Characterization of ionospheric stripes observed on low latitudes L-band SAR images

SAR images acquired by spaceborne sensors operating within low frequency bands, such as P or L bands, can be affected by wave propagation effects, related to irregularities in the ionospheric layer.Ionospheric stripes on low frequency SAR images are a well-documented phenomenon, caused by the strong anisotropy of electron density in the ionosphere at low latitudes.Several authors have already proposed methods to retrieve ionospheric parameters from SAR images, such as the velocity and altitude of the ionospheric layer, the integrated turbulence strength, or the slope of the electron density fluctuation spectrum.This work introduces a new method for retrieving ionospheric parameters, leveraging the formulation of the maximum of the analytic log-amplitude spectrum.Simulated disturbed SAR images are generated under the assumption of a frozen ionosphere.A Monte Carlo process is then employed to study the impact of the focusing algorithm on ionospheric stripes visible in the phase screen.The application of this method to parameter inversion on real SAR images yields promising results.