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.     

电离层层析重构的一种新算法

自适应联合迭代重构算法是电离层层析成像中一种收敛速度较快的反演算法.然而,在电离层电子密度重构过程中,该方法对迭代初值的精度要求较高.针对上述问题,本文提出了一种约束自适应联合迭代重构算法,该方法通过附加合理的平滑约束,减弱了没有观测信息的格网对迭代初值精度的依赖性,有效地提高了反演结果精度.数值模拟实验和实测数据的反演结果证实了该算法的可行性和在重构精度上的优越性.     

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.     

顾及电离层变化的层析反演新算法

区别于以往GPS电离层层析研究主要关注迭代模型的思路,本文从两方面入手提高GPS电离层层析迭代算法的反演精度:一方面,顾及传统电离层层析迭代模型仅与对电子密度误差起放大作用的GPS射线截距权重相关的不足,提出考虑层析像素格网中的电子密度对GPS TEC的贡献建立新的迭代模型,在不同电子密度像素格网内重新分配GPS TEC实测值与其反演值之间的差距;另一方面,顾及电离层层析迭代算法中松弛因子对反演结果的影响,提出考虑电子密度变化构造新的松弛因子,抑制传播噪声对电子密度反演精度的影响.实验结果显示,相对于传统代数重构算法(ART),新方法反演的电离层电子密度剖面更接近于电离层测高仪观测的电子密度剖面,提高了电子密度反演精度.     

Correction method of the ionosphere model using data from wide area navigation satellite systems

A method of correcting an ionosphere model is developed on the basis of data received from wide area navigation satellite systems. This method allows one to calculate the distribution of electron concentration on a scale that is close to real-time, and it can be used in conditions of a disturbed ionosphere, where it is difficult or impossible to determine the critical frequency of the F2 layer. The ionospheric parameters received from vertical incidence sounder data and retrieved from the corrected model agree well, which allows this approach to be used for ionospheric support of different radio systems.     

应用经验正交函数估算顶部电离层电子密度剖面

本文基于IRI模型、地面数字测高仪和GNSS TEC数据,提出了一种利用经验正交函数(Empirical Orthogonal Function,简称EOF)估算顶部电离层电子密度剖面的方法,并将其应用于美国Millstone Hill测高仪和GNSS数据以估算顶部电离层电子密度剖面.通过将估算的临界频率、峰值高度、400km以上电子密度分别与测高仪实测临界频率、测高仪实测峰值高度以及非相干散射雷达实测400km以上电子密度作对比以对方法的有效性进行验证.统计结果显示估算临界频率、峰值高度与测高仪实测数据基本一致,400km以上估算电子密度相较于非相干散射雷达实测的绝对误差平均值仅是测高仪推算400km以上电子密度绝对误差平均值的一半左右.所以本文提出的方法可以更加精确地估算顶部电离层电子密度.     

Determination of the vertical electron-density profile in ionospheric tomography: experimental results

The reconstruction of the vertical electron-density profile is a fundamental problem in ionospheric tomography. Lack of near-horizontal ray paths limits the information available on the vertical profile, so that the resultant image of electron density is biased in a horizontal sense. The vertical profile is of great importance as it affects the authenticity of the entire tomographic image. A new method is described whereby the vertical profile is selected using relative total-electron-content measurements. The new reconstruction process has been developed from modelling studies. A range of background ionospheres, representing many possible peak heights, scale heights and electron densities are formed from a Chapman profile on the bottomside with a range of topside profiles. The iterative reconstruction process is performed on all of these background ionospheres and a numerical selection criterion employed to select the final image. The resulting tomographic images show excellent agreement in electron density when compared with independent verification provided by the EISCAT radar.     

中国电离层TEC同化现报系统

数据同化是在基于物理机制的背景模型上,融合时空不规则分布的观测数据的一种现报方法.同化能够有效弥补数据的时空局限和模型的精度偏差,使二者相互匹配从而获得更加合理可信的模拟效果.本研究利用电离层数据同化方法,针对中国及周边区域（15°N-55°N,70°E-140°E）构建了电离层总电子含量（TEC）同化现报系统.系统使用国际参考电离层（IRI）作为背景场,利用中国科学院空间环境监测网和国际GNSS服务组织（IGS）的部分地基GNSS台站数据作为观测值,并采用三维变分与Gauss-Markov卡尔曼滤波相结合的算法进行背景场和观测值的数据同化,生成覆盖中国及周边区域的电离层TEC和GPS单频接收机延迟误差的格点化准实时现报地图,并在中国科学院空间环境预报中心（http：//sepc.ac.cn/TEC_chn.php）网上发布,每15 min进行更新.该系统是我国基于同化算法的电离层现报系统之一,已用于中国及周边区域的电离层环境实时监测,可为卫星导航、雷达成像、短波通信等科学研究和工程应用提供相对及时、准确、有效的电离层TEC和误差修正信息.     

