ISWAT - International Space Weather Action Teams 

Team ID: G2B-13

Team Title:
Ionospheric investigations using global network of radio astronomy facilities

Team Lead:
Kasia Beser New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA, katarzyna.beser@njit.edu

Team Co-Lead:
Maaijke Mevius ASTRON - Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Netherlands, mevius@astron.nl


Team POC:
Kasia Beser New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA, katarzyna.beser@njit.edu

Keywords (Impact):
Navigation and/or Communications, Radio Astronomy

Keywords (Other):
Enter my own keyword (impact):No

Keywords (Activity Type):
Understanding , Forecasting , Data Utilization , Information Architecture 

Introduction:
Low-frequency radio astronomy instruments provide excellent facilities to study the ionosphere, offering a unique perspective on this dynamic layer of our atmosphere. These instruments probe the ionosphere at temporal and spatial scales different from those explored by more traditional methods like ionosondes or incoherent scatter radars. This complementary information is crucial for building a more complete understanding of ionospheric structures and dynamics. Several such facilities exist around the globe, including the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in India, the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) in Europe, the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) in the USA, the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) in Australia, the Very Large Array (VLA) in the USA, and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA-low), currently under construction in Australia.
Combining ionospheric data from these geographically diverse instruments offers the potential to create a more comprehensive, global picture of ionospheric structures. By synthesizing data from multiple sites, we can disentangle local effects from larger-scale phenomena and gain insights into global ionospheric behavior. 

Objectives:
This study group focuses on consolidating existing knowledge about ionospheric measurements obtained at the various radio astronomical facilities. A key objective is the development of a common approach for data management and investigation, facilitating collaborative research and enabling both local and global studies of ionospheric structures and dynamics. This standardized approach will be essential for researchers to effectively combine and analyze data from different instruments, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding of the ionosphere and its impact on radio wave propagation.

Action Topics:
Understand and quantify ionosphere response to drivers from above and below, Understanding physical mechanisms responsible for producing ionospheric irregularities, Improve predictive capability of irregularities and impact on propagation of radio signal

Cluster with overlapping topics:
G2B: Ionosphere variability, S2G-03: Cross-domain radio