Development of the model of HF radiowave propagation in the ionosphere

Abstract

The model of HF radiowave propagation, based on a geometrical optics approximation, has been extended for the case of a complex geometrical optics. The radiowave propagation in the illuminated region without going to the caustic shadow region is considered. The radiowave propagation model has been generalized for the case of wideband HF signals in the ionosphere. A dynamic representation of LFM signals in the form of a wave packet sequence was used for this purpose. The radiowave propagation model was also adapted to a global self-consistent dynamic model of the thermosphere, ionosphere, and protonosphere, which made it possible to study specific features in the formation of HF radiowave ray paths during geomagnetic storms in a 3D inhomogeneous anisotropic medium.