Volume 58, Issue 9 e2023RS007765
Research Article

Aperture Synthesis Imaging of Ionospheric Irregularities Using Time Diversity MIMO Radar

D. L. Hysell

Corresponding Author

D. L. Hysell

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Correspondence to:

D. L. Hysell,

[email protected]

Contribution: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal analysis, ​Investigation, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Visualization, Funding acquisition

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J. L. Chau

J. L. Chau

Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock, Külungsborn, Germany

Contribution: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, ​Investigation, Writing - review & editing

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First published: 20 September 2023

Abstract

Aperture-synthesis images of ionospheric irregularities in the equatorial electrojet are computed using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar methods at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory. MIMO methods increase the number of distinct interferometry baselines available for imaging (by a factor of essentially three in these experiments) as well as the overall size of the synthetic aperture. The particular method employed here involves time-division multiplexing or time diversity to distinguish pulses transmitted from different quarters of the Jicamarca array. The method comes at the cost of a large increase in computation time and complexity and a reduced signal-to-noise ratio. We discuss the details involved in the signal processing and the trade space involved in image optimization.

Key Points

  • Multiple-input, multiple output (MIMO) radar imaging method implemented at Jicamarca to observe large-scale waves in the equatorial electrojet

  • Specific method involves time division multiplexing or time diversity

  • The resolution of the images was increased but is limited by motion of scatterers which needs mitigation

Data Availability Statement

Data used for this publication are available through Hysell and Chau (2023).