EARTH TELESCOPE RESEARCH

Tesi project

Iononet is a new research project of a European network of oblique ionosondes. The infrastructure network has been funded by the “Earth Telescope” (INGV-ET) research project that has a research line "TESI" to “Study of Geospheres Interactions in the Earth System” focused on understanding the interactions between Earth's internal processes and surface dynamics using seismological and geophysical analyses, modelling and laboratory experiments to shed light on the complexity of these interactions. 

WP 1 TASK 1.2 European Ionosonde Oblique infrastructure (task lead by Loredana Perrone, INGV-RM2)

Description:

Scientific question(s). The ionosphere is variable and influenced by factors from above (e.g. solar extreme ultraviolet radiation, EUV) and below (e.g. gravity waves, tropospheric electric fields). Consequently, it becomes essential to exclude ionospheric anomalies originating from external forcing. It is necessary to gather information about seismic and non-seismic areas to differentiate ionospheric perturbations caused by sources from below as lithospheric phenomena from anomalies in ionospheric parameters induced by external factors (e.g., Solar Particle Events, Geomagnetic Storms) (Kauristie et al., 2021). Task 1.2 aims to construct an infrastructure that helps to distinguish the ionospheric anomalies from above and from below. This include

a-IonoNet - European Ionosonde Oblique Infrastructure: The transmitter antenna will be installed in the Italian territory, while different locations have been identified for the receivers. The proposed radio links, outlined below, will enable the study of wide ionospheric areas, allowing for investigation of portions of the ionosphere over geographic areas strongly affected by earthquakes, such as the western Mediterranean sector, the Hellenic peninsula and the Balkan area. Furthermore, the analysis of ionospheric data from radio links over nominally no-seismic areas, such as the Northern European sector, or the eastern mediterranean sector and the Iberic Peninsula, will help to distinguish ionospheric perturbations caused by lithospheric phenomena from anomalies in the ionospheric parameters induced by external forcing (e.g., Solar Particle Events, Geomagnetic Storms) (Kauristie et al., 2021). In addition, for the proposed radio links, it would be possible to study the ionosphere over the Mediterranean sea, where vertical ionosonde data is currently unavailable.