IonoNet: An Italian network of Oblique Ionosondes

IonoNet is a project of a cooperative radar network of multistatic Pseudo Random Code (PRC) ionosondes for oblique ionospheric soundings placed in different points of the Italian national territory; in this way it will be possible to compare the ionospheric characteristics relative to points separated by about a few hundred km. The project activities concern the design, construction, and installation of PRC ionosondes for oblique soundings. The oblique PRC ionosondes are made up of two parts, a transmitting and a receiving one placed in various places. The project includes the installation of three transmitting ionosondes located in the north (La Spezia), center (Montelibretti (Rome) and south (Gibilmanna) of Italy and five receiving ionosondes in Castello Tesino (TN), Rocca di Papa (RM), Preturo (AQ), Duronia (CB) and Lampedusa (AG). The instrumentation will be complemented by communication and data analysis systems, including the transformation of oblique ionograms into vertical ones, to enable better comparison with the ionograms from the Italian observatories. Autoscala software will be used for the real-time generation of electron density profiles and the calculation of all propagation parameters; based on the Autoscala output, ionospheric warnings will be generated, in case of disturbed conditions. The soundings will allow to map the ionosphere over large regions for the verification of models of the global. The local disturbed ionospheric conditions will be investigated to study possible ionosphere-lithosphere coupling phenomena. The project was funded within the framework of the “National Recovery and Resilience Plan” PNRR of the INGV “Meet” within activity 9.5.