S-system theory applied to array-based GNSS ionospheric sensing

The GPS carrier-phase and code data have proven to be valuable sources of measuring the Earth’s ionospheric total electron content (TEC). With the development of new GNSSs with multi frequency data, many more ionosphere-sensing combinations of different precision can be formed as input of ionospheric modelling. We present the general way of interpreting such combinations through an application of S-system theory and address how their precision propagates into that of the unbiased TEC solution. Presenting the data relevant to TEC determination, we propose the usage of an array of GNSS antennas to improve the TEC precision and to expedite the rather long observational time-span required for high-precision TEC determination.     

Ionospheric support of HF radiocommunication using maps of total electron content

The possibility of determining the field of critical frequencies of the ionospheric F2 layer (foF2) using the maps of the total electron content, constructed based on the registration of signals from satellite radio navigation system of the GPS and GLONASS types, is considered. The calculation of foF2 is based on the SPIM (Standard Plasmasphere-Ionosphere Model) model specifying the ionospheric index of solar activity, which is determined at grid points of the map of the total electron content. The proposed method has been verified using the data of the hourly maps of the total electron content in the North American region during September 1–7, 2005. The variations in the critical frequencies for Boulder and Dyess sites, selected from the reconstructed foF2 maps, were compared with the data of the vertical sounding. The average error is ～10% during the entire period of measurements. The conclusion has been drawn that the proposed method can be used as an ionospheric support of HF radiocommunication in the cases when errors of tenths of MHz in foF2 values are permissible.     

Electromagnetic and plasma effects during a carrier rocket flight

The disturbance generation model for the total electron content of the ionosphere and formation of the narrowband spectrum of electromagnetic disturbance on the Earth during a rocket flight along the horizontal leg of the trajectory has been considered. It has been indicated that a change in the total electron content is caused by the propagation of an acoustic gravity wave pulse, generated during a rocket flight along the horizontal trajectory leg, in the ionosphere. This pulse forms horizontal inhomogeneities of ionospheric conductivity in the bottomside ionosphere. Electric currents, induced by the background electromagnetic field in these inhomogeneities, are emitters of discrete modes of coherent gyrotropic waves propagating horizontally in a conductive layer of a finite thickness in the bottomside ionosphere. The line spectrum of electromagnetic disturbances has been calculated. The calculation results agree with the observational data.     

Geomagnetic field effect on the ionospheric contribution to the error of navigation satellite systems

When using global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) for high-precision measurements, one should consider high-order errors. The ionospheric second-order error caused by the geomagnetic field is approximately proportional to the total electron content. Therefore, this error can be taken into account by modifying the coefficients in an “ionosphere-free” combination of GNSS measurements at two frequencies. This study checks the approximations underlying this modification. We reveal that these approximations are valid and the results depend weakly on the accuracy of ionospheric parameters used a priori for calculating the coefficients of the modified two-frequency formula. In addition, we investigate how the choice of a model of the Earth’s magnetic field affects the second-order ionospheric error.     

Effects of ionospheric horizontal gradients on differential GPS

This paper outlines the effect of horizontal ionospheric gradients on transionospheric path propagation such as for the case of GPS signals. The total electron content (TEC) is a function of time of day, and is much influenced by solar activity and also the receiving station location. To make the model applicable for long baselines, for which the ionosphere is not generally well correlated between receiving stations, the ionospheric gradients should be taken into account. In this work the signal path is determined using a modified ray-tracing technique together with a homing-in method. Results show that horizontal gradients can have a significant effect on GPS positioning for both single station positioning and differential GPS. For differential GPS, the ionospheric delay can, however, be either increased or decreased compared with the case of no gradient, depending on the gradient direction.     

