Calculation of Ionospheric Conductivity Profiles by Inverting VLF/LF Reflection Data: I. Isotropic Propagation.
Abstract
This report presents an iterative method for inverting VLF/LF ionosounding data to obtain ionospheric conductivity profiles. The relationship between the detail that can be realized in the calculated profile and the quality and quantity of the reflection data is given explicitly. Only altitudes below about 70 km where the propagation can be assumed isotropic are considered, although the method can be extended to anisotropic propagation. The method is demonstrated by applying it to two qualitatively different ionospheric models--a strong SPE disturbance and a C-layer exhibiting a well-defined conductivity peak. Ground-level reflection data contain information only about those heights from which significant energy is returned. The calculated profiles agree well with the true profiles over the height range where the strongest reflections occur, and break down outside of that range. The solutions converge toward the true profiles despite the use of initial estimates that contain no information about the true ionospheric structure. The height resolution actually achieved for the two examples is much better than the theoretically predicted limit. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA108577
Entities
People
- C. R. Warber
- E. C. Field
- R. E. Warren