scholarly journals Comparison of temporal fluctuations in the total electron content estimates from EISCAT and GPS along the same line of sight

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Forte ◽  
N. D. Smith ◽  
C. N. Mitchell ◽  
F. Da Dalt ◽  
T. Panicciari ◽  
...  

Abstract. The impact of space weather events on satellite-based technologies (e.g. satellite navigation and precise positioning) is typically quantified on the basis of the total electron content (TEC) and temporal fluctuations associated with it. GNSS (global navigation satellite systems) TEC measurements are integrated over a long distance and thus may include contributions from different regions of the ionised atmosphere which may prevent the resolution of the mechanisms ultimately responsible for given observations. The purpose of the experiment presented here was to compare TEC estimates from EISCAT and GPS measurements. The EISCAT measurements were obtained along the same line of sight of a given GPS satellite observed from Tromsø. The present analyses focussed on the comparison of temporal fluctuations in the TEC between aligned GPS and EISCAT measurements. A reasonably good agreement was found between temporal fluctuations in TEC observed by EISCAT and those observed by a co-located GPS ionospheric monitor along the same line of sight, indicating a contribution from structures at E and F altitudes mainly to the total TEC in the presence of ionisation enhancements possibly caused by particle precipitation in the nighttime sector. The experiment suggests the great potential in the measurements to be performed by the future EISCAT_3D system, limited only in the localised geographic region to be covered.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 4753
Author(s):  
Louis Osei-Poku ◽  
Long Tang ◽  
Wu Chen ◽  
Chen Mingli

Total Electron Content (TEC) from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is used to ascertain the impact of space weather events on navigation and communication systems. TEC is detrended by several methods to show this impact. Information from the detrended TEC may or may not necessarily represent a geophysical parameter. In this study, two commonly used detrending methods, Savitzky–Golay filter and polynomial fitting, are evaluated during thunderstorm events in Hong Kong. A two-step approach of detection and distinguishing is introduced alongside linear correlation in order to determine the best detrending model. Savitzky–Golay filter on order six and with a time window length of 120 min performed the best in detecting lightning events, and had the highest moderate positive correlation of 0.4. That the best time frame was 120 min suggests that the observed disturbances could be travelling ionospheric disturbance (TID), with lightning as the potential source.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa A. Elghazouly ◽  
Mohamed I. Doma ◽  
Ahmed A. Sedeek

Abstract Due to the ionosphere delay, which has become the dominant GPS error source, it is crucial to remove the ionospheric effect before estimating point coordinates. Therefore, different agencies started to generate daily Global Ionosphere Maps (GIMs); the Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) values represented in GIMs produced by several providers can be used to remove the ionosphere error from observations. In this research, An analysis will be carried with three sources for VTEC maps produced by the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE), Regional TEC Mapping (RTM), and the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI). The evaluation is focused on the effects of a specific ionosphere GIM correction on the precise point positioning (PPP) solutions. Two networks were considered. The first network consists of seven Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers from (IGS) global stations. The selected test days are six days, three of them quiet, and three other days are stormy to check the influence of geomagnetic storms on relative kinematic positioning solutions. The second network is a regional network in Egypt. The results show that the calculated coordinates using the three VTEC map sources are far from each other on stormy days rather than on quiet days. Also, the standard deviation values are large on stormy days compared to those on quiet days. Using CODE and RTM IONEX file produces the most precise coordinates after that the values of IRI. The elimination of ionospheric biases over the estimated lengths of many baselines up to 1000 km has resulted in positive findings, which show the feasibility of the suggested assessment procedure.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Bravo ◽  
Carlos Villalobos ◽  
Rodrigo Leiva ◽  
Luis Tamblay ◽  
Pedro Vega-Jorquera ◽  
...  

Objective: The diurnal variations of several ionospheric characteristics during the Space Weather Events of 4-10 September 2017, for Chilean latitudes, will be reported. Materials and Methods: Observations were made using a recently installed ionosonde at the Universidad de La Serena field station (29°52'S; 71°15’W). Also, reported is the total electron content determined using the upgraded Chilean network of dual-frequency Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers. Results: Sudden ionospheric disturbances are described in terms of the minimum reflection frequency determined from ionosonde records. An attempt to derive the extent of the effect on high frequency propagation paths in the region is made using simultaneous ionosonde observations at other locations. The geomagnetic storm ionospheric effects are discussed in detail using the observed diurnal variation of maximum electron concentration (NmF2), virtual height of the F-region (h’F/F2) and Total Electron Content (TEC). These are complemented with the time-latitude variation of TEC for the 70°W meridian. Conclusion: It is found that large increases of NmF2, h’F/F2 and TEC observed during 8 September 2017 storm are well described in terms of the evolution of the Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly (EIA) over the same time interval. Known physical mechanisms are suggested to explain most of the observations.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabyasachi Sahu ◽  
Kajaljyoti Borah ◽  
Prashant Kumar Champati ray

