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Effects of Ionospheric Inhomogeneities on Remote Sensing of the Earth by Space-borne P-band SAR
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  • Dmitry V. Rastyagaev,
  • Boris Kutuza,
  • Andrew S. Kryukovsky,
  • Yulia Bova
Dmitry V. Rastyagaev
Russian New University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Boris Kutuza
Institute of Radio Engeneering and Electronics
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Andrew S. Kryukovsky
Russian New University
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Yulia Bova
Russian New University
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Abstract

Numerical modeling of the effect of rotation of the polarization vector in the ionospheric plasma on the radio waves of the high frequency range is performed. The relevance of the work is related to the design of space-borne P-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for purpose of surface and subsurface remote sensing of the Earth, as well as to problems of reconstructing the profile of the electron concentration of the ionospheric plasma by radio tomography methods. Three spherical two-layer models of the ionosphere are compared: a model without disturbances, a model with two local formations with an increased electron concentration and a model with two local formations with a reduced electron concentration. The source of radiation is located on the moving spacecraft at a distance of 400 km from the Earth’s surface. The angle of inclination of the rays varies from 150 to 30 degrees relative to the positive direction of the horizontal axis. The receiver is located on the surface of the Earth. To determine the ray paths a bi-characteristic system of equations is used. A quasi parabolic dependence of group time on the horizontal coordinate of the radiation source is given. The dependence of the deviation of the aiming angle on group time is investigated. The phase variation due to the influence of the ionosphere and the angle of the Faraday rotation are studied. It is shown that changes in the Faraday rotation angle for the selected parameters lie in the range from 6 to 54 degrees.