利用GPS计算TEC的方法及其对电离层扰动的观测

在总结用ＧＰＳ研究电离层电子总量ＴＥＣ的数据处理方法基础上,分析了利用伪距观测量和载波相位观测量计算电离层ＴＥＣ的特点及误差来源．在处理过程中考虑了卫星的硬件延迟偏差,分析了应用ＩＲＩ模型进行接收机硬件延迟偏差修正的可能性,发现利用少量ＧＰＳ数据和ＩＲＩ模型修正接收机硬件延迟偏差有一定的困难．最后,利用一些ＧＰＳ观测数据有针对性地研究了电离层对若干次扰动事件的响应．包括一次大的太阳耀斑期间的电离层ＴＥＣ变化、一次较典型的电离层行扰以及日食期间的电离层ＴＥＣ的相对变化等电离层物理问题．结果表明,利用该方法计算ＴＥＣ的精度可满足电离层扰动现象的研究．     

电离层氧离子83.4 nm辐射计算方法

氧离子83.4 nm辐射是由氧离子辐射跃迁产生的,是电离层极紫外日辉辐射中辐射强度较高的信号之一.从空间对其进行成像为高层大气状态的监测提供了一种强有力的方法.为了准确的描述辐射强度的分布情况,本文在MSISE-00大气模型下,用AURIC计算氧离子83.4 nm辐射的初始体辐射率、电离层氮气分子、氧气分子以及氧原子的密度分布,接着,用Chapman函数生成氧离子密度分布,计算共振散射作用下的体辐射率.然后,给出在不同的初始辐射率情况下,沿天底方向观测的辐射强度对比.最后,与Anderson的计算结果作了两组对比,指出由电子碰撞产生的初始体辐射率占比提高16%,总的辐射强度会提高30%.本文的工作为低热层大气氧离子密度和光电子通量的探测提供支持,这对电离层电子密度反演具有理论意义.     

Modeling and analysis of ionospheric parameters by a combination of wavelet transform and autoregression models

We propose a method of the modeling and analysis of ionospheric parameters by combining wavelet transform with autoregression models (integrated moving average). The method makes it possible to reveal regularities in ionospheric parameters and to make forecasts on variations. Also, this method can be used to fill the gaps in ionospheric parameters, with consideration of their diurnal and seasonal variations. The method was tested on foF2 data and data on the total electron content for the regions of Kamchatka and Magadan. The models constructed for the natural variation in ionospheric parameters allowed us to analyze its dynamical mode and build a forecast with a step of up to five hours. Based on estimates for model errors, we revealed anomalies arising during periods of increased solar activity and strong earthquakes in Kamchatka.     

Reconstructing Regional Ionospheric Electron Density: A Combined Spherical Slepian Function and Empirical Orthogonal Function Approach

The computerized ionospheric tomography is a method for imaging the Earth’s ionosphere using a sounding technique and computing the slant total electron content (STEC) values from data of the global positioning system (GPS). The most common approach for ionospheric tomography is the voxel-based model, in which (1) the ionosphere is divided into voxels, (2) the STEC is then measured along (many) satellite signal paths, and finally (3) an inversion procedure is applied to reconstruct the electron density distribution of the ionosphere. In this study, a computationally efficient approach is introduced, which improves the inversion procedure of step 3. Our proposed method combines the empirical orthogonal function and the spherical Slepian base functions to describe the vertical and horizontal distribution of electron density, respectively. Thus, it can be applied on regional and global case studies. Numerical application is demonstrated using the ground-based GPS data over South America. Our results are validated against ionospheric tomography obtained from the constellation observing system for meteorology, ionosphere, and climate (COSMIC) observations and the global ionosphere map estimated by international centers, as well as by comparison with STEC derived from independent GPS stations. Using the proposed approach, we find that while using 30 GPS measurements in South America, one can achieve comparable accuracy with those from COSMIC data within the reported accuracy (1 × 10¹¹ el/cm³) of the product. Comparisons with real observations of two GPS stations indicate an absolute difference is less than 2 TECU (where 1 total electron content unit, TECU, is 10¹⁶ electrons/m²).     

120°E磁赤道上空电离层电子浓度总含量的混沌特性分析及非线性预测初探

本文利用120°E磁赤道上空电离层TEC1996～2004年的观测数据讨论电离层TEC参量的混沌特性,并探讨利用混沌理论对电离层参量进行预报的可能性. 实际计算表明,在指定经纬度的TEC时序数据中存在混沌特性,其关联维数为36092,李雅普诺夫指数为03369. 采用混沌“加权一阶局域法”进行预测较为成功. 对预测误差分析表明,预测点在1～144之间误差相对较小,标准差约为76438 TECU,相关系数约为09172.     

