FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC science mission update

The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC mission is a microsatellite mission for weather forecast, climate monitoring, and atmospheric, ionospheric and geodesy research. This mission is a collaborative Taiwan-USA science experiment to deploy a constellation of six microsatellites in low Earth orbits. The mission life is 2 years with a goal of 5 years. The final mission orbit has an altitude of 750–800 km. Each satellite consists of three science payloads: global positioning system (GPS) occultation experiment (GOX) payload, tiny ionospheric photometer (TIP) and tri-band beacon (TBB). The GOX will collect the GPS signals for the study on atmosphere, ionosphere, and geodesy. The TIP and TBB can provide the electron distribution information for ionospheric research. The deployment of the FORMOSAT-3 constellation and the resulting influence on the occultation sounding distributions are reported. Details are also given on GOX, TIP, and TBB payload operations and the contributions of the Taiwan Science Team.     

Electron density profiles in the equatorial ionosphere observed by the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC and a digisonde at Jicamarca

We examine for the first time the ionospheric electron density profiles concurrently observed by the GPS occultation experiment (GOX) onboard the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (F3/C) and the ground-based digisonde portable sounder DPS-4 at Jicamarca (12°S, 283°W, 1°N geomagnetic) in 2007. Our results show that the F3/C generally underestimates the F2-peak electron density NmF2 and the F2-peak height hmF2. On the other hand, when the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) pronouncedly appears during daytime, the total electron content (TEC) derived from the radio occultation of the GPS signal recorded by the F3/C GOX is significantly enhanced. This results in the NmF2 at Jicamarca being overestimated by the Abel inversion on the enhanced TEC during the afternoon period.     

不同GPS掩星电离层剖面产品相关性分析

将在一定时空限定范围内的不同低轨卫星COSMIC、GRACE、CHAMP、FY3C的电离层掩星电子密度剖面定义为一个掩星对来对比分析不同类型掩星电离层产品。结果表明：COSMIC掩星对之间的电子密度剖面整体轮廓符合得很好，电子密度剖面主要在250 km以下和500 km以上存在较大的偏差，250~500 km的电子密度整体偏差较小，统计得到的COSMIC掩星对的电子密度参量NmF2和hmF2的相关系数能分别达到0.99和0.97，具有高度相关性，不同COSMIC卫星之间没有明显的系统误差；COSMIC、GRACE、CHAMP和FY3C不同低轨卫星间的电子密度剖面略有差异，通过统计电子密度参量NmF2和hmF2之间的相关系数，COSMIC和CHAMP的相关系数分别为0.95和0.86，COSMIC和GRACE的相关系数分别为0.98和0.94，COSMIC和FY3C的相关系数分别为0.96和0.92，不同掩星类型之间的电子密度参量之间也具有高度相关性，验证了不同卫星任务GPS掩星电离层剖面的一致性。     

Ionospheric electron density observed by FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC over the European region and validated by ionosonde data

This research is motivated by the recent IGS Ionosphere Working Group recommendation issued at the IGS 2010 Workshop held in Newcastle, UK. This recommendation encourages studies on the evaluation of the application of COSMIC radio occultation profiles for additional IGS global ionosphere map (GIM) validation. This is because the reliability of GIMs is crucial to many geodetic applications. On the other hand, radio occultation using GPS signals has been proven to be a promising technique to retrieve accurate profiles of the ionospheric electron density with high vertical resolution on a global scale. However, systematic validation work is still needed before using this powerful technique for sounding the ionosphere on a routine basis. In this paper, we analyze the properties of the ionospheric electron density profiling retrieved from COSMIC radio occultation measurements. A comparison of radio occultation data with ground-based measurements indicates that COSMIC profiles are usually in good agreement with ionosonde profiles, both in the F2 layer peak electron density and the bottom side of the profiles. For this comparison, ionograms recorded by European ionospheric stations (DIAS network) in 2008 were used.     

Ionospheric GPS radio occultation measurements on board CHAMP

The GPS radio occultation technique is a rather simple and inexpensive tool for getting information about the global characteristics of the vertical electron density distribution. No other ionospheric sounding technique (bottomside/topside vertical sounding, incoherent scatter) unifies vertical profiling through the entire ionosphere with global coverage. The paper addresses retrieval methods and algorithms applied for the generation of operational products including their limitations in accuracy and spatial resolution. Preliminary results of ionospheric radio occultation (IRO) measurements carried out onboard the German CHAMP satellite are reported. The achieved accuracy of the retrieved electron density profiles (EDPs) is estimated in particular by comparing the IRO results with independent vertical sounding data from European stations. It is concluded that CHAMP-IRO measurements have the potential to establish global data sets of EDPs, contribute to ionospheric research, develop and improve global ionospheric models and to provide operational space weather information.     

