基于Swarm卫星GPS/TEC观测的顶部电离层三维电子密度分布的层析法研究

利用两颗伴飞的Swarm A/C卫星搭载的双频GPS接收机获取的TEC数据,在两个卫星轨道平面同时对顶部电离层电子密度进行层析成像,实现对顶部电离层电子密度的三维观测.为了能够重现扰动期间电离层电子密度的空间变化特征,在正则化求解过程中,我们引入了水平矩阵H和垂直矩阵V刻画电子密度的空间变化特征,引入整体约束矩阵C以调节不同空间对电子密度相对变化的权重.数值验证结果表明我们的算法对常见的观测误差具有较强的包容性,反演计算出的电子密度平均偏差优于10%.在不同地磁活动条件下,与第三方观测数据的对比,验证了本文反演算法的可靠性.实测数据反演结果表明我们的算法不仅能够较好地重现顶部电离层子午向百公里级别的不规则结构,还能有效分辨纬向相隔~150 km的两个卫星轨道平面的电子密度差异.     

Performance of different TEC models to provide GPS ionospheric corrections

The existence of a worldwide international GPS service (IGS) permanent network of dual-frequency receivers makes the computation of global ionospheric maps (GIMs) of total electron content (TEC) feasible. The GIMs computed by the IGS Associate Analysis Centers on a daily basis and by other kinds of forecast GIMs, which can be computed from, for instance, the international reference ionosphere (IRI) model, and the GPS broadcast models in the navigation message, can be applied to a broad diversity of fields, for instance as, navigation and time transfer.In this context, the performance of different kinds of models are presented in order to determine the accuracy of the different GIM. This is carried out by comparison with the TOPEX data that provides an independent and precise (at the level of few TECU) vertical TEC determination over the oceans and seas. Thus, the obtained accuracies, in terms of global relative error, ranging from 54% corresponding to the GPS broadcast model, to about 41% corresponding to IRI climatological model, and to less than 30% corresponding to GPS data driven models.     

借助连续的GPS TEC测量记录到的地震前电离层异常

本文旨在通过全球定位系统（GPS）地面接收器得到的总电子含量（TEC）来研究地震发生前的电离层异常．利用连续15天的TEC中值和相关的四分位距（IQR）作为参考来识别1999年9月到2002年12月之间台湾地区20个M≥6．0的地震发生前的异常信号。结果表明在其中的16个地震发生的前5天18：00—22：00LT（LT=UT＋8h）之间出现了电离层异常。80％的成功率表明用GPSTEC记录大地震前的电离层异常是有效的。     

电离层GPS掩星观测改正TEC反演方法

电离层掩星观测中,当低轨卫星（LEO）轨道高度较低时,轨道以上的电离层电子总含量（TEC）对掩星反演的影响不能忽略.目前,一般采用指数函数等外推方法来处理该问题,对反演结果可能引起较大误差.为提高电离层掩星反演精度,本文研究利用LEO处于非掩星一侧GPS观测数据的改正TEC新反演方法.用三维射线追踪程序计算出电离层掩星观测模拟数据,分别应用改正TEC方法和外推方法进行反演,将反演结果与所用模式值进行比较.结果表明：对于轨道高度约800km的GPS/MET掩星模拟数据,外推方法和改正TEC方法反演结果都与模式值基本一致;对于轨道高度约400km的CHAMP掩星模拟数据,外推方法误差较大,改正TEC方法反演结果与模式值相符得较好.将改正TEC方法应用于GPS/MET实测数据的反演,取得了合理的结果.这些说明,改正TEC算法是一种有效的电离层掩星反演方法,尤其是对于轨道较低的LEO的电离层掩星观测反演特别有用.     

Test of GPS for permanent ionospheric TEC monitoring at high latitudes

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.     

