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ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2026, V. 23, No. 2, pp. 9-26

Using radio occultation data to study ionospheric response to magnetic storms: A review

A.V. Shmakov 1 
1 A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics RAS, Moscow, Russia
Accepted: 10.10.2025
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2026-23-2-9-26
Radio occultation sounding of the Earth’s atmosphere using signals from global navigation satellite systems allows one to reconstruct vertical profiles of the refractive index and obtain integral characteristics of the atmosphere. For a neutral atmosphere, this makes it possible to obtain vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, and water vapor. For the ionosphere, this allows obtaining the total electron content along the sounding line and reconstruct profiles of electron concentration. Numerous studies comparing data from ground-based GPS receivers, ionosondes, and radio occultation sounding have shown their good agreement both for a quiet ionosphere and during disturbances associated with solar activity. The review considers the application of radio occultation observations to studying the ionospheric response during nine geomagnetic storms. Radio occultation observations of a disturbed ionosphere can be used: (1) to reconstruct concentration profiles, and (2) for assimilation into dynamic models of the ionosphere. The global three-dimensional electron density field reconstructed using models allows not only studying the ionosphere’s response to solar action, but also understanding the physical processes occurring in it. The widespread use of radiosonde data for studying the ionosphere is currently limited to 6,000 available profiles per day. Launching new missions and using commercial satellite data can solve this problem.
Keywords: radio occultation sounding, ionosphere, solar activity, GPS
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