Inversions of radio occultation amplitude data

Equations based on geometric optics are considered for the inversion of an amplitude into bending angle. These inversions do not require high coherence of radio waves or precise orbit determination, as with phase inversions, but they do require precise calibration of the amplitude. Even though amplitude inversions are not so precise as phase inversions, they may still be useful for a number of applications.

When compared to phase inversions they allow the optimization of the filter bandwidth for phase inversions, the detection of multipath propagation, and the localization of electron density irregularities in the ionosphere. These applications are demonstrated by processing of the Global Positioning System / Meteorology (GPS/MET) radio-occultation data collected onboard the satellite Microlab-1.