Ionospheric slab thickness and its seasonal variations observed by GPS |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Engineering, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran;2. Department of Electrical Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Postal Code 9177948947 Mashhad, Iran;1. Department of Physics, University of Lagos, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria;2. Department of Physical Sciences, Chrisland University, Owode, Abeokuta, Nigeria;1. Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation RAS, Troitsk Region, Moscow 142190, Russia;2. Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don 344006, Russia;1. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, KL Deemed to be University, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India;2. Department of ECE, KL Deemed to be University, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India;3. Dept of Geoinformatic Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, South Korea;1. UTM-GNSS & Geodynamics Research Group, Faculty of Geoinformation and Real Estate, Infocomm Research Alliance, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor, Malaysia;2. National Space Agency (ANGKASA), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Lot 2233, Jalan Turi, Kampung Sungai Lang, 42700 Banting, Selangor, Malaysia |
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| Abstract: | The ionospheric slab thickness, the ratio of the total electron content (TEC) to the F2-layer peak electron density (NmF2), is closely related to the shape of the ionospheric electron density profile Ne (h) and the TEC. Therefore, the ionospheric slab thickness is a significant parameter representative of the ionosphere. In this paper, the continuous GPS observations in South Korea are firstly used to study the equivalent slab thickness (EST) and its seasonal variability. The averaged diurnal medians of December–January–February (DJF), March–April–May (MAM), June–July–August (JJA) and September–October–November (SON) in 2003 have been considered to represent the winter, spring, summer and autumn seasons, respectively. The results show that the systematic diurnal changes of TEC, NmF2 and EST significantly appeared in each season and the higher values of TEC and NmF2 are observed during the equinoxes (semiannual anomaly) as well as in the mid-daytime of each season. The EST is significantly smaller in winter than in summer, but with a consistent variation pattern. During 14–16 LT in daytime, the larger EST values are observed in spring and autumn, while the smaller ones are in summer and winter. The peaks of EST diurnal variation are around 10–18 LT which are probably caused by the action of the thermospheric wind and the plasmapheric flow into the F2-region. |
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