scholarly journals The local ionospheric modeling by integration ground GPS observations and satellite altimetry data

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Sharifi ◽  
Saeed Farzaneh
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Altimetry ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Normal Equation ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Ionosphere Model ◽  
Gps Observations

<p>The free electrons in the ionosphere have a strong impact on the propagation of radio waves. When the signals pass through the ionosphere, both their group and phase velocity are disturbed. Several space geodetic techniques such as satellite altimetry, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) can be used to model the total electron content. At present, the classical input data for development of ionospheric models are based on dual-frequency GPS observations, However, a major problem with this observation type is the nonuniform distribution of the terrestrial GPS reference stations with large gaps notably over the sea surface and ocean where only some single stations are located on islands, leading to lower the precision of the model over these areas. In these regions the dual-frequency satellite altimeters provide precise information about the parameters of the ionosphere. Combination of GPS and satellite altimetry observations allows making best use of the advantages of their different spatial and temporal distributions. In this study, the local ionosphere modeling was done by the combination of space geodetic observations using spherical Slepian function. The combination of the data from ground GPS observations over the western part of the USA and the altimetry mission Jason-2 was performed on the normal equation level in the least-square procedure and a least-square variance component estimation (LS-VCE) was applied to take into account the different accuracy levels of the observations. The integrated ionosphere model is more accurate and more reliable than the results derived from the ground GPS observations over the oceans.</p>

scholarly journals Assessing Global Ionosphere TEC Maps with Satellite Altimetry and Ionospheric Radio Occultation Observations

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (24) ◽  
pp. 5489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Longqiang Huang ◽  
Shaocheng Zhang ◽  
Yanju Chai
Keyword(s):  
High Latitude ◽  
Satellite Altimetry ◽  
Radio Occultation ◽  
Lower Latitude ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
International Gnss Service ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Scaling Factors ◽  
Total Electron

As global navigation satellite system (GNSS)stations are sparsely distributed in oceanic area, oceanic areas usually have lower precision than continental areas on a global ionosphere maps (GIM). On the other hand, space-borne observations like satellite altimetry (SA) and ionospheric radio occultation (IRO) have substantial dual-frequency observations in oceanic areas, which could be used for total electron content (TEC) retrieval. In this paper, the Jason-2 SA and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) IRO products were used to assess the precision of IGS GIM products. Both the systematic biases and scaling factors between the international GNSS service (IGS) GIM TEC and space-borne TEC were calculated, and the statistical results show that the biases and the scaling factors obviously vary under different temporal-spatial conditions. This analysis shows that these differences are variable with diurnal and latitude factors, that is, the differences in biases during the day time are higher than those during the night time, and larger biases are experienced at lower latitude areas than at high latitude areas. The results also show that in the southern hemisphere middle-high latitude area and some other central oceanic areas, the space-borne TEC values are even higher than GIM TEC values. As the precision of space-borne TEC should be evenly distributed around different areas on Earth, it can be explain that the TEC in these areas is undervalued by the current GIM model, and the space-borne SA and IRO techniques could be used as complementary observations to improve the accuracy and reliability of TEC values in these areas.

scholarly journals Sodankylä ionospheric tomography dataset 2003–2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-404
Author(s):  
J. Norberg ◽  
L. Roininen ◽  
A. Kero ◽  
T. Raita ◽  
T. Ulich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Total Electron Content ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Vertical Total Electron Content ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Ionospheric Tomography ◽  
Maximum Elevation ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance

Abstract. Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory has been operating a tomographic receiver network and collecting the produced data since 2003. The collected dataset consists of phase difference curves measured from Russian COSMOS dual-frequency (150/400 MHz) low-Earth-orbit satellite signals, and tomographic electron density reconstructions obtained from these measurements. In this study vertical total electron content (VTEC) values are integrated from the reconstructed electron densities to make a qualitative and quantitative analysis to validate the long-term performance of the tomographic system. During the observation period, 2003–2014, there were three-to-five operational stations at the Fenno-Scandinavian sector. Altogether the analysis consists of around 66 000 overflights, but to ensure the quality of the reconstructions, the examination is limited to cases with descending (north to south) overflights and maximum elevation over 60°. These constraints limit the number of overflights to around 10 000. Based on this dataset, one solar cycle of ionospheric vertical total electron content estimates is constructed. The measurements are compared against International Reference Ionosphere IRI-2012 model, F10.7 solar flux index and sunspot number data. Qualitatively the tomographic VTEC estimate corresponds to reference data very well, but the IRI-2012 model are on average 40 % higher of that of the tomographic results.