Numerical simulation of the structure of the high-latitude ionospheric <Emphasis Type="Italic">F</Emphasis> region during meridional HF propagation

A previously developed model of the high-latitude ionosphere is used to calculate the distribution of the ionospheric parameters in the polar region. A specific method for specifying input parameters of the mathematical model, using the experimental data obtained by the method of satellite radio tomography, is used in this case. The spatial distributions of the ionospheric parameters characterized by a complex inhomogeneous structure in the high-latitude region, calculated with the help of the mathematical model, are used to simulate the HF propagation along the meridionally oriented radio paths extending from middle to high latitudes. The method for improving the HF communication between a midlatitude transmitter and a polar-cap receiver is proposed.     

单层模型对GNSS海啸电离层扰动探测的影响分析

本文全面分析了电离层单层模型高度以及投影函数对GNSS海啸电离层扰动探测的影响.利用GNSS计算的电离层扰动绝对空间分布位置随单层高度变化而变化,但对同颗卫星而言,其相对空间分布位置随单层高度变化较小.采用投影函数将倾斜方向的电离层扰动转化到垂直方向上,可以消除海啸传播方向垂直平面外的不一致性;由于电离层扰动存在水平梯度,不能消除海啸传播方向垂直平面上的不一致性.为了减弱单层模型参数对GNSS海啸电离层扰动探测的影响,在数据处理时,除了选择最大电子密度高度作为单层模型高度,还应当对每颗卫星单独进行分析.     

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.     

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).     

Ionospheric activity and possible connection with seismicity: Contribution from the analysis of long time series of GNSS signals

The modifications of some atmospheric physical properties prior to a high magnitude earthquake were debated in the frame of the Lithosphere Atmosphere Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) model. In this work, among the variety of involved phenomena, the ionisation of air at the ionospheric levels triggered by the leaking of gases from the Earth’s crust was investigated through the analysis of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals. In particular, the authors analysed a 5 year (2008–2012) long series of GNSS based ionospheric TEC to produce maps over an area surrounding the epicentre of the L’Aquila (Italy, M_w = 6.3) earthquake of April 6th, 2009. The series was used to detect and quantify amplitude and duration of episodes of ionospheric disturbances by a statistical approach and to discriminate local and global effects on the ionosphere comparing these series with TEC values provided by the analysis of GNSS data from international permanent trackers distributed over a wider region. The study found that during this time interval only three statistically meaningful episodes of ionospheric disturbances were observed. One of them, occurring during the night of 16th of March 2009, anticipated the main shock by 3 weeks and could be connected with the strong earthquake of 6th of April. The other two significant episodes were detected within periods that were not close to the main seismic events and are more likely due to various and global reasons.     

Detection of ionospheric scintillation effects using LMD–DFA

The performance and measurement accuracy of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers is greatly affected by ionospheric scintillations. Rapid amplitude and phase variations in the received GPS signal, known as ionospheric scintillation, affects the tracking of signals by GNSS receivers. Hence, there is a need to investigate the monitoring of various activities of the ionosphere and to develop a novel approach for mitigation of ionospheric scintillation effects. A method based on Local Mean Decomposition (LMD)–Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) has been proposed. The GNSS data recorded at Koneru Lakshmaiah (K L) University, Guntur, India were considered for analysis. The carrier to noise ratio (C/N₀) of GNSS satellite vehicles were decomposed into several product functions (PF) using LMD to extract the intrinsic features in the signal. Scintillation noise was removed by the DFA algorithm by selecting a suitable threshold. It was observed that the performance of the proposed LMD–DFA was better than that of empirical mode decomposition (EMD)–DFA.     

