Method of extended bicharacteristic system in simulating wave propagation in ionospheric plasma

A procedure for studying wave propagation in ionospheric plasma based on the use of a bicharacteristic system and an extended bicharacteristic system of equations that allows the caustic structure to be determined has been developed. Propagation of an ordinary and extraordinary waves in an anisotropic plasma, in a one-layer and two-layer models, in the presence of local irregularities, has been numerically simulated. With the use of the radiotomography data, the effect of the equatorial anomaly on the propagation of decameter waves has been investigated.