Submerged antenna performance

This paper gives the results of a theoretical and experimental study of the characteristics of antennas in lossy environments, such as wires buried in the earth or sea. A criterion for the evaluation of such antennas (for surface waves or any other single mode of propagation), called relative communication efficiency, is defined and a mathematical formula for its calculation is derived. A number of specific evaluations are presented, with emphasis on horizontal wire antennas. The results of experiments to determine the input impedance and current distribution on wires of different sizes and different insulation thicknesses are summarized and compared to a simple theory. The results of measurements of the field strength of horizontal wires and arrays are presented and compared to the theoretical results. The signal to noise ratios observed with submerged receiving antenna structures are discussed.