一种基于LEO卫星信标的电离层层析成像新算法

LEO卫星信标是电离层监测的重要手段之一.利用电离层层析成像算法,LEO卫星信标能够实现区域电离层电子密度的快速重构.针对LEO卫星信标的特点,本文提出了一种函数基模型与像素基模型组合的电离层层析成像新算法.选择差分相对电离层总电子含量作为输入数据源,先通过函数基模型法获取电离层电子密度初始分布,再利用像素基模型法对初始分布进行二次迭代重构,该方法可有效降低电离层层析成像对背景电离层模型的依赖,同时能够实现电离层小尺度扰动结构的有效反演.利用数值仿真方法及低纬度电离层层析成像网的实测数据的反演结果验证了本文提出的新算法的可行性和可靠性.     

地基GNSS VTEC约束的大气掩星电离层误差修正方法

介绍了一种考虑电离层沿GNSS掩星射线路径分布不对称且兼顾一阶和二阶项的大气掩星电离层误差修正新方法,它综合地基GNSS VTEC的水平变化信息和电离层模式的垂直变化信息,在沿"入射线"与"出射线"双边局部球对称假设下,估算GNSS掩星射线路径上的电子密度;进而计算一阶和二阶项弯曲角电离层误差廓线.采用太阳活动低年的2008年7月15日和太阳活动较高年的2013年7月15日两天的MetOp-A和GRACE掩星观测资料和IGS的GNSS VTEC数据,计算了GNSS大气掩星弯曲角一阶和二阶项电离层误差廓线.对比分析表明：新方法经验模型和理论模型的二阶项弯曲角电离层残差,以及经验模型与实测数据的一阶和二阶项弯曲角电离层误差均具有良好的一致性,因此该方法可用于L2信号数据质量较差或L2信号中断的掩星事件,同时修正大气掩星一阶和二阶电离层误差,从而提高弯曲角精度和掩星观测资料的利用率.     

Precursory phenomena observed in the total electron content measurements before great Hokkaido earthquake of September 25, 2003 (<Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis> = 8.3)

In this paper the analysis of the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) variations obtained with using GPS measurements before the Hokkaido earthquake (M = 8.3) is presented. Anomalous behavior of TEC was detected within several days before the main event. Anomaly appeared as the local TEC enhancement situated in the vicinity of the forthcoming earthquake epicenter. These structures occurred during 5 days prior to the shock at the same interval of local time. At the process of the earthquake approach the amplitude of modification was increased, and it has reached the 85–90% level relative to the non-disturbed conditions 18 hours before the earthquake. The area of strong positive disturbance has extended over 1500 km in latitudes and 4000 km in longitudes. The analysis have shown that according to the series of characteristics (its locality, affinity with the epicenter, dome-shaped zone of manifestation, characteristic time of existence) the detected ionospheric anomaly may be associated to the precursors of seismic activity.     

GPS-based ionospheric corrections for single frequency radar altimetry

The global ionospheric total electron content maps (GIMs) provide integrated electron densities between the ground and the GPS satellite altitude (20,200 km). Satellite altimeter ionospheric delay corrections require integrated electron densities between the ground and altimeter satellite altitude. In the case of the Geosat Follow-On (GFO) spacecraft, flying at 800 km, we estimated that using GIM TEC data alone, up to a 2 cm path delay can be introduced into the GFO measurements for high solar activity period by not taking into account the electron content above this altitude. Furthermore, the GIMs can have errors of 20–30 TECU in low latitudes for high solar activity in areas where there is little GPS data (such as over the oceans). In this paper, we describe the results of ingesting GIM TEC data into the International Reference Ionosphere model (IRI-95) to mitigate these two effects.     

利用半参数核估计法预报全球电离层总电子含量

本文将半参数平差模型引入电离层球谐函数系数的预报中,建立了半参数球谐函数模型(Semiparametric-Spherical Harmonic,Semi-SH)来预测全球电离层总电子含量.首先,通过快速傅里叶变换获得球谐函数系数的周期和振幅,将振幅高的主周期归入趋势函数,振幅低的剩余周期归入随机信号,建立了半参数模型,同时利用核估计方法拟合趋势函数,解算随机信号,并在时间域上进行外推,得到了预报时间的球谐函数系数,代入15阶电离层球谐函数模型,最后得出电离层总电子含量(Total Electron Content,TEC)的预报值.本文基于欧洲定轨中心(CODE)发布的球谐函数系数进行电离层TEC长期预报和短期预报分析,其中长期预报采用四年预报两年的模式对球谐函数系数进行预报,短期预报设计了三个算例,采用前30天预报后一天的模式,分别预报1天、滑动预报7天和滑动预报30天.实验结果表明:长期预报能够较好地反映全球电离层TEC的变化趋势和波动情况,Semi-SH模型对全球电离层TEC平均值(Mean TEC global,MTEC_global)的拟合值和预报值与M...     

