Validation of Ionospheric Mapping by means of SAR through Ground Based Radar Measurements

Inhalt:
Spaceborne SAR configurations image the Earth’s surface through the ionosphere which is disturbed by precipitations of solar and cosmic particles, atmospheric phenomena, plasma instabilities, etc. Recent studies showed that such irregularities can be imaged and quantified through the disturbances appearing on SAR images; but there was little cross-validation. In this paper we evaluate SAR data together with coordinated/coincide measurements of structural and dynamic parameters of polar and equatorial ionospheres by ground based radars. The ground based radar observations will be used to assess the performance of SAR to map ionospheric disturbances.