Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polar Ionospheric Total Electron Content over Nearly Thirteen Years
Open Access
- 19 January 2020
- Vol. 20 (2), 540
- https://doi.org/10.3390/s20020540
Abstract
It is of great significance for the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) service to detect the polar ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and its variations, particularly under disturbed ionosphere conditions, including different phases of solar activity, the polar day and night alternation, the Weddell Sea anomaly (WSA) as well as geomagnetic storms. In this paper, four different models are utilized to map the ionospheric TEC over the Arctic and Antarctic for about one solar cycle: the polynomial (POLY) model, the generalized trigonometric series function (GTSF) model, the spherical harmonic (SH) model, and the spherical cap harmonic (SCH) model. Compared to other models, the SCH model has the best performance with ±0.8 TECU of residual mean value and 1.5–3.5 TECU of root mean square error. The spatiotemporal distributions and variations of the polar ionospheric TEC are investigated and compared under different ionosphere conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic. The results show that the solar activity significantly affects the TEC variations. During polar days, the ionospheric TEC is more active than it is during polar nights. In polar days over the Antarctic, the maximum value of TEC always appears at night in the Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea area affected by the WSA. In the same year, the ionospheric TEC of the Antarctic has a larger amplitude of annual variation than that of the TEC in the Arctic. In addition, the evolution of the ionization patch during a geomagnetic storm over the Antarctic can be clearly tracked employing the SCH model, which appears to be adequate for mapping the polar TEC, and provides a sound basis for further automatic identification of ionization patches.Keywords
This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- Assessment of spatial and temporal TEC variations derived from ionospheric models over the polar regionsJournal of Geodesy, 2018
- High-Precision Ionosphere Monitoring Using Continuous Measurements from BDS GEO SatellitesSensors, 2018
- Spherical cap harmonic analysis of the Arctic ionospheric TEC for one solar cycleJournal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 2013
- Global prediction of the vertical total electron content of the ionosphere based on GPS dataRadio Science, 2011
- The ionosphere: effects, GPS modeling and the benefits for space geodetic techniquesJournal of Geodesy, 2011
- GPS TEC and scintillation measurements from the polar ionosphere during the October 2003 stormGeophysical Research Letters, 2005
- A generalized trigonometric series function model for determining ionospheric delay*Progress in Natural Science: Materials International, 2004
- Studying the ionosphere with the Global Positioning SystemRadio Science, 1997
- An analytical model of the electron density profile in the ionosphereAdvances in Space Research, 1990
- Ionospheric Time-Delay Algorithm for Single-Frequency GPS UsersIEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 1987