An innovative methodology for locating ionosphere layer height: case study on 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Ravanelli ◽  
Giovanni Occhipinti
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Physical Models ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Ionospheric Disturbances ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Ionospheric Models ◽  
Innovative Methodology ◽  
Variometric Approach ◽  
Pierce Point

<p>One of the main issues in GNSS ionosphere seismology is to localize the exact height of the single thin layer (H<sub>ion</sub>) with which the ionosphere is approximated. H<sub>ion</sub> is generally assumed to be the altitude of the maximum ionospheric ionization (hmF2), i.e., in the ionospheric F-layer. In this sense, H<sub>ion</sub> is often  be presumed from physical principles or ionospheric models. The determination of  H<sub>ion </sub>is, therefore, fundamental since it affects the coordinates of the ionospheric pierce point (IPP) and subsequentely of the sub-ionospheric pierce point (SIP).</p><p>In this work, we present a new developed methodology to determine the exact localization of H<sub>ion.</sub> We tested this approach on the TIDs (Travelling ionospheric disturbances) connected with the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami [1]. In detail, we computed the slant Total Electron Content (sTEC) variations at different H<sub>ion </sub>(in the range from 100 to 600 km) with the VARION (Variometric Approach for Real-Time Ionosphere Observation) algorithm [2,3], then we interpolated the different pattern in sTEC values related to different waves detected in the ionosphere (AGW<sub>epi</sub>, IGW<sub>tsuna</sub> and AW<sub>Rayleigh</sub>) finding the mean velocity value of these waves. Subsequentely, the minimized difference between the estimated propagation velocity and the values from physical models fix us the correct H<sub>ion.</sub></p><p>Our results show a H<sub>ion </sub>of 370 km, while ionopshere model IRI 2006 located the maximum of ionospheric ionization at an height of 270 km. This difference is important to understand how a different H<sub>ion</sub> can impact on the location of the sTEC perturbation, affecting the shape and the extent of the source from TEC observations.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>References</strong></p><p>[1] https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/official20110311054624120_30/executive</p><p>[2] Giorgio Savastano, Attila Komjathy, Olga Verkhoglyadova, Augusto Mazzoni, Mattia Crespi, Yong Wei, and Anthony J Mannucci, “Real-time detection of tsunami ionospheric disturbances with a stand-alone gnss receiver: A preliminary feasibility demonstration, ”Scientific reports, vol. 7, pp. 46607, 2017.</p><p>[3] Giorgio Savastano, Attila Komjathy, Esayas Shume, Panagiotis Vergados, Michela Ravanelli, Olga Verkhoglyadova, Xing Meng, and Mattia Crespi, “Advantages of geostationary satellites for ionospheric anomaly studies: Ionospheric plasma depletion following a rocket launch,”Remote Sensing, vol. 11, no. 14, pp. 1734, 2019</p>

scholarly journals Impact of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances on network real-time kinematic services: CATNET study case

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Cristhian Camilo Timoté ◽  
José Miguel Juan ◽  
Jaume Sanz ◽  
Guillermo González-Casado ◽  
Adrià Rovira-García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Integer Ambiguity ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Ionospheric Disturbances ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Medium Scale ◽  
Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances ◽  
Position Errors

Medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) are fluctuations in the plasma density that propagate through the upper layer of the atmosphere at velocities of approximately 100 m/s and periods reaching some tens of minutes. Due to their wavelengths, MSTIDs can degrade the performance of differential positioning techniques, such as real-time kinematics (RTK) or network-RTK (NRTK). This paper defines a novel methodology as a tool for relating the errors in NRTK positioning based on an MSTIDs indicator using the second difference in time of the slant total electron content (STEC). The proposed methodology performs integer ambiguity resolution (IAR) on the undifferenced measurements instead of using double-differenced carrier-phase measurements, as it is usual in RTK and NRTK. Statistical tests are applied to evaluate the degradation in the position errors caused by the impacts of MSTIDs on RTK and NRTK positioning over a data set spanning one year gathered from the CATNET network; a dual-frequency network of fixed permanent GNSS receivers located at the mid-latitudes of northeastern Spain. With the development of the proposed methodology for measuring the position degradation, another results of the present research are the establishment of thresholds for the proposed MSTIDs index, which can be used to monitor the positioning solution and to warn users when the measurements are affected by MSTIDs events, relating the position error to MSTIDs that affect not only the user receivers but also of the reference receivers within the network.

scholarly journals GNSS total variometric approach: first demonstration of a tool for real-time tsunami genesis estimation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Ravanelli ◽  
Giovanni Occhipinti ◽  
Giorgio Savastano ◽  
Attila Komjathy ◽  
Esayas B. Shume ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Data Stream ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Warning Systems ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Variometric Approach ◽  
Gnss Data

