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Exploiting LF/MF signals of opportunity for lower ionospheric remote sensing
Author(s) -
HigginsonRollins Marc A.,
Cohen Morris B.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2017gl074236
Subject(s) - ionosphere , high frequency , remote sensing , very low frequency , transmitter , reflection (computer programming) , radio spectrum , frequency band , radio propagation , radio wave , geophysics , geology , physics , computer science , telecommunications , antenna (radio) , channel (broadcasting) , programming language
We introduce a method to diagnose and track the D region ionosphere (60–100 km). This region is important for long‐distance terrestrial communication and is impacted by a variety of geophysical phenomena, but it is traditionally very difficult to detect. Modern remote sensing methods used to study the D region are predominately near the very low frequency (VLF, 3–30 kHz) band, with some work also done in the high‐frequency and very high frequency bands (HF/VHF, 3–300 MHz). However, the frequency band between VLF and HF has been largely ignored as a diagnostic tool for the ionosphere. In this paper, we evaluate the use of 300 kHz radio reflections as a diagnostic tool for characterizing the D region of the ionosphere. We present radio receiver data, analyze diurnal trends in the signal from these transmitters, and identify ionospheric disturbances impacting LF/MF propagation. We find that 300 kHz remote sensing may allow a unique method for D region diagnostics compared to both the VLF and HF/VHF frequency bands, due to a more direct ionospheric reflection coefficient calculation method with high temporal resolution without the use of forward modeling.