The ionosphere is the very top layer of the Earth's atmosphere, the
border with space. Many telecommunications satellites orbit within this
layer and the ionosphere has a profound effect on radiowaves beamed between
earth and space. Researchers need to know the real-time conditions of
the ionosphere, for example the electron densities along a particular
path between two points linked by radio. Ionosondes are instruments that
can measure the conditions of the ionosphere. Oblique ionosondes have
a transmitter fixed at one point on the globe and the receiver hundreds,
even thousands of miles away.
This project team uses an oblique ionosonde to measure the conditions
of the ionosphere in real time, using the GPS system. They are working
in collaboration with groups at DERA, Malvern and other British Universities.
They hope to provide information about the ionosphere that will help to
improve the accuracy of GPS navigation and contribute to international
knowledge of the ionosphere.
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