<p>The seismo-ionospheric interaction study with respect to earthquake events using Total Electron Content (TEC) data derived from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers can be used to detect pre-earthquake ionospheric anomalies. This is primarily because ionospheric anomaly variation has been emerged as one of the most promising precursors. In recent times, many studies have reported pre-seismic ionospheric anomalies of TEC prior to major earthquakes. However, the results are not uniform and therefore, considerable amount of data processing and validation is required before this can be used in operational mode.  To ensure the seismogenic cause of TEC variation, geomagnetic and solar-activities are also compared with TEC values prior to the earthquakes and our analysis has proved that TEC anomalies can be used as earthquake precursors. Several global events and Himalayan earthquakes have been studied and results are very encouraging for developing a methodology that can qualify for detection of early sign of earthquakes. It may be far from early warning system (EWS) with information on magnitude, location and time, but it is a significant achievement in the field of earthquake geology where no methodology exists on forewarning of seismic events.</p><p> Seismic velocity changes computed by applying modern techniques in seismic interferometry reveals that considerably large earthquakes can trigger a decline in seismic velocity prior to the mainshock. Cross-correlation of diffuse wave fields, including ambient seismic noise can provide the Green’s function between pair of receivers recording seismic activity. Using the known properties of the seismic ambient noise, recorded over a large period of time, seismic velocity changes before the earthquake has been observed which can act as a potential precursor. Decrease in the seismic velocity few days before the main event suggest that co-seismic damage begins to occur even before the mainshock, which could be a result of foreshocks. The main shock records the lowest relative seismic velocity change. The potential use of the ambient noise as an earthquake precursor can be concluded after rigorous analysis.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Bergeot ◽  
John Bosco Habarulema ◽  
Jean-Marie Chevalier ◽  
Tshimangadzo Matamba ◽  
Elisa Pinat ◽  
...  

<p>An increasing demand for a better modelling and understanding of the Ionosphere-Plasmasphere system (I/Ps) is required for both scientific and public practical applications using electromagnetic wave signals reflecting on or passing through this layer. This is the case for the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, i.e. GPS, GLONASS, Galileo) and for spacecraft designers and operators who need to have a precise knowledge of the electron density distribution.</p><p>Additionally, despite the long-term ionospheric studies that have been on-going for many decades, a number of aspects are still complicated to understand and forecast accurately even in mid-latitude regions during quiet conditions. Performing inter-hemispherical climatological studies in European and South African regions should highlight differences/similarities in I/Ps response during different phases of solar activity and geophysical conditions.</p><p>In that frame, the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) started a collaboration named “Interhemispheric Comparison of the Ionosphere-Plasmasphere System” (BEZA-COM). The goal is to provide inter-hemispheric comparison of the I/Ps implying: (1) a characterization of the climatological behavior of the Total Electron Content (TEC) in the I/Ps, over European, South African, Arctic and Antarctica regions; (2) an identification of the mechanisms that regulate inter-hemispheric differences, asymmetries and commonalities in the I/Ps from low to high-latitudes, (3) study of the different responses of the I/Ps during extreme solar events and induced geomagnetic storms in the two hemispheres.</p><p>In this paper, we reprocessed the GNSS data (GPS+GLONASS) of the dense EUREF Permanent GNSS Network (EPN) and South African TRIGNET networks as well as IGS stations for the period 1998-2018. The output consists in vertical Total Electron Content (vTEC), estimated every 15 min., and covering the central European and South African regions. The vTEC is then extracted at two conjugated locations and used to constrain empirical models to highlight the climatological behavior of the ionospheric vTEC over Europe and South Africa. From the results, we will show that the differences are quite significant. To give first answers on these differences, we also compared these models with ionosondes long-term data based models (for foF2 and hmF2) at two conjugated locations (Grahamstown and Průhonice) as well as long-term NRLMSISE O/N<sub>2</sub> ratio.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larisa P. Goncharenko ◽  
Cole A Tamburri ◽  
W. Kent Tobiska ◽  
Samuel Schonfeld ◽  
Phillip C Chamberlin ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3354
Author(s):  
Yang Wang ◽  
Yibin Yao ◽  
Liang Zhang ◽  
Mingshan Fang

Ionospheric delay is a crucial error source and determines the source of single-frequency precise point positioning (SF-PPP) accuracy. To meet the demands of real-time SF-PPP (RT-SF-PPP), several international global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) service (IGS) analysis centers provide real-time global ionospheric vertical total electron content (VTEC) products. However, the accuracy distribution of VTEC products is nonuniform. Proposing a refinement method is a convenient means to obtain a more accuracy and consistent VTEC product. In this study, we proposed a refinement method of a real-time ionospheric VTEC model for China and carried out experiments to validate the model effectiveness. First, based on the refinement method and the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) VTEC products, three refined real-time global ionospheric models (RRTGIMs) with one, three, and six stations in China were built via GNSS observations. Second, the slant total electron content (STEC) and Jason-3 VTEC were used as references to evaluate VTEC accuracy. Third, RT-SF-PPP was used to evaluate the accuracy in the positioning domain. Results showed that even if using only one station to refine the global ionospheric model, the refined model achieved a better performance than CNES and the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE). The refinement model with six stations was found to be the best of the three refinement models.


Author(s):  
Larisa P Goncharenko ◽  
Cole A Tamburri ◽  
W Kent Tobiska ◽  
Samuel J Schonfeld ◽  
Phillip C Chamberlin ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Xiang ◽  
Yang Gao

Mapping function (MF) converts the line-of-sight slant total electron content (STEC) into the vertical total electron content (VTEC), and vice versa. In an MF, an essential parameter is the ionospheric effective height. However, the inhomogeneous ionosphere makes this height vary spatially and temporally, meaning it is not a global constant. In the paper, we review several mapping functions and propose a mapping function that utilizes the ionospheric varying height (IVH). We investigate impacts of the IVH on mapping errors and on the ionospheric modeling, as well as on the satellite and receiver differential code biases (DCBs). Our analysis results indicate that the mapping errors using IVH are smaller than those from the fixed height of 450 km. The integral height achieves smaller mapping errors than using a fixed height of 450 km, an improvement of about 8% when compared with the fixed height of 450 km. And 35% smaller mapping errors were found using HmF2 at the lower latitude. Also, the effects of IVH on the satellite DCBs are about 0.1 ns, and larger impacts on the receiver DCBs at 1.0 ns.


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