scholarly journals Regional Ionosphere Mapping Using Zero Difference GPS Carrier Phase

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heba Tawfeek ◽  
Ahmed Sedeek ◽  
Mostafa Rabah ◽  
Gamal El-Fiky
Keyword(s):  
Carrier Phase ◽  
Nile Delta ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Phase Measurements ◽  
Total Electron Contents ◽  
The Mean

Abstract. Ionospheric delay, can be derived from dual frequency GNSS signals, and then converted into the Vertical Total Electron Contents (VTEC) along the signal path. Various models were devised to calculate VTEC. Examples of such models are the polynomial function model and spherical harmonics model. A common hypothesis of these models is that they are constructed based on the assumption that the entire electron content in the ionosphere is concentrated in a single thin shell at a selected height above Earth. The primary goal of the current research to develop an algorithm capable of producing VTEC maps on an hourly basis, using carrier phase observations from dual frequency GPS receiver. The developed algorithm uses a single GPS station (Zero-difference) to map VTEC over a regional area. The carrier phase measurements are much more precise than the code pseudorange measurements, but they contain an ambiguous term. If such ambiguities are fixed, thence the carrier phase measurements become as unambiguous pseudoranges, but accurate at the level of few millimeters. In current research Sequential Least Square Adjustment (SLSA) was considered to fix ambiguity term in carrier phase observations. The proposed algorithm was written using MATLAB and Called (ZDPID). Two GPS stations (ANKR and BSHM) were used from IGS network to evaluate the developed code, VTEC values were estimated over these two stations. Results of the proposed algorithm were compared with the Global Ionosphere Maps (GIMs), which is generally used as a reference. The results show that the mean difference between VTEC from GIM and estimated VTEC at ANKR station is ranging from −2.1 to 3.67 TECU and its RMS is 0.44. The mean difference between VTEC from GIM and estimated VTEC at BSHM station is ranging from −0.29 to 3.65 TECU and its RMS is 0.38. Another three GPS stations in Egypt were used to generate regional ionosphere maps over Nile Delta, Egypt. The mean differences between VTEC from GIM and estimated VTEC at SAID station is ranging from −1.1 to 3.69 TECU and its RMS is 0.37, from −1.29 to 3.27 TECU for HELW station with RMS equal 0.39, and from 0.2 to 4.2 TECU for BORG station with RMS equal 0.46. Therefore, the proposed algorithm can be used to estimate VTEC efficiently.

scholarly journals Mitigation of ionospheric signatures in Swarm GPS gravity field estimation using weighting strategies

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Schreiter ◽  
Daniel Arnold ◽  
Veerle Sterken ◽  
Adrian Jäggi
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Field ◽  
Systematic Errors ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Gravity Fields ◽  
Field Estimation ◽  
Gravity Recovery

Abstract. Even though ESA's three-satellite low-earth orbit (LEO) mission Swarm is primarily a magnetic field mission, it can also serve as a gravity field mission. Located in a near-polar orbit with initial altitudes of 480 km for Swarm A and Swarm C and 530 km for Swarm B and equipped with geodetic-type dual frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, it is suitable for gravity field computation. Of course, the Swarm GPS-only gravity fields cannot compete with the gravity fields derived from the ultra-precise Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) K-band measurements. But for various reasons like the end of the GRACE mission in October 2017, data gaps in the previous months due to battery aging, and the gap between GRACE and the recently launched GRACE Follow-On mission, Swarm gravity fields became important to maintain a continuous time series and to bridge the gap between the two dedicated gravity missions. By comparing the gravity fields derived from Swarm kinematic positions to the GRACE gravity fields, systematic errors have been observed in the Swarm results, especially around the geomagnetic equator. These errors are already visible in the kinematic positions as spikes up to a few centimeters, from where they propagate into the gravity field solutions. We investigate these systematic errors by analyzing the geometry-free linear combination of the GPS carrier-phase observations and its time derivatives using a combination of a Gaussian filter and a Savitzky–Golay filter and the Rate of Total Electron Content (TEC) Index (ROTI). Based on this, we present different weighting schemes and investigate their impact on the gravity field solutions in order to assess the success of different mitigation strategies. We will show that a combination of a derivative-based weighting approach with a ROTI-based weighting approach is capable of reducing the geoid rms from 21.6 to 12.0 mm for a heavily affected month and that almost 10 % more kinematic positions can be preserved compared to a derivative-based screening.

Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Characteristics during the 2018 Typhoon Maria from GPS Observations

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiduo Wen ◽  
Shuanggen Jin
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ionospheric Disturbance ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Ionospheric Disturbances ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances ◽  
Gps Observations

Typhoons often occur and may cause huge loss of life and damage of infrastructures, but they are still difficult to precisely monitor and predict by traditional in-situ measurements. Nowadays, ionospheric disturbances at a large-scale following typhoons can be monitored using ground-based dual-frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) observations. In this paper the responses of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) to Typhoon Maria on 10 July 2018 are studied by using about 150 stations of the GPS network in Taiwan. The results show that two significant ionospheric disturbances on the southwest side of the typhoon eye were found between 10:00 and 12:00 UTC. This was the stage of severe typhoon and the ionospheric disturbances propagated at speeds of 118.09 and 186.17 m/s, respectively. Both traveling ionospheric disturbances reached up to 0.2 TECU and the amplitudes were slightly different. The change in the filtered TEC time series during the typhoon was further analyzed with the azimuth. It can be seen that the TEC disturbance anomalies were primarily concentrated in a range of between −0.2 and 0.2 TECU and mainly located at 135–300° in the azimuth, namely the southwest side of the typhoon eye. The corresponding frequency spectrum of the two TEC time series was about 1.6 mHz, which is consistent with the frequency of gravity waves. Therefore, the upward propagating gravity wave was the main cause of the traveling ionospheric disturbance during Typhoon Maria.

scholarly journals Phase-referenced VLBA Observations of PSRs B1937+21 and B0329+54

1996 ◽  
Vol 160 ◽  
pp. 115-116
Author(s):  
Rachel J. Dewey ◽  
Anthony J. Beasley
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Error ◽  
Reference Frame ◽  
Total Electron Content ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Calibration Technique ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Frame Alignment ◽  
Gps Observations

In this paper we present the preliminary results of phase-referenced VLBA observations of two pulsars PSRB1937+21 and PSRB0329+54. Since pulsar observations usually require a lower observing frequency than that used for other astrometric applications, ionospheric delays are a significant source of systematic error. For the observations presented here we used total-electron-content (TEC) measurements derived from dual-frequency GPS observations (Wilson, Mannucci &amp; Edwards, 1995) to calibrate ionospheric delays.Using this calibration technique were able to obtain positions for these two pulsars which we believe to be accurate to approximately 2 mas in each coordinate. With this level of accuracy we expect astrometric pulsar observations to be able to address a variety of interesting issues ranging from reference frame alignment and fundamental astrometry to the origin of pulsar velocities.

scholarly journals Test of GPS for permanent ionospheric TEC monitoring at high latitudes

1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Zarraoa ◽  
E. Sardón
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Location ◽  
Gps Data ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Cycle Slips ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Gps Observations

Abstract. The Global Positioning System (GPS) observables are affected by the ionosphere. The dispersive nature of this effect and the use of two frequencies in the GPS observations make possible to measure the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) from dual frequency GPS data. In this work we test the concept of permanent monitoring of TEC using a network of GPS receivers at high latitudes. We have used GPS data from five permanent receivers in Scandinavia, from 1-30 January 1994, with geographic latitudes ranging from 57.4°N to 78.9°N. The results show the capability of the method to monitor the evolution of TEC as a function of time and geographical location. We have detected night-time enhancements almost every night for some of the stations, and we have also been able to produce maps of the instantaneous TEC as a function of both latitude and longitude around the GPS network. We also present some of the current limitations in the use of GPS for estimating TEC at high latitudes such as the difficulties in solving for cycle-slips, and the necessity of reliable values for the receiver and satellite differential instrumental biases.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document