Ionosphere tomography based on spaceborne SAR Original Research Article

Two models of ionosphere tomography based on spaceborne SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) are proposed. For HF-SAR the signal with sweeping frequency lower than the characteristic frequency of ionosphere will be scatted during the ionosphere propagation and completely reflected at a corresponding height. The ionospheric electron density isolines looked as series of random surfaces can be reconstructed from the HF-SAR echoes by using the inverse scattering technique for layered rough surfaces and the method of moment (MoM). The numerical simulation show that due to the MoM can provide a full wave solution, the ionosphere tomography with high resolution can be obtained as long as enough sampling data of HF-SAR echoes are used. For VHF/UHF/P/L-band SAR the TEC (Total Electron Content) can be obtained from the SAR echoes scattered by some strong point targets (such as the calibrators, etc.) appeared in the SAR imaged ground region, and the ionosphere tomography can be performed by CT technique.