over 40% performance improvement compared to the 2D model. This approach significantly enhances predictive accuracy for over-the-horizon radar assessments in maritime environments, providing crucial support for optimizing next-generation communication systems.
Keywords: electromagnetic wave propagation, spatially-varying evaporation ducts, 3D parabolic equation, Rough sea surface, Numerical modeling
Received: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 21 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ji, Guo, Zhang, Nie, Wei, Zhang, Li, Guo and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yiwen Wei, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
Jinpeng Zhang, National Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Environment, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
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