基于北斗、GLONASS和GPS系统的中低纬电离层特性联合探测

基于GNSS(Global Navigation Satellite Systems)的发展,我们利用具有北斗、GLONASS和GPS三系统信号接收功能的接收机观测的数据,结合电离层总电子含量(Total Electron Content, TEC)的反演算法,提取出GNSS三系统观测的电离层TEC;同时,将GNSS三系统获取的TEC应用到电离层TEC地图、行进式扰动、不规则体结构和电离层的太阳耀斑响应等方面的研究中,这也是首次使用三种GNSS系统数据对电离层进行联合探测研究.研究结果表明,增加了北斗系统的GNSS三系统在研究中国地区电离层TEC地图、周日变化、逐日变化,行进式扰动以及电离层的实时监测等方面较单系统的GPS具有明显的优势.     

电离层三维层析成像的自适应联合迭代重构算法

在电离层层析成像过程中,联合迭代重构算法是一种常用的反演算法.然而,该算法迭代收敛较慢,反演结果精度不高.为此,本文发展了一种自适应的联合迭代重构算法,该算法利用上一轮的电离层电子密度反演结果,自适应地调整松弛因子和加权参数.通过模拟数据和实测数据对该算法的反演结果进行了验证,并将得到的反演结果与电离层测高仪数据进行了比较,结果表明,该算法能够有效地反演电离层电子密度,且反演结果精度优于常用的联合迭代重构算法.     

Disturbances in the topside ionosphere during solar flares

The results of studying the ionospheric response to solar flares, obtained from the data of the GPS signal observations and incoherent scatter radars and as a result of the model calculations, are presented. It is shown that, according to the GPS data, a flare can cause a decrease in the electron content at altitudes of the topside ionosphere (h > 300 km). Similar effects of formation of a negative disturbance in the ionospheric F region were also observed during the solar flares of May 21 and 23, 1967, with the Arecibo incoherent scatter radar. The mechanism by which negative disturbances appear in the topside ionosphere during solar flares has been studied in this work based on the theoretical model of the ionosphere-plasmasphere coupling. It has been indicated that the formation of the electron density negative disturbance in the topside ionosphere is caused by an intense removal of O⁺ ions into the overlying plasmasphere under the action of an abrupt increase in the ion production rate and thermal expansion of the ionospheric plasma.     

Anomalous modification of the ionospheric total electron content prior to the 26 September 2005 Peru earthquake

This paper investigates the features of pre-earthquake ionospheric anomalies in the total electron content (TEC) data obtained on the basis of regular GPS observations from the International GNSS Service (IGS) network. For the analysis of the ionospheric effects of the 26 September 2005 Peru earthquake, Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs) of TEC were used. The possible influence of the earthquake preparation processes on the main low-latitude ionosphere peculiarity—the equatorial anomaly—is discussed. Analysis of the TEC maps has shown that modification of the equatorial anomaly occurred a few days before the earthquake. In previous days, during the evening and night hours (local time—LT), a specific transformation of the TEC distribution had taken place. This modification took the shape of a double-crest structure with a trough near the epicenter, though usually in this time the restored normal latitudinal distribution with a maximum near the magnetic equator is observed. Additional measurements (CHAMP satellite) have also confirmed the presence of this structure. To compare the vertical TEC measurements obtained with GPS satellite signals (GPS TEC), the International Reference Ionosphere, IRI-2001, was used for calculating the IRI TEC.     

东亚赤道异常区电离层CT诊断──实验及初步结果

国际上第一个低纬电离层层析（ＣＴ）探测台链于１９９３年１１月建成，并开始数据采集．该ＣＴ台链沿１２０°Ｅ子午圈由６个卫星信标差分多普勒接收站组成，北起我国上海，南至菲律宾的马尼拉，纬度覆盖范围约２０°．该台链专为电高层赤道异常区电子密度大尺度结构ＣＴ成像而设计，其目的是监测研究赤道异常形态与动力学、电离层等离子体泡、行优以及暴时磁层－电离层－热层耦合过程等重要的赤道与低纬区电离层现象．本文介绍该低纬电离层ＣＴ实验的有关技术问题，包括接收台站布设、实验设备、数据采集软件和数据预处理方法．文中还给出利用ＣＴ技术，由实测斜电子含量数据反演电离层电子密度二维分布图像的几个实例．结果表明，利用低纬电离层ＣＴ台链可以有效地监测电离层赤道异常及其它低纬电高层电子密度大尺度结构的时空变化．