ANNEX 1

INSTITUTION BASED RESEARCH (IBR) RESEARCH PROPPOSAL TEMPLATE / FORMAT

Principal Researcher/Investigator
Name: Onujagbe I. Paul
Institution: Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.
Department: Sciences
Telephone No: +2348065601258
E.mail Address: paulazionnujabe@gmail.com
Co-Researcher (s) (if any)
1. Name: NIL
2. Name NIL
Project Title:
Investigating the effect of climate change on Radio wave propagation over some selected
locations in Nigeria.
Executive Summary:
One of the most important considerations during GSM transmission planning is the climatic condition
of the environment. Radio signals, while propagating through the atmosphere suffer refraction. It is
known that the refractive characteristics of the neutral atmosphere depends on its composition; mainly
ambient temperature and water vapour. Due to global warming, there’s been a drastic change in
temperature, pressure, water vapour and other atmospheric parameters making them rise beyond their
normal ranges. Since water vapour is a polar molecule, the dipole moment is induced when
microwave propagates. However, the polarity of propagation is a determinant when the water vapour
reorients them. This causes a change in refractive index of the atmosphere and the refraction
introduces uncertainties in the time of arrival due to excess path length or delay (cm). The term delay
refers to change in path length due to change in refractive index during the propagation of radio
signals through the atmosphere duly constituted by several gases. Their combined refractive index is
slightly greater than unity which give rise to a decrease in signal velocity. This eventually increases
the time taken for the signal to reach the receiving level(RxLev) by mobile
Introduction:
Many aspect of successful propagation of radio waves through the troposphere (at VHF and higher
frequencies) are largely dependent on weather, which in most climates is very variable (Hall 1979).
The atmosphere play a major role as a medium of propagation of radio signals between wireless
communication systems. Atmospheric meteorological parameters such as relative humidity,
temperature, pres-sure, and water vapor density increase the complexity of the tropo-sphere and
significantly has a great influence on microwave propagation above 30 MHz.(Ojo et al.2019). Radio

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signal quality is of great importance to both communication service providers and consumers. Signal
quality has great impact on the economy of any nation as good and strong signal qualities enhance
businesses.
The quality of radio wave signal reception and probability of the failure in the radio wave
propagations are largely governed by radio refractive index gradient which is a function of
meteorological parameters changing in the lower atmosphere such as temperature, pressure and
humidity (Okoro and Agbo, 2012). According to Ajayi (1989), the congestion in the low microwave
frequency bands and the increasing need for high capacity communication channels have necessitated
the use of frequencies above 10GHz for both terrestrial and satellite communication system.
Hydrometeors such as rain, hail, fog, cloud, and snow attenuates radio waves above 5GHz and also
cause other impairments to communication systems. A proper understanding of the weather dynamics
is important in the design and planning of radio communication link. Most of our communications
systems and devics like the mobile communication handsets, Television sets and radar to mention a
few make use of the very highs frequency bands (microwave bands) that is greatly affected by
variability of weather parameters.
Rain causes attenuation in electromagnetic waves through the process absorption and scattering
(Elfadil, 2006); rainfall attenuation is a phenomenon relative to the rainfall rate and frequency which
results in increasing path loss, limiting the coverage area, and consequently degrading the system
performance.
Climate is defined as the average weather condition of a place over a long period of time. By this
definition it is seen that climate is a function of weather. It is an established fact that certain weather
conditions enhances radio signal communication while some impair communication. Over the past
few decades there have been an observed change in climate all over the world. Nigeria’s climate has
been changing, evident in: increases in temperature; variable rainfall; rise in sea level and flooding;
drought and desertification; land degradation; more frequent extreme weather events; affected fresh
water resources and loss of biodiversity (Huma, 2019). With the observed increase in temperature and
variation in other weather parameters due to climate change, it is evident that propagation parameter
like radio refractivity, refractivity gradient which depend on weather parameters like temperature,
humidity and air pressure and rain rate which affect radio wave propagation will also be affected by
climate change. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of climate change on radio signal
propagation in Nigeria.

