On improving the accuracy of electron density profiles obtained at high altitudes by the ionospheric sounder on the Mars Express spacecraft

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11320%2F16%3A10334389" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11320/16:10334389 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016JA023054" target="_blank" >http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016JA023054</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016JA023054" target="_blank" >10.1002/2016JA023054</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

On improving the accuracy of electron density profiles obtained at high altitudes by the ionospheric sounder on the Mars Express spacecraft

Original language description

We attempt to improve the standard inversion routine used to obtain electron density profiles from the data measured by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) topside radar sounder on board the Mars Express spacecraft. Artificial ionospheric traces corresponding to how the MARSIS instrument would see model electron density profiles are constructed, and they are inverted using the standard routine. Ideally, this should result in the original electron density profiles. However, it is found that discrepancies between the original and resulting electron density profiles may be significant, in particular at larger solar zenith angles and for higher spacecraft altitudes. This is due to a gap of MARSIS time delay measurements at low-sounding frequencies, and a necessity to interpolate electron density profiles in this plasma frequency range. Although the ionospheric scale height likely increases with the altitude, the standard inversion routine uses an exponential interpolation with a constant scale height. We suggest a new inversion method, which takes into account expected shapes of ionospheric profiles in the interpolation region. We verify the performance of this method both on the model electron density profiles and on real MARSIS data. We demonstrate that it seems to perform considerably better than the standard routine, in particular for higher spacecraft altitudes. Finally, we use the new inversion method to obtain a revised dependence of the peak altitude on the solar zenith angle.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_x - Unclassified - Peer-reviewed scientific article (Jimp, Jsc and Jost)

CEP classification

BL - Plasma physics and discharge through gases

OECD FORD branch

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Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2016

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics

ISSN

2169-9380

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

121

Issue of the periodical within the volume

10

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

13

Pages from-to

10117-10129

UT code for WoS article

000388965900053

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-84991086147