AbstractGlobal Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is used in seismology to study the ground displacements as well as to monitor the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) perturbations following seismic events. The aim of this work is to combine these two observations in one real-time method based on the Total Variometric Approach (TVA) to include the GNSS real-time data stream in future warning systems and tsunami genesis estimation observing both, ground motion and TEC. Our TVA couples together the Variometric Approach for Displacement Analysis Stand-alone Engine (VADASE) with the Variometric Approach for Real-Time Ionosphere Observation (VARION) algorithms. We apply the TVA to the Mw 8.3 Illapel earthquake, that occurred in Chile on September 16, 2015, and we demonstrate the coherence of the earthquake ground shaking and the TEC perturbation by using the same GNSS data stream in a real-time scenario. Nominally, we also highlight a stronger kinetic energy released in the north of the epicenter and visible in both, the ground motion and the TEC perturbation detect at 30 s and around 9.5 min after the rupture respectively. The high spatial resolution of ionospheric TEC measurement seems to match with the extent of the seismic source. The GNSS data stream by TVA of both the ground and ionospheric measurement opens today new perspectives to real-time warning systems for tsunami genesis estimation.

scholarly journals Identification of potential precursors for the occurrence of Large-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances in a case study during September 2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Arthur Amaral Ferreira ◽  
Claudia Borries ◽  
Chao Xiong ◽  
Renato Alves Borges ◽  
Jens Mielich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Ionospheric Disturbances ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances ◽  
Auroral Activity

Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) reflect changes in the ionospheric electron density which are caused by atmospheric gravity waves. These changes in the electron density impact the functionality of different applications such as precise navigation and high-frequency geolocation. The Horizon 2020 project TechTIDE establishes a warning system for the occurrence of TIDs with the motivation to mitigate their impact on communication and navigation applications. This requires the identification of appropriate indicators for the generation of TIDs and for this purpose we investigate potential precursors for the TID occurrence. This paper presents a case study of the double main phase geomagnetic storm, starting from the night of 7th September and lasting until the end of 8th September 2017. Detrended Total Electron Content (TEC) derived from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements from more than 880 ground stations in Europe was used to identify the occurrence of different types of large scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (LSTIDs) propagating over the European sector. In this case study, LSTIDs were observed more frequently and with higher amplitude during periods of enhanced auroral activity, as indicated by increased electrojet index (IE) from the International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE). Our investigation suggests that Joule heating due to the dissipation of Pedersen currents is the main contributor to the excitation of the observed LSTIDs. We observe that the LSTIDs are excited predominantly after strong ionospheric perturbations at high-latitudes. Ionospheric parameters including TEC gradients, the Along Arc TEC Rate (AATR) index and the Rate Of change of TEC index (ROTI) have been analysed for their suitability to serve as a precursor for LSTID occurrence in mid-latitude Europe, aiming for near real-time indication and warning of LSTID activity. The results of the presented case study suggest that the AATR index and TEC gradients are promising candidates for near real-time indication and warning of the LSTIDs occurrence in mid-latitude Europe since they have a close relation to the source mechanisms of LSTIDs during periods of increased auroral activity.

scholarly journals Advantages of Geostationary Satellites for Ionospheric Anomaly Studies: Ionospheric Plasma Depletion Following a Rocket Launch

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 1734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Savastano ◽  
Attila Komjathy ◽  
Esayas Shume ◽  
Panagiotis Vergados ◽  
Michela Ravanelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Ionospheric Plasma ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Rocket Launch ◽  
Gps Satellites ◽  
Geo Satellites ◽  
Air Force Base ◽  
Variometric Approach

In this study, we analyzed signals transmitted by the U.S. Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) geostationary (GEO) satellites using the Variometric Approach for Real-Time Ionosphere Observation (VARION) algorithm in a simulated real-time scenario, to characterize the ionospheric response to the 24 August 2017 Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. VARION is a real-time Global Navigation Satellites Systems (GNSS)-based algorithm that can be used to detect various ionospheric disturbances associated with natural hazards, such as tsunamis and earthquakes. A noise reduction algorithm was applied to the VARION-GEO solutions to remove the satellite-dependent noise term. Our analysis showed that the interactions of the exhaust plume with the ionospheric plasma depleted the total electron content (TEC) to a level comparable with nighttime TEC values. During this event, the geometry of the satellite-receiver link is such that GEO satellites measured the depleted plasma hole before any GPS satellites. We estimated that the ionosphere relaxed back to a pre-perturbed state after about 3 h, and the hole propagated with a mean speed of about 600 m/s over a region of 700 km in radius. We conclude that the VARION-GEO approach can provide important ionospheric TEC real-time measurements, which are not affected by the motion of the ionospheric pierce points (IPPs). Furthermore, the VARION-GEO measurements experience a steady noise level throughout the entire observation period, making this technique particularly useful to augment and enhance the capabilities of well-established GNSS-based ionosphere remote sensing techniques and future ionospheric-based early warning systems.