Problem Statement/Justification:

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The change in global temperatures occasioned by climate changes means that more water is
evaporating, contributing to intense storms and rainfall that result in flooding. All this effect put
together affects radio communication systems and radio signal quality. Raindrops essentially absorb
the radio waves being transmitted, impacting clarity. Furthermore, stormy conditions such as thunder
and lightning creates radio noise and static that makes messages difficult to interpret due to signal
impairment. In order to design an efficient radio communication systems and reliable radio
communication link, radio engineers and radio link designers need to a good knowledge of the
dynamics of the radio propagations parameters occasioned by climate change hence, the study.

Radio waves lie at the low-frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are primarily
used in various types of communications signals. Also of importance is the detection of natural
radio sources in radio and radar astronomy. The study of radio propagation, how radio waves
move in free space and over the surface of the Earth, is vitally important in the design of
practical radio systems. Radio waves passing through different environments experience
reflection, refraction, polarization, diffraction, and absorption Radio encouraged the growth of
national popular music stars and brought regional sounds to wider audiences. The effects of
early radio programs can be felt both in modern popular music and in television programming.
The Fairness Doctrine was created to ensure fair coverage of issues over the airwaves.
Objective (s) of the study:
This research is aimed at enhancing the quality of radio signals in Nigeria through adequate planning.
In order to achieve this the research came up with the following set of objectives;
1. To determine the wet and dry term of refractivity for each of the study area
2. To determine the radio refractivity and gradient of each of the study area
3. To determine the rain rate and the variation of refractivity gradient for the past twenty years.
4. To determine the attenuation of radio signals and the variation pattern of refractivity at study
locations for the past twenty years

Literature Review:
Propagation models: Various propagation models have been developed over the decades to estimate
the propagation path loss at various receiver distances from a transmitting base station. These models
include the free space model, Okumura-Hata model, Walfish-Ikegani model,
Keenan-Motley model and Cost-231 model. Once the propagation path loss can be predicted with a
level of accuracy, then the received signal power distribution (Pr) at the respective distances can be

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easily obtained with the expression:
The effective power radiated from the BTS antenna (Pt in dBm) is given as:
Pt = PBTS – PC – Pf + (Ams + ABTS)
Where PBTS = base station power
PD = duplexer loss
Pf = feeder loss
Ams = Mobile station (receiver) antenna gain
AT = the base station antenna gain
The effective radiated power is subject to propagation loss (PL) along its path due to reflection,
diffraction, retraction, scattering, etc. Power at the receiver distances from the base station is
expressed as:
PL = Pt – Pr (in dBm)
PL (dB) = 10 log10 (Pt / Pr)
The various models as will be shown below performed their experiments to obtain their respective
path loss models under specific conditions.
Shoewu et al; (2014) studied the dependence of climatological parameters on GSM signal, especially
in Lagos metropolitan terrain by carrying out some field measurement. The measurement system
consisted of live documented radio base stations (BS) data transmitting at 13GHz, 15GHz and 23GHz
in seven sites that constituted a metropolitan environment. The results showed that climatological
parameters affects the signal propagation of radio waves in two different seasons studied.
Joseph (2016) investigated the impact of weather on radio signals at UHF over Etta-agbor, Calabar-
Nigeria, and found that the atmospheric temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity were
inversely proportional to the signal strength, provided for any of the aforementioned weather
components, the others were observed constant including wind speed and direction, since it has been
erected that wind has a marked negative effect on UHF radio signal.

Studies by Adeyemi and Emmanuel, (2011) on monitoring tropospheric radio refractivity over Nigeria
using CM-SAF data derived from NOAA-15,16 and 18 satellites showed that the variation of
refractivity in each climatic region and atmospheric levels are influenced by the north – south
movement of the Intertropical discontinuity (ITD).

Adediji and Ajewole, (2008) investigated the vertical profile of radio refractivity gradient in Akure,
Nigeria and found that the propagation conditions have varying degree of occurrence with sub-

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refractive conditions observed to be prevalent between January – July while super-refraction and
ducting were observed mostly between August – December.