利用GPS观测研究我国赤道异常驼峰区电离层TEC变化

利用中国南部地区七个站点的2004年GPS观测数据,对赤道异常中国扇区电离层TEC的北驼峰位置和时间以及驼峰北侧电离层梯度进行了分析,结果表明:驼峰位置随季节改变,介于地理北纬17.5°～22.5°之间,冬季月份相对为低,分季月份相对为高,年平均位置约在北纬20°附近;驼峰出现时间也随季节在地方时13～16 h之间变化,冬季月份相对为早,夏季月份相对为晚,其出现时间的年平均值前者在地方时14 h前后,后者约在地方时15～16 h之间。驼峰区电离层TEC存在纬向梯度,其梯度也随地方时和季节而改变,夜侧梯度在地方时4.5 h前后为极小,且在不同季节其变化幅度不大,而日侧梯度在地方时13.5～16.5 h时段出现极大,且在不同季节差异较大,分季要高于冬季和夏季。      

一种融合测高仪与地面GPS数据的单站电离层反演方法

电离层层析成像技术非常适用于检测电离层电子密度的大尺度空间分布及其扰动。利用地面单站的GPSTEC值和另一站的数字测高仪观测数据，结合国际参考电离层（IRI），利用MART算法反演得到测站上空电子密度的垂直分布。利用白天和夜间的实测数据进行了CIT反演，结果表明了该方法的可靠性。     

利用掩星技术研究南极地区顶部电离层特性

掩星观测能够提供地面到低轨卫星轨道高度处的整个电离层电子密度剖面,对于顶部电离层的研究有重要的作用。本文利用COSMIC(constellation observing system for meteorology ionosphere and climate)掩星数据反演了电子密度剖面,提取了F₂层峰值高度(hmF2)、F₂层峰值密度(NmF2)、垂直标尺高(vertical scale height,VSH)等电离层参数,研究了南极地区的F₂层在太阳活动周期内的变化、年际变化、周日变化等,并且重点分析了南极地区的顶部电离层的垂直结构特征,尤其是威德尔海异常在垂直方向上的变化。结果表明,整个南极的hmF2每日均值在250~300 km左右,NmF2每日均值在1~8×1011 el/m3之间,VSH每日均值在100~250 km,威德尔海异常主要表现在顶部电子密度的增强和底部电子密度的减少。     

Use of radio-occultation data for ionospheric imaging during the April 2002 disturbances

In 1994, Hajj et al. (1994) proposed the use of radio occultation data in ionospheric imaging. The advantages gained by including this data source are examined in this paper. Many data sources including ground-based and satellite-based observations are available for the events of the April 2002 ionospheric disturbance. This period has been chosen to study simultaneous images of the disturbed ionosphere over the USA and Europe. A 4D tomographic imaging technique known as Multi-instrument Data Analysis System (MIDAS) (Mitchell and Spencer, 2003) is applied in this study. The primary purpose of the study is to compare images produced with and without the use of radio-occultation data. The work investigates whether GPS occultation combined with ground-based GPS data improves the determination of peak height and peak density in the images. The results indicate that the occultation data improve both the peak height and the peak density in the images. The use of ionosonde data is also examined and the results are compared between the USA and Europe.     

Seismo-ionospheric precursor of the 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake observed by FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC

The seismo-ionospheric precursor prior to the Mw7.9 earthquake near Wenchuan, China, on 12 May 2008 was observed by the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellite constellation. By binning radio occultation observations, the three-dimensional ionospheric structure can be obtained to monitor the ionospheric electron density variation prior to the earthquake. It has been determined that near the epicenter the F2-peak height, hmF2, descends about 25 km and the F2-peak electron density, NmF2, decreases about 2 × 10⁵ el/cm³ around noon within 5 days prior to the earthquake. The integrated electron content decreases more than 2 TECU between 250 and 300 km altitude.     

