Simulating reflected GNSS-RO signals with wave-optics propagation
Presenter:
Thomas Sievert
Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH)
Molflow, RUAG Space, BTH, BTH
Poster
During an occultation event, the GNSS-RO instrument receives a signal that can be divided into two parts: direct and reflected rays. Several methods have been proposed to classify signals that contain reflected rays, as well as methods to produce reflected bending angle profiles. Currently, it is unclear exactly how to make use of the information stored in this data.
To better understand the nature of bending angles of reflected signals, it is important to be able to replicate them in a realistic manner. The common way to simulate reflections in wave optics propagation (WOP) simulations is to represent the Earth with a simple boundary condition. This results in “quasi-reflections” who have similar amplitude signatures to real reflections. However, it is not well-known how the reflected bending angle profiles from these quasi-reflections compare with theoretical and measured profiles.
We present WOP simulations of reflected signals and compare them with measurements as well as theoretical bending angle profiles. Our results indicate that an improved formulation of the boundary condition in the WOP simulation is important in order to simulate the correct bending angle of reflected signals as compared to Abel transform and measurements.
Poster in PDF:
