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

Abstract

Spaceborne SAR images the Earth’s surface through the ionosphere which is permanently disturbed by precipitations of solar and cosmic particles, atmospheric neutral winds, plasma instabilities, and etc. Recent studies showed that such irregularities can be imaged and quantified through the disturbances appearing on SAR images; but there were no cross-validations. In this paper we suggest coordinated measurements of structural and dynamic parameters of polar and equatorial ionospheres using GNSS network and ground based radars, e.g., incoherent scatter radar, along with SAR. The ground based observations will be compared to assess the ionospheric mapping ability of SAR.