RADIO SPECTRUM CONSERVATION

By DONALD ANDERSON

SUMMARY INTRODUCTION 1 1 THE PASSIVE RADIO SPECTRUM, 1 2 PROSPECTS FOR FUTURE SCIENTIFIC USE OF THE RADIO SPECTRUM, 1 3 THE INTERFERENCE PROBLEM, 1 4 INTERFERENCE MITIGATION, 1 5 ENABLING SCIENTIFIC USES OF THE RADIO SPECTRUM, THE EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE SERVICE 2 1 SPECIFIC APPLICATION AREAS OF PASSIVE MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING, WEATHER FORECASTING AND MONITORING, SEVERE WEATHER AND DISASTERS, CLIMATE AND GLOBAL CHANGE, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, AVIATION, DEFENSE AND PUBLIC SAFETY, INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS, EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY, CONTENTS 2 2 BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURES, GEOPHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS, AND MISSIONS, FUNDAMENTALS OF MICROWAVE RADIOMETRY FOR EESS APPLICATIONS, MEASUREMENT OF SPECIFIC GEOPHYSICAL PARAMETERS, 2 3 CURRENT AND FUTURE SPACE MISSIONS, ACTIVITIES, AND SPECTRUM USAGE, 2 4 CURRENT AND FUTURE NON-SPACE-BASED ACTIVITIES AND SPECTRUM USAGE, 2 5 THE IMPACT OF RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE ON EARTH EXPLORATION- ­SATELLITE SERVICE OBSERVATIONS, INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM OF RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE: IMMEDIATE IMPACTS ON EESS, EVIDENCE OF IMPACT OF RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE ON EESS OBSERVATIONS, POTENTIAL FUTURE RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE AND ITS IMPACT ON EESS OBSERVATIONS, 2 6 SUMMARY OF THE IMPORTANCE OF AND RISKS TO CONTINUED CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE SERVICE IN THE FUTURE, THE RADIO ASTRONOMY SERVICE 3 1 THE SCIENTIFIC IMPACT OF RADIO ASTRONOMY, ORIGIN OF PLANETS AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM, ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE, PULSARS AND GENERAL RELATIVITY, GALACTIC NUCLEI AND BLACK HOLES, GALAXIES, SOLAR PHYSICS AND SPACE WEATHER, SERENDIPITY AND THE TRANSIENT UNIVERSE, SUMMARY, 3 2 RADIO OBSERVATORIES AND RADIO TELESCOPES, 3 3 SPECTRUM REQUIREMENTS AND USE, CONTINUUM AND LINE OBSERVATIONS, ATMOSPHERIC WINDOWS AND ABSORPTION FEATURES, CURRENT RADIO ASTRONOMY SERVICE ALLOCATIONS, SPECTRUM USE, 3 4 SENSITIVITY REQUIREMENTS, SENSITIVITY LIMITS, 3 5 INTERFERENCE AND ITS MITIGATION, EXAMPLES OF INTERFERENCE IN A PROTECTED BAND, MITIGATION, 3 6 IMPORTANCE OF RADIO ASTRONOMY TO THE NATION, RADIO INTERFEROMETRY, COMMUNICATIONS DISRUPTIONS, FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, PRECISION ANTENNAS, DISTRIBUTED NETWORK COMPUTING, EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH, TECHNOLOGY AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE MITIGATION OF RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE 4 1 TRENDS IN ACTIVE SPECTRUM USAGE, CURRENT ALLOCATIONS, CURRENT UTILIZATION STUDIES, 4 2 MAJOR DRIVERS OF SPECTRUM USE, ASSESSMENT OF TRENDS IN SPECTRUM USE FOR 2008–2015, THIRD-GENERATION AND FOURTH-GENERATION SYSTEMS, UNLICENSED USES OF THE RADIO FREQUENCY SPECTRUM, REGULATORY CHANGES THAT IMPACT USE, TECHNOLOGY CHANGES THAT IMPACT USE, 4 3 UNILATERAL MITIGATION TECHNIQUES, TECHNOLOGIES FOR UNILATERAL MITIGATION, 4 4 MITIGATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE SPECTRUM USAGE, 4 5 MITIGATION COSTS, LIMITATIONS, AND BENEFITS, EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE SERVICE (EESS), RADIO ASTRONOMY SERVICE (RAS), NATURE OF THE COSTS OF RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE TO THE EESS AND THE RAS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5 1 SOCIETAL VALUE OF THE PASSIVE SERVICES, 5 2 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PASSIVE SPECTRUM SERVICES, 5 3 THREATS TO THE EESS AND THE RAS FROM UNINTENTIONAL RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE, 5 4 TECHNOLOGY FOR MITIGATION OF RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE, 5 5 PROTECTION OF THE EESS AND THE RAS, 5 6 THE PATH FORWARD, 5 7 CONCLUSION,