Analysis of ionospheric electron parameters versus geomagnetic index Dst from RO data of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC

The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC mission has provided ample ionospheric electron density profiles retrieved from the global positioning system radio occultation technique. Currently, there can be more than 2,000 electron density profiles acquired per day covering the global ionosphere from altitude 90 to 800 km. Utilizing the advantage of such a complete coverage, we statistically analyze how the ionospheric electron parameters NmF2, hmF2, and TEC respond to the geomagnetic index Dst for different magnetic latitudes and magnetic local time (MLT) and on quiet and storm times. A data set of 24 months is used for this study, in which most of the results focus on the low-latitude dayside regions. The results indicate that, in general, NmF2, hmF2, and TEC decrease as Dst increases at all seasons. Only during the sudden commencement phase (SSC) of storm events, NmF2 and TEC appear to increase as Dst increases.     

Ionospheric climatology derived from gps occultation observations made by the ionospheric occultation experiment

The ionospheric occultation experiment (IOX) is a GPS occultation sensor with an ionospheric mission focus. IOX measurements of GPS L1 and L2 carrier phase during Earth limb views of setting GPS satellites are used together with the Abel transform to determine vertical profiles of electron density from which F-region peak parameters are determined. Data from a four and a half month period beginning in November 2001 are statistically binned and compared with a climatological model. To account for potential errors in interpretation that could arise from violation of the Abel transform assertion of spherical symmetry, the data are compared to both the climatology and to statistics of simulated ionospheric inversions using the climatological model. General characteristics of the climatology are reproduced by the occultation data. However, several significant discrepancies between the model and the data are observed during this near-solar maximum time period. In particular, average mid-latitude daytime densities are shown to be higher than the climatological prediction and the height of F2 layer in the post-sunset equatorial region is underestimated by up to 150 km.

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Analysis of inversion errors of ionospheric radio occultation

The retrieved electron density profile of ionospheric radio occultation (RO) simulation data can be compared with the background model value during the simulation and the inversion error can be obtained exactly. This paper studies the inversion error of ionospheric RO through simulation. The sources of the inversion errors are analyzed. The impacts of measurement errors, such as the errors in phase measurements and satellite orbits, are very small and can be neglected. The approximation of straight-line propagation introduces errors at the height of the F1 layer under solar maximum condition. The spherical symmetry approximation of the electron density distribution is found to be the main source of the inversion error. The statistical results reveal some characteristics of the inversion errors. (1) The relative error increases with enhanced solar activity. (2) It is larger in winter than in equinox season, and it is smallest in summer. (3) For all seasons, it is smaller at middle latitude than at other latitudes. (4) For all seasons and geomagnetic latitudes, it is smaller at daytime than at other times. The NmF2 of the ROs from COSMIC are compared with the measurements of ionosondes, and the relative differences show the same dependencies on season, geomagnetic latitude and local time, as the relative errors of the simulated ionospheric ROs.

Different mechanisms of the ionospheric influence on GPS occultation signals

A local mechanism for strong ionospheric effects on radio occultation (RO) global positioning satellite system (GPS) signals is described. Peculiar zones centered at the critical points (the tangent points) in the ionosphere, where the gradient of the electron density is perpendicular to the RO ray trajectory, strongly influence the amplitude and phase of RO signals. It follows from the analytical model of local ionospheric effects that the positions of the critical points depend on the RO geometry and the structure of the ionospheric disturbances. Centers of strong ionospheric influence on RO signals can exist, for example, in the sporadic E-layers, which are inclined by 3–6° relative to the local horizontal direction. Also, intense F2 layer irregularities can contribute to the RO signal variations. A classification of the ionospheric influence on the GPS RO signals is introduced using the amplitude data, which indicates different mechanisms (local, diffraction, etc.) for radio waves propagation. The existence of regular mechanisms (e.g., local mechanism) indicates a potential for separating the regular and random parts in the ionospheric influence on the RO signals.     

Ionospheric tomography based on GNSS observations of the CMONOC: performance in the topside ionosphere

This study carries out a quantitative analysis of the performance of ionospheric tomography in the topside ionosphere, utilizing data of October 2011 collected from 260 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations in the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China. This tomographic reconstruction with a resolution of 2° in latitude, 2° in longitude and 20 km in altitude has more than 70 % of voxels traversed by GPS raypaths and is able to provide reliable bottom parts of ionospheric profiles. Compared with the observations measured by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites (F16, F17 and F18) at an altitude of 830–880 km, the results show that there is an overestimation in the reconstructed plasma density at the DMSP altitude, and the reconstruction is better during daytime than nighttime. In addition, the reconstruction at nighttime also indicates a solar activity and latitudinal dependence. In summary, with respect to DMSP measurements, the daytime bias is on average from ?0.32 × 10⁵/cm³ to ?0.28 × 10⁵/cm³, while the nighttime bias is between ?0.37 × 10⁵/cm³ and ?0.24 × 10⁵/cm³, and the standard deviation at daytime and at nighttime is, respectively, 0.082 × 10⁵/cm³ to 0.244 × 10⁵/cm³ and 0.086 × 10⁵/cm³ to 0.428 × 10⁵/cm³. This study suggests that vertical ionospheric profiles from other sources, such as ionosondes or GNSS occultation satellites, should be incorporated into ground-based GNSS topside tomographic studies.     