Willoughby et al., (2002) on the seasonal variation of refractivity gradients within approximately 1
km above ground for the three existing radiosonde stations in Nigeria, viz: Oshodi, a coastal area in
the south; Minna, a middle belt savannah region and Kano, a semi-arid, sub-sahelian area of the north
showed that the dry Harmattan season favour super-refraction at the coastal station of Oshodi with
mean gradients reaching -55N-units/km during the period, but dropping to slightly lower value of -
51N-units/km in the rainy months. Mean gradients at Minna and Kano during the dry season are -
37N-units/km and -32N-units/km while the wet months exhibits values of -52N-units/km and -44N-
units/km respectively.

Methodology (Should include description of Study area/site/subjects, data collection and data
analysis)
The data to be used for the work twenty years (2000-2020) temperature, humidity air pressure and
rain rate data. The data will be sourced from the Nigeria Meteorological agency and Center for
Atmospheric Research a department of Nigeria Space Research and Development (CAR- NASRDA)
2 Data analysis technique

Radio-wave propagation is determined by changes in the refractive index of air in the troposphere.
Because it is very close to unity (about 1.0003), the refractive index of air is measured by a quantity
called the radio-refractivity N, which is related to refractive index, n as (Okoro and Agbo, 2012).
N = (n-1) x 106 (1)
In terms of the measured meteorological quantities, the refractivity N, can be expressed as (Philbert et
al 2014)

(2)

Where P is atmospheric pressure (hPa), e is water vapour pressure (hPa) and T is absolute temperature
(K).
Equation (2) may be used for radio frequencies up to 100 GHz. The error associated with the use of
this expression is less than 0.5% (Zilinskas et al; 2012). The water vapour pressure e is usually
calculated from the relative humidity H and saturated water vapour e s using the expression (Ajayi
1989)

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 e= (3)

The value of the saturated water vapour pressure es is given by ( Ajayi 1989)

(4)

The first term of the right hand side of equation (5) is called dry term, N dry while the second term is
called wet term, Nwet of the refractivity
The variation of the refractivity with height according to International Telecommunication Union,
ITU-R (1995) is given as
N(h)=Nsexp(-0.136h) (5)
Where N(h) is the refractivity at height h and Ns is the surface refractivity.
The refractivity for each of the study stations will be calculated using equation (2).
The vertical gradient of refractivity dN/dh can be expressed as (Igwe and Adimula, 2009)

= (6)

Where Ni is the radio refractivity at height of interest h i above the surface of the Earth, Ns is the surface
refractivity, and hs is the surface height above sea level. In this work, hi =1km (925mb) and Ni =
N@1kn above ground. The refractivity gradient will be calculated using equation (5).
The Rain rate is defined as the amount of rain that would fall over a given interval of time if
the rainfall intensity were constant over that time period. This parameter is used in calculating rain
attenuation a quantity that showed how much radio signal strength has been reduced due to absorption
and scattering of the radio energy by the raindrops. The attenuation of radio signal is calculated using
the equal by (Ajayi, 1989):
Γ = aRb (7)
Where a and b are constants and R = rain rate. A and B has a specific value with respect to radio
frequencies.

ANNEX 1

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Results (Expected outputs/Results):

Project Activities and Output

1 Preparation Stage; Field work to the To analyze and collect information
selected schools to assesses and evaluate on various aspects of the research.
students attitude towards
entrepreneurship intentions.
2 Design Phase; These includes fine To define the relationship among
tuning the questionnaire to suit the entities. Integrate different
researchers intentions and expectations components of the respondent’s
opinions and views.
3 Implementation and Evaluation To evaluate the usability of the
methodology adopted for the study.

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Work Plan/Time Frame (Provide activity by activity in the form of a GANTT Chart):
Time Frame of project

S/N D es crip tion O f A ctivity Du ration Y ear Qu ar te r

1st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th

Preparation Stage; this would

include field work such as visits
to all study areas to source data Four 
1 2021
for the study and to also source Months
for secondary data from relevant
agencies for relevant literature..

Two 
2 Review of relevant literature. 2021
Months

Implementation and Evaluation

Two 
Stage; this stage is to implement 2021
Months
the findings of the research

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Budget (Provide a budget break down by activity /line item):
5.1 Research Budget.

