1. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere M. Pezzopane, J.A. Baskaradas, C. Bianchi, M. Pietrella, A.Pignatelli, A. Settimi, U. Sciacca, C. Scotto, G. Tutone, B. Zolesi, E. Zuccheretti michael.pezzopane@ingv.it Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, 00143, Rome, Italy

2. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere Region of the atmosphere where the ion and electron density reaches values as to influence the refraction index of the radio waves (3kHz – 30MHz). The ionospheric plasma is mainly due to the photoionization of atmospheric gases caused by the UV and X electromagnetic radiations coming from the Sun. It is a very low-density plasma immersed in the geomagnetic field (magnetoplasma). 500 km 50 km Stratopause Thermopause The terrestrial ionosphere

3. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere D region: between 60÷90 km of altitudes and mainly responsible for the radiowaves absorption. E region: between 90÷150 km of altitudes and reflects medium and long radiowaves (λ>100 m). F region: between 150÷400 km of altitudes and reflects the short radiowaves. The terrestrial ionosphere

4. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere The ionosphere acts as a big electromagnetic mirror that bends and reflects signals transmitted from the Earth towards the ground. This makes it possible radio connections between sites on the terrestrial surface that cannot see each other because of the Earth’s curvature or because of obstacles, like for instance mountains. It affects the electromagnetic wave propagation and then its study is important for Earth-Earth, satellite-Earth, and satellite-satellite communication purposes. Why we study and monitor the ionosphere?

5. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere Diffractive and refractive processes due to irregular electron density structures cause phase and amplitude signal fluctuations called scintillations. Scintillations can disrupt satellite-ground communications and, in general, represent an hazard for navigation systems. They are then of particular interest to GPS users with safety-critical applications. Why study and monitor the ionosphere?

6. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere The study and the real-time monitoring of the ionosphere are important for Space Weather purposes. During a solar flare, if this is enough energetic and occurs on the Sun side towards the Earth, some of the released X rays penetrate the terrestrial atmosphere till the lower altitudes of the ionosphere, causing an increase of ionization and then an increase of the absorption suffered by the electromagnetic wave. normal propagation absorption Why study and monitor the ionosphere?

7. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere Radiowaves of variable frequency are transmitted vertically towards the atmosphere. The ordinary mode of the transmitted wave is reflected from the ionosphere when the transmitted frequency matches the electron plasma frequency which is equal to: Depending on the reflection height there will be a definite time delay according to the relation: The experimental trace is then a plot of the virtual height of reflection vs the transmitted frequency, which is called ionogram. The ionospheric vertical soundings ordinaryextraordinary km

8. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere Night-time ionogram The ionospheric vertical soundings Day-time ionogram

9. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere From the analysis of one ionogram several important characteristics (like the critical frequencies and the heights of the different ionospheric layers) can be found, that have a significant role in the studies concerning ionospheric physics, space weather and related phenomena. foE foF1 foF2 h’E h’F1 h’F2 The ionospheric vertical soundings

10. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere From the analysis of one ionogram several important characteristics (like the critical frequencies and the heights of the different ionospheric layers) can be found, that have a significant role in the studies concerning ionospheric physics, space weather and related phenomena. foE foF1 foF2 The ionospheric vertical soundings NmE NmF1 NmF2

11. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere The necessary work to obtain the ionospheric characteristics from an ionogram is called “ionogram interpretation or ionogram scaling”. Till a few decades ago this interpretation was performed only manually by expert operators. The ionogram scaling

12. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere In the last decades, the importance of real time ionospheric data to be used for space weather purposes has greatly increased. For this reason since 80s much work has been performed to develop computer programs able to automatically scale the ionograms giving as output the standard ionospheric characteristics along with an estimate of the electron density profile. Though much progress has been made, still today a considerable effort is invested in upgrading these programs in order to improve the reliability of the performed autoscaling. Autoscaling of an ionogram – the ARTIST system

13. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere Along with the AIS-INGV ionosonde, the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia developed also a computer program, called Autoscala, able to perform an automatic scaling of an ionogram. Autoscala and ARTIST are at the moment the only autoscaling systems actually visible on the internet working in real time and consequently they are the only systems that can be used and tested. Autoscaling of an ionogram – the Autoscala system M. Pezzopane, C. Scotto (2007), Automatic scaling of critical frequency foF2 and MUF(3000)F2: A comparison between Autoscala and ARTIST 4.5 on Rome data, Radio Science. C. Scotto (2009), Electron density profile calculation technique for Autoscala ionogram analysis, Advances in Space Research. E. Zuccheretti, G. Tutone, U. Sciacca, C. Bianchi, J.B. Arokiasamy (2003), The new AIS-INGV digital ionosonde, Annals of Geophysics.

14. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere it is based on an image recognition technique; unlike ARTIST, it can operate without polarization information; it can potentially be applied to any kind of ionosonde. Autoscaling of an ionogram – the Autoscala system

15. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere Autoscaling of an ionogram – the Autoscala system Space Research Center di Varsavia it is based on an image recognition technique; unlike ARTIST, it can operate without polarization information; it can potentially be applied to any kind of ionosonde. M. Pezzopane, C. Scotto, Łukasz Tomasik, Igor Krasheninnikov (2010), Autoscala: an Aid for Different Ionosondes, Acta Geophysica.

16. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere Autoscaling of an ionogram – the Autoscala system Russian Academy of Sciences – Mosca it is based on an image recognition technique; unlike ARTIST, it can operate without polarization information; it can potentially be applied to any kind of ionosonde. M. Pezzopane, C. Scotto, Łukasz Tomasik, Igor Krasheninnikov (2010), Autoscala: an Aid for Different Ionosondes, Acta Geophysica.

17. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere Autoscaling of an ionogram – the Autoscala system University of Boulder, Colorado - USA it is based on an image recognition technique; unlike ARTIST, it can operate without polarization information; it can potentially be applied to any kind of ionosonde. M. Pezzopane, C. Scotto, Łukasz Tomasik, Igor Krasheninnikov (2010), Autoscala: an Aid for Different Ionosondes, Acta Geophysica.

18. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere They are essential for monitoring the ionospheric plasma in real time for Space Weather purposes and to better understand the ionospheric storm dynamics. Importance of autoscaling systems

19. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere They are essential for monitoring the ionospheric plasma in real time for Space Weather purposes and to better understand the ionospheric storm dynamics. Importance of autoscaling systems

20. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere They are essential for monitoring the ionospheric plasma in real time for Space Weather purposes and to better understand the ionospheric storm dynamics. Importance of autoscaling systems

21. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere They can contribute to a real time three-dimensional ionospheric modelling. Importance of autoscaling systems The 3-D electron density distribution has to be known to perform an accurate ray-tracing. Ray-tracing is a technique to determine the travel path of radio waves from a transmitter to a receiver.

22. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model The climatological IRI model is usually considered to represent the ionospheric electron density distribution. However, because actual electron density distribution can differ significantly from the model, the ray-tracing procedure may return incorrect results. real-time 3-D electron density modeling -real-time autoscaled foF2 and M(3000)F2 data -real-time electron density profiles regional nowcasting maps of foF2 and M(3000)F2 (SIRMUP procedure) Pezzopane, M., M. Pietrella, A. Pignatelli, B. Zolesi, and L. R. Cander (2011), Assimilation of autoscaled data and regional and local ionospheric models as input sources for real‐time 3‐D International Reference Ionosphere modeling, Radio Science.

23. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere 3-D matrix of the electron density, where i and j vary with the latitude and longitude, and k with the altitude. Column on the left composed by k cells represents the vertical electron density profile V ij. Ray path from a TX point to a RX point is represented by a dotted curve. Because of the involved distance, the 3-D matrix has a spherical shell shape. A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model IRI matrix IRI foF2 IRI

24. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere 3-D matrix of the electron density, where i and j vary with the latitude and longitude, and k with the altitude. Column on the left composed by k cells represents the vertical electron density profile V ij. Ray path from a TX point to a RX point is represented by a dotted curve. Because of the involved distance, the 3-D matrix has a spherical shell shape. A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model IRI-SIRMUP matrix nowcast foF2 SIRMUP foF2

25. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere 3-D matrix of the electron density, where i and j vary with the latitude and longitude, and k with the altitude. Column on the left composed by k cells represents the vertical electron density profile V ij. Ray path from a TX point to a RX point is represented by a dotted curve. Because of the involved distance, the 3-D matrix has a spherical shell shape. A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model IRI-SIRMUP-Profiles matrix nowcast foF2 SIRMUP foF2 ISP

26. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model The reference ionospheric stations considered as input for the model are Rome and Gibilmanna, while the ionospheric stations considered as test sites are Roquetes, San Vito, and Athens.

27. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere solar terminator conditions around sunrise A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model

28. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere We tested the ISP model for disturbed conditions using more than two reference ionospheric stations. [Pezzopane et al., Advances in Space Research, 2013] A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model

29. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model

30. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere ISP model for disturbed conditions A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model Pezzopane, M., M. Pietrella, A. Pignatelli, B. Zolesi, and L. R. Cander (2013), Testing the three-dimensional IRI-SIRMUP-P mapping of the ionosphere for disturbed periods, Advances in Space Research.

31. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere A reliable 3-D representation of the ionosphere – the ISP model Pezzopane, M., M. Pietrella, A. Pignatelli, B. Zolesi, and L. R. Cander (2013), Testing the three-dimensional IRI-SIRMUP-P mapping of the ionosphere for disturbed periods, Advances in Space Research. ISP model for disturbed conditions

32. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere AIS-INGV - August 2007 La ionosonda AIS-INGV Conclusion Tucuman

33. Michael Pezzopane et al.SIF 2015 – 24 September 2015 Importance of a real-time monitoring of the Earth's ionosphere AIS-INGV + Autoscala Conclusion