Spectral analysis of planetary waves seen in ionospheric total electron content (TEC): First results using GPS differential TEC and stratospheric reanalyses

The coupling of the neutral atmosphere and the ionosphere through planetary waves (PW) (zonal wavenumber 0–5) is investigated by spherical harmonic analyses of the ionospheric total electron content (TEC). These analyses detect mean variations, standing and travelling waves which are assumed to be signatures of PW. Database used for TEC analyses are 3 years of hourly TEC maps covering the higher middle and polar latitudes. They are regularly produced by DLR Neustrelitz. The obtained results are compared with PW analyses using NCEP/NCAR and Met Office stratospheric reanalyses. Case studies show that signatures of PW occur simultaneously in the middle atmosphere and ionosphere.     

Nighttime anomaly of ionospheric electron density

正The ionosphere is composed of a large number of electrons and ions, which are produced by the photoionization effect of the solar radiation on the neutral atmosphere. The altitude range of ionosphere is about 60–1000 km and varies with local time and other factors (e.g., solar and geomagnetic activity). Although the ionosphere varies over multiply timescales, the diurnal variation is in the dominant position due to the sun’s photoionization effect. Consequently, it is expected that the ionospheric electron density increases from     

On the sensitivity of total electron content (TEC) to upper atmospheric/ionospheric parameters

The total electron content (TEC) is a key ionospheric parameter for various space weather applications. Over the last decade an extensive database of TEC measurements has become available from both space- and ground-based observations, and these measurements have established the general morphology of the global TEC distributions. In particular, the TOPEX TEC measurements have shown strong longitudinal variations of TEC in addition to the observed day-to-day variabilities. To better understand the observed TEC variations and to better guide its modeling, we have studied the sensitivity of quiet-time TEC to the following key atmospheric and ionospheric parameters: neutral density, neutral wind, plasma temperatures, plasmaspheric flux, and the O⁺–O collision frequency. These parameters are often only roughly known and can cause large uncertainties in model results. For this study, we have developed a numerical mid-latitude ionospheric model, which solves the momentum and continuity equations for the O⁺ density and a simplified set of equations for the H⁺ density. To obtain TEC, the calculated ion densities have been integrated from the bottom altitude (100 km) to the altitude of the TOPEX satellite (1336 km). Our study shows that during the day the neutral wind and the neutral composition have the most important effect on TEC. In particular, the zonal component of the neutral wind can have a large effect on TEC in the southern hemisphere where the magnetic declination angle is large. During the night, most of the above-mentioned parameters can play a significant role in the TEC morphology, except for the plasma temperature, which has only a small effect on TEC. Finally, the TEC varies roughly linearly with respect to all of the parameters except for the neutral wind.     

火星电离层电子密度对太阳辐射变化的响应

太阳辐射是火星电离层变化的重要控制因素.利用火星全球勘探者号(Mars Global Surveyor,MGS)电离层掩星探测数据,并结合一个火星电离层总电子含量(Total Electron Content,TEC)经验模型,研究了火星北半球高纬地区电离层电子密度对太阳辐射变化的响应特性.在考虑了火星掩星数据中电离层电子密度对太阳天顶角的依赖关系后,发现随着太阳辐射增强,火星电离层M₂层峰值密度增大,但增长偏离线性趋势,而M₂层峰值高度和大气标高没有很明显的变化趋势.从100~200 km高度区域掩星电子密度剖面积分得到的TEC及底部和顶部TEC也随太阳辐射增大而增大,但增长率有所减小,表明火星电离层可能存在类似地球电离层的饱和特征.MGS掩星TEC及其底部和顶部剖面的TEC与经验模型TEC的比值均与太阳辐射强度变化呈反相关特性,表明在强太阳辐射情形下200 km以上电子含量在TEC中占比增大.这一特性意味着太阳活动增强,在火星顶部电离层区域,动力学过程对电离层的控制逐渐超过光化学过程.