Three-dimensional ionospheric tomography by an improved algebraic reconstruction technique

An improved algebraic reconstruction technique (IART) is presented for the tomographic reconstruction of ionospheric electron density (IED). This method applies the total electron content (TEC) measurements to invert the spatial distribution of the IED from a set of apriori IED distributions. In this new method, a data-driven adjustment of the relaxation parameter is performed to improve the computation efficiency and image quality of the classical algebraic reconstruction technique (ART). In addition, the new algorithm is also combined with ionospheric space discretization technique to simplify the inversion of IED, and it applies CHAMP occultation data to improve the vertical resolution. A numerical simulation experiment is carried out to validate the reliability of the new method. It is then applied to the inversion of IED from real GPS data. Inverted results show that the IART algorithm has better accuracy and efficiency than the conventional ART algorithm. The reliability of the IART algorithm is also validated by ionosonde data recorded at Wuhan station.     

The ionospheric eclipse factor method (IEFM) and its application to determining the ionospheric delay for GPS

A new method for modeling the ionospheric delay using global positioning system (GPS) data is proposed, called the ionospheric eclipse factor method (IEFM). It is based on establishing a concept referred to as the ionospheric eclipse factor (IEF) λ of the ionospheric pierce point (IPP) and the IEF’s influence factor (IFF) . The IEF can be used to make a relatively precise distinction between ionospheric daytime and nighttime, whereas the IFF is advantageous for describing the IEF’s variations with day, month, season and year, associated with seasonal variations of total electron content (TEC) of the ionosphere. By combining λ and with the local time t of IPP, the IEFM has the ability to precisely distinguish between ionospheric daytime and nighttime, as well as efficiently combine them during different seasons or months over a year at the IPP. The IEFM-based ionospheric delay estimates are validated by combining an absolute positioning mode with several ionospheric delay correction models or algorithms, using GPS data at an international Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) service (IGS) station (WTZR). Our results indicate that the IEFM may further improve ionospheric delay modeling using GPS data.     

利用掩星和地基GPS研究日食电离层效应

21世纪最长的一次日全食于2009-07-22发生,从亚洲东部一直延伸到太平洋地区,同时,日食后期开始伴随着一次中等强度的磁暴。本文利用COSMIC掩星GPS数据反演了食甚时刻电子密度变化情况,利用武汉CORS地基GPS数据反演了局部TEC时序变化情况,并分析了日食电离层效应的物理机制。     

GPS–TEC response to the substorm onset during April 5, 2010, magnetic storm

We consider disturbances of total electron content (TEC) of the high-latitude ionosphere provided by the GPS global navigation satellite system before and during the magnetic storm on April 5, 2010. Simultaneously, we examine magnetic data from all available magnetometer arrays in the northern hemisphere, augmented with data from scanning photometers and riometers. The substorm onset, during both non-storm and storm periods, is found to cause significant enhancement of TEC scintillations characterized by the TEC time derivative dTEC. Comparison of 2D maps of the spectral power of magnetic fluctuations in the Pc5 band (1–10 mHz) and dTEC during substorms shows a good spatial and temporal correspondence between them. Both magnetic and ionospheric fluctuations tend to concentrate inside the auroral oval, the boundaries of which are determined from the OVATION model. The time–space evolution of TEC scintillations is rather similar to that of ultra-low-frequency magnetic fluctuations, but not to that of the ionospheric electrojet. GPS signal phase slips, resulting in non-physical TEC jumps (>1 TECu/min), occur predominantly inside the auroral oval and in the vicinity of its equatorward boundary.     

基于GPS观测分析青岛地区电离层板厚变化特性

基于青岛站2000年8月至2006年4月间半个太阳活动周的GPS和测高仪的同步观测,提取期间的电离层TEC和 f_o F₂的小时观测数据,联合分析该地区电离层板厚的日变化、季节变化和随太阳活动变化,研究表明青岛地区电离层板厚在日出前时段出现明显的增强峰,并随季节和太阳活动呈现出较复杂的变化关系.利用板厚的相对偏差,探讨了电离层板厚扰动变化分布特征.