Imaging the Three-Dimensional Ionospheric Structure with a Blob Basis Functional Ionospheric Tomography Model

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Space Physics
• Atmospheric Science

Background:

• Ionospheric tomography is crucial for understanding the Earth's upper atmosphere.
• Traditional models using voxel basis functions have limitations in accuracy and resolution.
• Accurate mapping of ionospheric electron density is vital for various applications, including satellite navigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a new ionospheric tomography model utilizing blob basis functions.
• To enhance the accuracy and efficiency of reconstructing the spatio-temporal distribution of ionospheric electron density.
• To compare the performance of the new model against traditional voxel-based methods.

Main Methods:

• Developed a new ionospheric tomography model replacing voxel basis functions with overlapping, rotationally symmetric blob basis functions.
• Implemented a numerical simulation scheme to assess model feasibility and compare reconstruction quality.
• Incorporated variable blob radius to optimize computational efficiency.
• Applied the model to reconstruct ionospheric electron density using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data.

Main Results:

• Numerical simulations showed higher reconstruction quality with the blob basis function model compared to the voxel basis model.
• The use of variable blob radius improved the model's efficiency.
• Reconstructed spatio-temporal electron density profiles using real GNSS observations.
• Comparisons with ionosonde data confirmed the model's reliability and superior performance.

Conclusions:

• The proposed blob basis function ionospheric tomography model offers a significant advancement over traditional voxel-based methods.
• The model demonstrates high reliability and superior accuracy in reconstructing ionospheric electron density.
• This new approach provides a more effective tool for studying the dynamic ionosphere using GNSS data.