THE LOW-LATITUDE IONOSPHERIC TOMOGRAPHY NETWORK (LITN) - INITIAL RESULTS

The Low-latitude Ionospheric Tomography Network (LITN), a chain of six stations located along the 121 degrees E meridian receiving signals f rom the Transit NNSS satellites, carries out tomographic investigation s of the ionosphere in this equatorial anomaly region. The technical a spects of the network are introduced. Because of the steep latitudinal gradients of the ionosphere in this region, a special procedure has b een developed to facilitate the reconstruction process. Model simulati ons are carried out to help formulate the best reconstruction algorith m. Initial results from the first set of data from the full network ar e presented, and the diurnal behavior of the anomaly discussed. Compar isons of the reconstructed electron density profiles with those derive d from ionograms and the reconstructed vertical TECs with those observ ed appear to indicate that the LITN can be used to provide a two-dimen sional image of the ionosphere in the equatorial region. (C) 1997 Else vier Science Ltd.