Toward interpretation of HF propagation data obtained by the HamSCI Community - Ray Tracers and Ionospheric Models

Perhaps one of the most pressing questions the Ham Sci community needs to address is how data obtained by the tangerineSDR or other platforms will be interpreted to obtain scientifically useful information.  One approach is to produce an appropriate forward model describing the ionosphere and use ray tracers to convert that model into observables that are measured using SDRs.  The purpose of this talk is to discuss these issues in general terms, but also to discuss simulation strategies that could be useful for the data collected by a network of radio amateurs.  I will also present on the development of an open source python-based 3-D Jones Stephenson Ray tracer and other developments out of my laboratory that are relevant to ray tracing, including implementation using cuda and the development of point-to-point ray tracing.