From COST 238 To COST 296: Four European COST Actions On Ionospheric Physics And Radio Propagation

Abstract

COST (Co-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) is an important instrument supporting co-operation among scientists and researchers across Europe now joining 35 member countries. Scientific projects in the COST framework are called COST Actions and have the objectives embodied in their respective Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The main objectives of the COST Actions within the European ionospheric and radio propagation community have been: to study the influence of upper atmospheric conditions on terrestrial and Earthspace communications, to develop methods and techniques to improve existing and generate new ionospheric and propagation models over Europe for telecommunication and navigation applications and to transfer the results to the appropriate national and international organizations, institutions and industry dealing with the modern communication systems. This paper summarises in brief the background and historical context of four ionospheric COST Actions and outlines their main objectives and results. In addition, the paper discusses the dissemination of the results and the collaboration among the participating institutions and researchers.