Automatic scaling of F layer from ionograms

Abstract

The correct automatic scaling of ionograms is one of the fundamental first steps to obtain ionospheric information. In this paper, new algorithms are proposed to scale F layer traces and separate ordinary ray and extraordinary ray traces from ionograms automatically. The method is mainly based on mathematical morphology, graph theory, and the echo characteristics of the ionosphere. Digital ionogram data from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Digital Ionosonde, installed at Dulan (36°17′N, 98°5′E), were used to demonstrate the data processing procedures. ©2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.