Back Propagation Method for the Determination of the Vertical Location of Ionospheric Irregularities

Carles Quilis Alfonso, Vinícius Ludwig-Barbosa, Joel Rasch, Anders Carlström, Mats I. Pettersson, and Viet Thuy Vu

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	This study presents a new back-propagation (BP) method to determine the vertical location of ionospheric irregularities using GNSS Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) signals. GNSS-RO employs signals from GNSS satellites intercepted by Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to gather data about different atmospheric layers, e.g., the ionosphere, which are crucial for weather prediction and studying ionospheric dynamics. The BP method involves computing diffractive integrals along the LEO path to identify disturbances such as sporadic E-layer clouds and equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs). By effectively unwinding diffraction and multipath effects, the method pinpoints regions with minimal amplitude disturbance, indicating the location of ionospheric irregularities along the ray path. Beside estimates along the horizontal axis, case studies demonstrate the new method's capabilities in locating and estimating the vertical extent of these irregularities, showing its potential to enhance ionospheric modelling and forecasting. Results achieved show consistency with previous publications on the topic as well as methodologies used to locate ionospheric irregularities, allowing the presented method a better picture of the ionospheric irregularity.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 37th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2024) September 16 - 20, 2024 Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Baltimore, Maryland
Pages:	3029 - 3037
Cite this article:	Alfonso, Carles Quilis, Ludwig-Barbosa, Vinícius, Rasch, Joel, Carlström, Anders, Pettersson, Mats I., Vu, Viet Thuy, "Back Propagation Method for the Determination of the Vertical Location of Ionospheric Irregularities," Proceedings of the 37th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2024), Baltimore, Maryland, September 2024, pp. 3029-3037. https://doi.org/10.33012/2024.19755
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