     

Global plasmaspheric TEC and its relative contribution to GPS TEC

The plasmaspheric electron content is directly estimated from the global positioning system (GPS) data onboard JASON-1 Satellite for the first time. Similarly, the ground-based GPS total electron content (TEC) is estimated using about 1000 GPS receivers distributed around the globe. The relative contribution of the plasmaspheric electron content to the ground-based GPS TEC is then estimated globally using these two independent simultaneous measurements; namely ground-based GPS TEC and JASON-1 GPS TEC. Results presented here include data from 3 months of different solar cycle conditions (October 2003, May 2005, and December 2006). The global comparison between the two independent measurements was performed by dividing the data into three different regions; equatorial, mid- and high-latitude regions. This division is essential as the GPS raypaths traverse different distances through the plasmasphere at different latitudes. The raypath length through the plasmasphere decreases as latitude increases. The relative contribution of the plasmaspheric electron content exhibits a diurnal variation that depends on latitude with minimum contribution (10%) during daytime and maximum (up to 60%) at night. The contribution is also maximum at the equatorial region where the GPS raypath traverses a long distance through the plasmasphere compared to its length in mid- and high-latitude regions. Finally, the solar cycle variation of plasmaspheric contribution is also reported globally.     

Analysis of the ionospheric equivalent slab thickness based on ground-based GPS/TEC and GPS/COSMIC RO measurements

In this study, the ionospheric equivalent slab thickness is derived from the Global Ionospheric Map (GIM) and the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) ionospheric radio occultation (IRO) data. The spatial, diurnal, and temporal variations of the ionospheric equivalent slab thickness during the solar minimum phase (the year 2007) have been analyzed. The analytical results show diurnal and seasonal variations of the ionospheric equivalent slab thickness.     

Assessment of global TEC mapping using a three-dimensional electron density model

Dual-frequency transmissions from the Global Positioning System satellites can be used to measure and map ionospheric total electron content (TEC) on global scales. Using data exclusively from ground-based GPS networks, global ionosphere mapping has been successfully applied using either two- or three-dimensional techniques. Two-dimensional TEC maps retrieve a horizontally-varying distribution of total electron content, assuming a fixed vertical electron density profile. In three-dimensional mapping, both the horizontal and vertical distribution density are adjusted to fit the data. We describe a three-dimensional TEC mapping algorithm that uses three independent constant-density slabs stacked vertically to model the electron density, and compare with a more conventional two-dimensional approach using a single slab. One apparent benefit of the new method is reduction in a level error of the TEC maps, which decreased by 1.7 TECU using the three-dimensional retrieval on simulated data (1 TEC Unit corresponds to 10¹⁶ electrons/m²). Another benefit of the multilayer approach is improved slant TEC modeling. Using actual data from an equatorial site at Cocos Islands (96.8E, 12.2 S), three slab modeling improved estimates of slant TEC by a factor of 2 for elevation angles between 10 and 20° (9 versus 4.4 TECU, root-mean-square). However, the global structure of the vertical TEC retrievals we analyzed did not improve using three-dimensional modeling. This may be due to a critical approximation shared by both techniques that TEC persists unchanged at a given local time. This assumption is required to produce global maps from observations acquired from widely scattered ground receivers. Further improving the retrieval of global TEC structure with ground-based data probably requires improved dynamical models of TEC behavior. New data available from GPS receivers in low Earth orbit is also promising.     

电离层加热实验中超强电子密度增强特征

2011年11月利用欧洲非相干散射雷达协会(EISCAT)的大功率加热设备和诊断设施开展了挪威高纬度地区电离层加热实验. 在此次加热实验中, UHF雷达探测到了十分明显的电子密度增强现象, 反射高度附近电子密度最大增幅可达269.3%, 而在远离谐振区的300~500 km及以上高度的增幅也可达30%~50%. 通过对加热前后离子线谱和数据残差的对比分析, 表明300~500 km的电子密度增强是真实可信的, 在如此大的空间范围出现增幅如此大的电子密度增强特征实属罕见. 另外通过对等离子体线谱的分析, 得到了等离子体线双谐振峰结构, 本文利用电子的速度分布函数和等离子体线谱之间的关系, 对加热实验中观测到的等离子体线谱进行了仿真, 提出了超热电子是引起本次电子密度增强的可能机制. 并利用仿真中所使用的超热电子速度参数对超热电子的电离能力、横向和纵向自由程进行了计算, 最终验证了所提出的物理机制的合理性.     

