Inversion of Sweep Frequency Backscatter Ionogram From Monostatic HF Sky-Wave Radar

The Wuhan Ionospheric Oblique Backscattering Sounding System (WIOBSS) is a monostatic high-frequency sky-wave radar used for ionospheric remote sensing. The sweep frequency backscatter ionogram (SFBI) recorded by the WIOBSS contains both backscatter echo scattered by distant terrestrial surface and vertical incidence (VI) echo reflected by local ionosphere over the sounding station. The approach for SFBI inversion introduced in this letter requires input of leading edge and peak height derived from local VI echo. The final output of this SFBI inversion approach is the 2-D electron density distribution in a vertical plane aligned in the direction of sounding. In addition, the time and geographic variation of f_oF2 can be obtained from a series of SFBI inversion results. Two experiments have been utilized to validate the SFBI inversion approach, and the SFBI inversion results are found to be very close to the ionosonde data. The fast-converged feature of the approach makes it possible for applications in real time. The success of the SFBI inversion approach enables us to use the WIOBSS as a vehicle-mounted system to obtain ionosphere electron density profile over a large geographic area.