scholarly journals Real-Time Geophysical Applications with Android GNSS Raw Measurements

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 2113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Fortunato ◽  
Michela Ravanelli ◽  
Augusto Mazzoni
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Variometric Approach ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
Slant Total Electron Content

The number of Android devices enabling access to raw GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) measurements is rapidly increasing, thanks to the dedicated Google APIs. In this study, the Xiaomi Mi8, the first GNSS dual-frequency smartphone embedded with the Broadcom BCM47755 GNSS chipset, was employed by leveraging the features of L5/E5a observations in addition to the traditional L1/E1 observations. The aim of this paper is to present two different smartphone applications in Geoscience, both based on the variometric approach and able to work in real time. In particular, tests using both VADASE (Variometric Approach for Displacement Analysis Stand-alone Engine) to retrieve the 3D velocity of a stand-alone receiver in real-time, and VARION (Variometric Approach for Real-Time Ionosphere Observations) algorithms, able to reconstruct real-time sTEC (slant total electron content) variations, were carried out. The results demonstrate the contribution that mass-market devices can offer to the geosciences. In detail, the noise level obtained with VADASE in a static scenario—few mm/s for the horizontal components and around 1 cm/s for the vertical component—underlines the possibility, confirmed from kinematic tests, of detecting fast movements such as periodic oscillations caused by earthquakes. VARION results indicate that the noise level can be brought back to that of geodetic receivers, making the Xiaomi Mi8 suitable for real-time ionosphere monitoring.

Detection of tsunami induced ionospheric perturbation with ship-based GNSS measurements: 2010 Maule tsunami case study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Ravanelli ◽  
James Foster
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Hawaiian Islands ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Ionospheric Disturbances ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Tsunami Early Warning ◽  
Phase Measurements ◽  
Gnss Receivers

<p>The VARION (Variometric Approach for Real-Time Ionosphere Observation) algorithm has been successfully applied to TIDs (Travelling ionospheric disturbances) detection in several real-time scenarios [1, 2]. VARION, thus, estimates sTEC (slant total electron content) variations starting from the single time differences of geometry-free combinations of GNSS carrier-phase measurements. This feature makes VARION suitable to also leverage GNSS observations coming from moving receivers such as ship-based GNSS receivers: the receiver motion does not affect the sTEC estimation process.</p><p>The aim of this work is to use the observations coming from two GNSS receivers installed on a ship moving near Kauai Island in the Hawaiian archipelago to detect the TIDs connected to the 2010 Maule earthquake and tsunami [3]. Indeed, this earthquake triggered a tsunami that affected all the Pacific region and that reached the Hawaiian islands after about 15 hours. All our analysis was carried out in post-processing, but simulated a real-time scenario: only the data available in real time were used.</p><p>In order to get a reference, the ship-based sTEC variations were compared with the ones coming from GNSS permanent stations situated in the Hawaiian Islands. In particular, if we considered the same satellite, the same TID is detected by both ship and ground receivers. As expected, the ship-based  sTEC variations are a little bit noisier since they are coming from a kinematic platform.</p><p>Hence, the results, although preliminary, are very encouraging: the same TIDs is detected both from the sea (ships) and land (permanent receivers).  Therefore, the VARION algorithm is also able to leverage observations coming from ship-based GNSS receivers to detect TIDs in real-time.</p><p>In conclusion, we firmly believe that the application of VARION to observation coming from ship-based GNSS receivers could really represent a real-time and cost-effective tool to enhance tsunami early warning systems, without requiring the installation of complex infrastructures in open sea.</p><p>References</p><p>[1] Giorgio Savastano, Attila Komjathy, Olga Verkhoglyadova, Augusto Mazzoni, Mattia Crespi, Yong Wei, and Anthony J Mannucci, “Real-time detection of tsunami ionospheric disturbances with a stand-alone gnss receiver: A preliminary feasibility demonstration, ”Scientific reports, vol. 7, pp. 46607, 2017.</p><p>[2] Giorgio Savastano, Attila Komjathy, Esayas Shume, Panagiotis Vergados, Michela Ravanelli, Olga Verkhoglyadova, Xing Meng, and Mattia Crespi, “Advantages of geostationary satellites for ionospheric anomaly studies: Ionospheric plasma depletion following a rocket launch,”Remote Sensing, vol. 11, no. 14, pp. 1734, 2019</p><p>[3] https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/official20100227063411530_30/executive</p>

