Calibration of h'Es from VIPIR2 ionosondes in Japan

Abstract The measurement of virtual height of the sporadic E layer (h'Es) is very sensitive to the type of ionosonde used and the calibration processes. The ionosondes used by the national institute of communication and technology (NICT) has changed several times in the past, resulting in large...

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Main Authors: Sorai Teraoka, Huixin Liu, Michi Nishioka, Susumu Saito, Toru Takahashi, Atsushi Kumamoto, Yuki Ashihara, Takumi Abe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-02-01
Series:Earth, Planets and Space
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-025-02138-4
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author Sorai Teraoka
Huixin Liu
Michi Nishioka
Susumu Saito
Toru Takahashi
Atsushi Kumamoto
Yuki Ashihara
Takumi Abe
author_facet Sorai Teraoka
Huixin Liu
Michi Nishioka
Susumu Saito
Toru Takahashi
Atsushi Kumamoto
Yuki Ashihara
Takumi Abe
author_sort Sorai Teraoka
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The measurement of virtual height of the sporadic E layer (h'Es) is very sensitive to the type of ionosonde used and the calibration processes. The ionosondes used by the national institute of communication and technology (NICT) has changed several times in the past, resulting in large differences in h'Es before and after the change. We propose a simple method to calibrate h'Es. We used the data of ionosonde observations at four stations, i.e., Wakkanai (45.16°N, 141.75°E), Tokyo (35.71°N, 139.49°E), Yamagawa (31.20°N, 130.62°E), Okinawa (26.68°N, 128.15°E) to calibrate the latest ionosondes VIPIR2, which were installed in May 2017. We carried out the analysis by applying the double-reflection method to the original ionogram images between 2017 and 2021. By developing an automated image detecting algorithm, we were able to process a large amount of data and achieve a calibration with high accuracy. As a result, it was found that the current VIPIR2 data had an offset of 26–28 km. Graphical abstract
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institution OA Journals
issn 1880-5981
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publishDate 2025-02-01
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series Earth, Planets and Space
spelling doaj-art-48424a0302ed430ebab63ca5e6a3a4e22025-08-20T02:01:29ZengSpringerOpenEarth, Planets and Space1880-59812025-02-017711710.1186/s40623-025-02138-4Calibration of h'Es from VIPIR2 ionosondes in JapanSorai Teraoka0Huixin Liu1Michi Nishioka2Susumu Saito3Toru Takahashi4Atsushi Kumamoto5Yuki Ashihara6Takumi Abe7Kyushu UniversityKyushu UniversityNational Institute of Information and Communications TechnologyNational Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology, Electronic Navigation Research InstituteNational Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology, Electronic Navigation Research InstituteTohoku UniversityNational Institute of Technology, Nara CollegeInstitute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration AgencyAbstract The measurement of virtual height of the sporadic E layer (h'Es) is very sensitive to the type of ionosonde used and the calibration processes. The ionosondes used by the national institute of communication and technology (NICT) has changed several times in the past, resulting in large differences in h'Es before and after the change. We propose a simple method to calibrate h'Es. We used the data of ionosonde observations at four stations, i.e., Wakkanai (45.16°N, 141.75°E), Tokyo (35.71°N, 139.49°E), Yamagawa (31.20°N, 130.62°E), Okinawa (26.68°N, 128.15°E) to calibrate the latest ionosondes VIPIR2, which were installed in May 2017. We carried out the analysis by applying the double-reflection method to the original ionogram images between 2017 and 2021. By developing an automated image detecting algorithm, we were able to process a large amount of data and achieve a calibration with high accuracy. As a result, it was found that the current VIPIR2 data had an offset of 26–28 km. Graphical abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-025-02138-4Sporadic E layerCalibrationIonosondeIonogramh’Es
spellingShingle Sorai Teraoka
Huixin Liu
Michi Nishioka
Susumu Saito
Toru Takahashi
Atsushi Kumamoto
Yuki Ashihara
Takumi Abe
Calibration of h'Es from VIPIR2 ionosondes in Japan
Earth, Planets and Space
Sporadic E layer
Calibration
Ionosonde
Ionogram
h’Es
title Calibration of h'Es from VIPIR2 ionosondes in Japan
title_full Calibration of h'Es from VIPIR2 ionosondes in Japan
title_fullStr Calibration of h'Es from VIPIR2 ionosondes in Japan
title_full_unstemmed Calibration of h'Es from VIPIR2 ionosondes in Japan
title_short Calibration of h'Es from VIPIR2 ionosondes in Japan
title_sort calibration of h es from vipir2 ionosondes in japan
topic Sporadic E layer
Calibration
Ionosonde
Ionogram
h’Es
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-025-02138-4
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