远紫外光谱遥感反演电离层EDP技术

本研究基于美国GUVI观测氧原子135.6 nm夜气辉光谱数据,建立了GUVI临边观测模型,采用正则化和牛顿迭代法相结合的方法,消除了权重矩阵的病态问题,得到了峰值电子密度和峰值高度,并结合电离层电子密度的Chapman表达式,反演得到了电离层电子密度剖面.将得到的反演结果与地基方式获取的观测数据进行比较,两者吻合得很好.之后,反演得到了磁暴期2002年9月29日到10月3日的电子密度剖面,初步分析了电离层电子密度剖面随磁暴的变化情况.     

Response of the electron density profiles to geomagnetic disturbances in January 2005

Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica - The ionospheric response to geomagnetic storms is usually investigated by considering the variability of the critical frequency of the F2-layer (foF2) or the total...     

Effects of estimating the ionospheric and thermospheric parameters on electron density forecasts

Based on the thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIEGCM), a thermospheric-ionospheric data assimilation and forecast system is developed. Using this system, we estimated the oxygen ions, neutral temperature, wind, and composition by assimilating the simulated data from Formosa Satellite 3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) occultation electron density profiles to evaluate their effects on the ionospheric forecast. An ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation scheme and combined state and parameter estimation methods are used to estimate the unobserved parameters in the model. The statistical results show that the neutral and ion compositions are more effective than the neutral temperature and wind for improving the forecast of the ionospheric electron density, whose root mean square errors in the assimilation period decreased by approximately 40%, 30%, and 10% due to the estimations of the neutral composition, oxygen ions, and neutral temperature, respectively. Due to the different physical and chemical processes that these parameters primarily affect, their e-folding times differ greatly from longer than 12 h for neutral composition to approximately 6 h for oxygen ions and 3 h for neutral temperature. The effect of estimating the neutral composition on improving the ionospheric forecast is greater than that of estimating the oxygen ions, which can be also be seen in an actual data assimilation experiment. This indicates that the neutral composition is the most important thermospheric parameter in ionospheric data assimilations and forecasts.     

GPS地面台网和掩星观测结合的时变三维电离层层析

本文给出GPS地面台网和掩星观测结合的时变三维电离层层析的原理、算法和基于实测数据的反演结果.反演结果的比较表明,联合地基GPS与掩星观测数据进行重建,电子密度整体图像的重建质量特别是其垂直结构的重建质量得到了明显改善.在平静日和磁暴期间两种条件下利用实测数据的重建结果表明,GPS地面台网和掩星观测结合的电离层层析可以获得电离层电子密度在高度-纬度-经度-时间四维空间中的变化.重建结果清晰地显示了磁暴期间电离层负相暴效应,表明结合GPS地面台网和掩星观测的时变三维电离层层析可以有效地监测扰动条件下的大尺度电离层结构.     

The height of the maximum ionospheric electron density over the MU radar

Ionospheric F₂-layer peak height h_mF₂ variations, as measured over 1986–1995 by the MU radar (34.85°N, 136.1°E) and as calculated with a theoretical model, are discussed. The diurnal variations of the measured peak height for different seasons and levels of solar activity are compared with those estimated from ionosonde M3000F₂ and IRI predictions. Also given are the measured ion drift velocities and meridional neutral winds needed to understand the dynamic behavior of the F₂-layer. It is found that: (1) h_mF₂ is generally higher during periods of the solar maximum than during periods of the solar minimum, and higher in summer than in winter; (2) for the solar maximum, h_mF₂ drops markedly in the morning and in the afternoon, while, for the solar minimum, the h_mF₂ minimum occurs in the morning during summer and usually in the afternoon during winter. In general, the measured h_mF₂ is well reproduced by our model when we use the observed drift velocities and plasma temperatures as inputs. Our modeling study shows that the neutral wind contributes strongly to the diurnal variation of h_mF₂ in winter by lowering the ionization layer by day, particularly for the solar maximum; it also helps to enlarge the day–night difference of h_mF₂ in summer. The northward electromagnetic drifts that usually cancel the neutral wind effect have only a minor effect for the location of the MU radar. Other features of the observed h_mF₂ variations, e.g., the solar maximum–minimum difference, the summer–winter difference, and the morning and afternoon drops, are explained by the basic processes of O⁺ production, loss and diffusion, as influenced by the atomic oxygen concentration and neutral and plasma temperatures.