Mapping the Ionosphere Using L-Band SAR Data

Author

Nicoll, Jeremy B. ; Meyer, Franz J.

Author_Institution

Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK

Volume

2

fYear

2008

fDate

7-11 July 2008

Abstract

The influence of the ionosphere on spaceborne SAR signals can be significant, especially approaching wavelengths at L-band or larger. By measuring these effects and inverting the underlying physical model, these effects can be used to measure and map aspects of the ionosphere. ALOS PALSAR data is employed to demonstrate this capability. Single-pol data is used to determine second-order gradients of the iononsperic Total Electron Content (TEC) (the second derivative of intensity). Dual-pol can yield lateral TEC variations in homogeneous areas. Finally, Faraday rotation measurements from full-pol data can be used to create 2-D maps of the absolute TEC.

Keywords

ionosphere; synthetic aperture radar; 2D maps; ALOS PALSAR data; Faraday rotation measurements; TEC; dual-pol data; iononsperic Total Electron Content; ionosphere mapping; physical model; second-order gradients; single-pol data; spaceborne L-Band SAR signals; Azimuth; Electrons; Equations; Geomagnetism; Ionosphere; L-band; Magnetic fields; Satellite broadcasting; Spaceborne radar; Wavelength measurement; ionospheric effects; polarimetric SAR calibration; total electron content;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2008. IGARSS 2008. IEEE International

Conference_Location

Boston, MA

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-2807-6

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-2808-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IGARSS.2008.4779047

Filename

4779047