Online service for monitoring the ionosphere based on data from the global navigation satellite system

A service is described that makes possible the effective construction of a three-dimensional ionospheric model based on the data of ground receivers of signals from global navigation satellite positioning systems (GNSS). The obtained image has a high resolution, mainly because data from the IPG GNSS network of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Rosgidromet) are used. A specially developed format and its implementation in the form of SQL structures are used to collect, transmit, and store data. The method of high-altitude radio tomography is used to construct the three-dimensional model. The operation of all system components (from registration point organization to the procedure for constructing the electron density three-dimensional distribution and publication of the total electron content map on the Internet) has been described in detail. The three-dimensional image of the ionosphere, obtained automatically, is compared with the ionosonde measurements, calculated using the two-dimensional low-altitude tomography method and averaged by the ionospheric model.     

大功率高频电波加热电离层的非线性物理过程

地基大功率电波加热电离层是通过地基大功率短波发射机向电离层发射无线电波,通过波-粒和波-波的相互作用将无线电波的能量注入电离层.通过这种有目的可操控的方式改变电离层电子密度和温度的分布,可以深入研究电离层中等离子体能量和物质的非线性演化过程,特别是电离层电子的非平衡态分布和加速问题.本文通过对电离层加热中几个比较重要物理过程的评述,对过去20年来我国研究学者在这一研究方向上取得的重要进展进行了介绍.     

利用GPS三频数据计算电离层垂直总电子含量变化率

研究了通过采样间隔为1 s的GPS三频载波相位观测数据计算1 Hz电离层垂直总电子含量变化率(RVTEC)的方法,推导了直接采用双频载波相位观测量计算RVTEC的公式,对一般空间环境与电离层活动剧烈两种条件下L1L2、L1L5、L2L5三种载波相位组合计算的RVTEC进行了一致性分析,给出了通过三频载波相位观测数据计算电离层RVTEC的修正方法,比较了X射线太阳耀斑期间RVTEC与由传统方法计算的总电子含量变化率(ROT)响应,在双星串飞编队测高模式下对计算方法进行了应用.结果表明,L1L2、L1L5两种组合之间的一致性较好,由L1L2、L1L5组合计算的RVTEC的中误差约为0.004 TECu/s,RVTEC较ROT更能体现TEC变化的细节,在双星串飞编队测高模式下海面高梯度的计算中,电离层延迟之差可以忽略.     

汶川大地震前后电离层电子含量的扰动分析

为了分析地震前后电离层电子含量的变化,本文选取四川汶川发生8.0级地震前后10天电离层中的电子含量作为研究对象,使用IGS网站提供的VTEC数据,采取统计学分析方法,结合太阳和地磁活动信息,对此次地震前后电离层VTEC资料进行了详细的统计分析和讨论,数据分析结果表明大地震前电离层电子含量会出现明显扰动,电离层中电子含量的异常变化有可能是地震发生的前兆信息.     

Correlation analysis of vertical total electron content

It is necessary to model and analyze the ionospheric effects due to a direct relationship between Global Positioning System (GPS) applications and changes in the ionosphere. In order to monitor these changes, the ionosphere can be represented by the vertical total electron content (VTEC) which can be used to analyze ionospheric conditions from a variety of stations. In this study, 21 stations were used to carry out analysis and estimation of VTEC. Three days during a geomagnetic storm, namely, 7, 8, and 9 January 2005, are chosen for investigation. In addition, the de-correlation time of the VTEC was estimated to define ionospheric variations in time using autocorrelation analysis. The de-correlation time of the ionosphere is based on correlation times estimated by using autocorrelation functions. From the high-latitude stations, the mean of the correlation times decreased from 8 to 6 epochs during a storm. In this time period, it was found from the station results that the ionosphere was more affected at the high-latitude than at the mid-latitude region.