A Feasibility Study on Opportunistic Tropospheric Sensing for Meteorological and Geophysical Applications Using Microwave Satellite Downlinks

The propagation of microwaves through the lower atmosphere is significantly influenced by various components, the main ones being atmospheric gases, weather phenomena and suspended particles (e.g., ash and gases released in the atmosphere by volcanic emissions). While the first two have been widely investigated and characterized (see, e.g., the relevant ITU-R recommendations), only a few studies are available about the effects of the latter one on microwave communication links. In recent years, the opportunistic use of satellite downlinks emerged as a promising and cost-effective technique for the detection and quantitative characterization of weather phenomena (mainly, the precipitations). This work leverages on the experience earned on weather sensing to extend the opportunistic approach also to real-time detection and monitoring of volcanic emissions, with a twofold aim: i) to understand the impact of volcanic emissions on microwave signals propagation; ii) to assess the feasibility of an opportunistic system for volcanic activity sensing, based on the monitoring of satellite downlink signals.