EXPECTED FROM TOTAL

DESCRIPTION OF ITEM TETFund NRF INSTITUTION OTHER

1.0 Personnel Costs/Allowances
1.1 Principal Researcher 70,000 - - 70,000
1.2 Team Members NIL - - NIL
1.3 Technical Support 30,000 X 2 - - 60,000
1.4 Others (Please specify) Field 20,000 X 10 - - 200,000
assistants
Sub-Total (Not >20% of budget) 360,000
2.0 Equipment (List & Specify)
2.1 SPSS 9.3. Software 65,000 - - 65,000
2.2 - -
Sub-Total (Not > 25% of budget) 65,000
3.0 Supplies/Consumables
3 . 1 Internet Data 200,000 - - 200,000
3.2
Sub-Total 200,000
4.0 Data Collection & Analysis
4.1 Research Assistants 30,000 X 5 - - 150,000
4.2 Research Inf ormants 15,000 X 4 - - 60,000
4.3 Technical Assistants 25,000 X 4 - - 100,000
4.4 Collection Instruments/Laptop 200,000 - - 200,000
4.5 Data Analysis 300,000 - - 300,000
Sub-Total 810,000
5.0 Travels
5.1 Visits to CAR NASRDA &
200,000 - - 200,000
NiMet for Data Support
5.2 Conference Attendance ( 2 ) 200,000 - - 200,000
Sub-Total 350,000
6.0 Dissemination
6.1 Conference presentation of
60,000 - 60,000
findings
6.2 Journal Publication of research 90,000 - 90,000
Sub-Total (Not >3%) 150,000
7.0 Others/Miscellaneous (Specify)
7.1
Sub-Total NIL NIL
TOTAL DIRECT COST
INDIRECT COST ( 5% of TETFund
Component of Direct Cost) to
Institution

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 8.1 5% TETFund Component
GRAND TOTAL 1,935,000
References:
Adediji, A. T. and M. O. Ajewole, (2008): Vertical profile of radio refractivity gradient in
Akure, South-West Nigeria, Progress in Electromagnetics Research C, Vol. 4, 157- 168.

Adeyemi, B. and I. Emmanuel, (2011): Monitoring tropospheric radio refractivity over

Nigeria using CM – SAF data derived from NOAA – 15, 16 and 18 satellites, Indian
Journal of Radio and Space Physics, (40) 301 – 310.

Ajayi, G.O., (1989) Physics of the tropospheric radio propagation, A proceeding of the
ICTP college on Theoretical and experimental radio propagation Physics, Trieste,
Italy, 6-42, 1989.

Hall, M. P. M., (1979): Effects of the Troposphere on Radio Communications, 14 - 46,

IEEE Peter Peregrinus Ltd., London and New York.

Igwe K. C and Adimula I. A, (2009): Variation of Surface Radio Refractivity and

Radio Refractivity Index Gradient in the sub-sahel, Nigerian Journal of Space Research
6: 135-144, 2009.

ITU-R, Draft Handbook on Radiometeorology, 25-71, 1995.

Hall, M. P. M., (1979): Effects of the Troposphere on Radio Communications, 14 - 46,

IEEE Peter Peregrinus Ltd., London and New York.

M. Kottek, J. Grieser, C. Beck, B. Rudolf, and F. Rubel, “World map of the

K¨oppen-Geiger climate classification updated,”Meteorologische Zeitschrift, vol. 15, no.
3, pp. 259–263, 2006.

Philbert M. L., E. Mutayoba, H. Masoud, L. Chang’a1, A. D. Prodanov (2014):

Analysis of Tropospheric Radio Refractivityover Julius Nyerere International Airport,
Dar es Salaam, International Journal of Modern Physics and Application 1(2): 21-31

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Zilinskas M., M. Tamosiunaite, M. Tamosiuniene, E. Valma, and S. Tamosiunas,
(2012): Gradient of Radio Refractivity in Troposphere” Progress in
Electromagnetics Research Symposium Proceedings, Moscow, Russia.

Signature of Principal Researcher: Signature of Chairman ICR:

Signature of Head of Department: Signature of Head of Institution:

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