Ionosphere Monitoring with Multi-Frequency and Multi-GNSS Android Smartphone: A Feasibility Study Towards GNSS Big Data Applications for Geosciences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Fortunato ◽  
Michela Ravanelli ◽  
Augusto Mazzoni
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Mass Market ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Ionosphere Monitoring ◽  
Variometric Approach ◽  
Gnss Measurements ◽  
Static Conditions

<p>The release of Android GNSS Raw Measurements API, (2016) and the growing technological development introduced by the use of multi-GNSS and multi-frequency GNSS chipsets – changed the hierarchies within the GNSS mass-market world. In this sense, Android smartphones became the new leading products. Positioning performances and quality of raw GNSS measurements have been studied extensively. Despite the greater susceptibility to multipath and cycle slip due to the low cost antenna used, a positioning up to sub-meter accuracy can be achieved. Among the improvements in positioning and navigation, the availability of GNSS measurements from Android smartphones paved new ways in geophysical applications: e.g. periodic fast movements reconstruction and ionospheric perturbances detection.  In fact, considering the number of Android smartphones compatible with the Google API, additional costless information can be used to densify the actual networks of GNSS permanent stations used to monitor atmospheric conditions. However, an extensively analysis on the reconstruction of ionospheric conditions with Android raw measurements is necessary to prove the accuracy achievable in future ionosphere monitoring networks based on both permanent GNSS station and Android smartphone.</p><p>The aim of this work is to assess the performance of multi-frequency and multi-GNSS smartphone – in particular, Xiaomi Mi 8 and Huawei Mate 20 X – in the reconstruction of real-time sTEC (slant Total Electron Content) variations meaningful of ionospheric perturbations. A 24-hour dataset of 1Hz GNSS measurements in static conditions was collected from the two smartphones in addition to data collected from M0SE, one of the EUREF/IGS permanent stations. The VARION (Variometric Approach for Real-time Ionosphere Observations) algorithm, based on the variometric approach and developed within the Geodesy and Geomatics Division of Sapienza University of Rome, was used to retrieve sTEC variations for all the observation periods.</p><p>The results, although preliminary, show that it is possible to study also from the smarthphone the trend of sTEC variations with elevation: lower elevation angles cause noisier sTEC variations. RMSE of the order of 0.02 TECU/s are found for elevation angles higher than 20 degrees as it happens for permanent stations. At the same time, the sTEC variations were compared to the overall measurements noise, due to both environmental and receiver noise, in order to statistically define the correlation between RMSE and derived sTEC variation.</p><p>Although the results obtained in this work are encouraging, still further analyses need to be carried out especially at latitudes where ionosphere conditions and perturbations play a major role. However, the possibility to perform such analyses on datasets collected worldwide is prevented from their availability. The last part of this work is therefore focused on the identification of a methodology to share with the GNSS community to collect, store and share GNSS measurements from Android smartphones to enable the researchers to enlarge the spatial and temporal boundaries of their research in the field of ionosphere modelling with mass-market devices. </p>

scholarly journals Statistical study of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances in low-latitude ionosphere using an automatic algorithm

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pin-Hsuan Cheng ◽  
Charles Lin ◽  
Yuichi Otsuka ◽  
Hanli Liu ◽  
Panthalingal Krishanunni Rajesh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Geomagnetic Latitude ◽  
Detection Algorithm ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Ionospheric Disturbances ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Medium Scale ◽  
Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances

AbstractThis study investigates the medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) statistically at the low-latitude equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) region in the northern hemisphere. We apply the automatic detection algorithm including the three-dimensional fast Fourier transform (3-D FFT) and support vector machine (SVM) on total electron content (TEC) observations, derived from a network of ground-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers in Taiwan (14.5° N geomagnetic latitude; 32.5° inclination), to identify MSTID from other waves or irregularity features. The obtained results are analyzed statistically to examine the behavior of low-latitude MSTIDs. Statistical results indicate the following characteristics. First, the southward (equatorward) MSTIDs are observed almost every day during 0800–2100 LT in Spring and Winter. At midnight, southward MSTIDs are more discernible in Summer and majority of them are propagating from Japan to Taiwan. Second, northward (poleward) MSTIDs are more frequently detected during 1200–2100 LT in Spring and Summer with the secondary peak of occurrence between day of year (DOY) 100–140 during 0000–0300 LT. The characteristics of the MSTIDs are interpreted with additional observations from radio occultation (RO) soundings of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC as well as modeled atmospheric waves from the high-resolution Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) suggesting that the nighttime MSTIDs in Summer is likely connected to the atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs).

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