Measuring ionospheric movements using totally reflected radio waves

It is shown that for radio waves of a particular frequency reflected totally from the ionosphere the effect of refraction as well as reflection can be simulated by an effective reflecting surface. This mirrorlike surface will give the correct angle of arrival and Doppler shift for all radars operating at this frequency. It is theoretically possible for the effective reflecting surface to be folded back on itself, but this is unlikely except for F-region echoes refracted by sporadic E-clouds. If the surface is not folded and exists everywhere, it is always possible to describe its motion and change in terms of wave undulations. Experimental data for F-region echoes show that these wave undulations are very dispersive. However, the matching between the best fitting model and the experimental data is worse than expected for reasons we do not understand.