Verification of software for three-dimensional radio tomographic monitoring of electron density in the ionosphere based on data from the EUREF Permanent Network

This paper presents the results of experimental studies and verification of software tools for three-dimensional radiotomographic monitoring of electron concentration fields in the ionosphere over Europe. The input data comprised measurements from 100 stations (including 10 in Belarus) of the EUREF Permanent Network (EPN) and navigation data from high-orbit navigation satellites in RINEX format. The developed software implements a complete data processing cycle, including primary information structuring, preliminary processing with anomalous value filtering, total electron content calculation, and three-dimensional ionosphere reconstruction. Examples of total electron content calculations over the Republic of Belarus from various ground stations (Brest, Novopolotsk, Vitebsk) are demonstrated for different time points on May 11, 2024, when Earth’s magnetosphere experienced the strongest disturbance of the current century. The results of three-dimensional radiotomographic monitoring of electron concentration fields in the ionosphere with 15-minute temporal resolution are presented, including visualization of reconstructed region cross-sections at constant latitude 50°, constant longitude 19°, and the total vertical electron content obtained by summing the reconstructed field along vertical columns. The effectiveness of the developed algorithms under strong geomagnetic disturbance conditions has been experimentally confirmed. The obtained results are suitable for ionospheric monitoring to ensure reliable radio system operation, detection of natural and artificial ionospheric anomalies, and prediction of natural phenomena based on these observations.

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