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

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.

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