MIRTO: a prototype for real-time ionospheric imaging over the Mediterranean area

Abstract

MIRTO (Mediterranean Ionosphere with Real-time TOmography) is a collaborative project between Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica (INGV) of Rome, the University of Bath (U.K.) and the Istituto Fisica Applicata «Nello Carrara»-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IFAC-CNR) of Florence. The goal of the project is the development of a prototype for real-time imaging of the ionosphere over the Italian region with extension to the Mediterranean Sea. MIRTO uses an original imaging technique developed at the University of Bath and upgraded for real-time use in cooperation with IFAC. The prototype makes use of the data acquired by the real-time ionospheric and geodetic instrumentation operated by INGV. Such measurements drive the imaging algorithm to produce the image of electron density as well as maps and movies of the Total Electron Content (TEC) over the considered area.