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BIOMASS is a polarimetric P-band (435 MHz) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in a dawn-dusk low Earth orbit. Its principal objective is to measure biomass content and biomass change in all the Earth’s forests. The launch of BIOMASS is envisaged for around 2020, with the mission expected to last around five years.

This study aims to investigate a feasible regional TEC temporal fluctuations product derived from ground-based monitoring stations Western Sub Saharan African region. To assess how the existing ionospheric monitoring capabilities in that region can satisfy related requirements, for a selected science application and for Biomass external calibration.

The aims of the project were to network with the current ionospheric researchers across Africa and demonstrate improvements to ionospheric mapping that could be made through the strategic placement of further ground-based sensors across the continent.

MImOSA gave the possibility to learn more about the actual capabilities of the South American countries to monitor and investigate the ionosphere, highlighting the dominant role of the largest countries, Brazil and Argentina, but also reporting an increasing interest in other countries such as Peru, Bolivia and Chile. MImOSA could result into a pilot project aiming to federate European and South American networks and individual instruments to monitor the southern and northern crests of the Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly and the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly.