IMAGING OF THE IONOSPHERE BASED ON LOW-ORBITAL AND HIGH-ORBITAL RADIO TOMOGRAPHIC SYSTEMS

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Barentsburg; Svalbard; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.579.467; http://www.ursi.org/Proceedings/ProcGA05/pdf/G01a.3(01033).pdf

Currently available low orbital (LO) satellite navigational systems (like the Russian "Tsykada " satellites and American "Transit "- Navy Navigation Satellite System) having nearly circular orbits at 1000-1150 km altitudes, and ground receiving chains provide a possibility to yield a series of tomographic data along a set of rays and to get 2D RT images of the ionosphere over a region 1-3 thousand kilometers as large within 10-15 minutes. The main results obtained in ionospheric LO RT are presented in a series of monograph and reviews [1-3]. In recent years receiving networks of high-orbital (HO) navigational systems such as GPS/GLONASS are actively developing. Ionospheric RT with HO systems is considered; results of HO RT are compared with those yielded by LO RT. RT BASED ON LOW-ORBITAL SATELLITES A series of RT experiments has been already and are being currently carried out in different regions of the world: in Europe, America and Asia [1-8]. RT images of the ionosphere along the path Moscow-Barentsburg (Svalbard) and over Alaska region during periods of geomagnetic storms in October 2003 (Fig.1) and in July 2004 (Fig.2) were obtained and analyzed. Geomagnetic storm of 29-31 October 2003 ranks as an extremely strong event (planetary index of geomagnetic activity reached its maximum Kp=9). As an example, shown in Fig.1a is ionospheric cross-section between Moscow and Barentsburg reconstructed from the data of 30.10.2003, 19:25UT (31.11.2003, 22:25LT). As seen from the reconstruction, a complicated structure with wavelike disturbances (with a maximum of 1.0*106 el/cm3 which