TONe Ionosphere Observatory (IO)
The ionosphere is the ionized part of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, located approximately 60–1000 km above the ground, and is connected to space outwards and the lower parts of the atmosphere downwards. The ionosphere is important for several different reasons. We need to understand the complex couplings and energy transfers between the Sun and the Earth, which also contributes knowledge about the auroras and turbulence in the ionosphere. Communication satellites orbit in the ionosphere, and space weather (which is the “weather” in this part of the atmosphere) affects satellite communications, including GPS.
Through TONe, the University of Oslo will set up a digisonde system that measures the electron density in the ionosphere. This instrument complements the already existing ionosphere sensors on Troll, and contributes to further developing our knowledge of the ionosphere.