Quantifying Ionosphere-Induced Image Distortions in L-band SAR Data Using the Ionospheric Scintillation Model WBMOD

The imaging quality of low-frequency spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems is known to be affected by small-scale ionospheric irregularities. In this paper, we present a mathematical framework that describes the effects of a scintillating ionosphere on the SAR image formation process. We present an Ionospheric Phase Statistics Simulator (IP-STATS) that is based on the presented mathematical framework and allows simulating ionosphere-corrupted SAR data based on information from the wideband ionospheric scintillation model WBMOD. Using IP-STATS, we quantify ionosphere-induced image distortions in data from spaceborne L-band SAR systems. We find that distortions are small for most ionospheric conditions.