Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polar Ionospheric Total Electron Content over Nearly Thirteen Years
It is of great significance for the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) service to detect the polar ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and its variations, particularly under disturbed ionosphere conditions, including different phases of solar activity, the polar day and night alternation...
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MDPI AG
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/2/540 |
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| author | Hui Xi Hu Jiang Jiachun An Zemin Wang Xueyong Xu Houxuan Yan Can Feng |
| author_facet | Hui Xi Hu Jiang Jiachun An Zemin Wang Xueyong Xu Houxuan Yan Can Feng |
| author_sort | Hui Xi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is of great significance for the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) service to detect the polar ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and its variations, particularly under disturbed ionosphere conditions, including different phases of solar activity, the polar day and night alternation, the Weddell Sea anomaly (WSA) as well as geomagnetic storms. In this paper, four different models are utilized to map the ionospheric TEC over the Arctic and Antarctic for about one solar cycle: the polynomial (POLY) model, the generalized trigonometric series function (GTSF) model, the spherical harmonic (SH) model, and the spherical cap harmonic (SCH) model. Compared to other models, the SCH model has the best performance with ±0.8 TECU of residual mean value and 1.5−3.5 TECU of root mean square error. The spatiotemporal distributions and variations of the polar ionospheric TEC are investigated and compared under different ionosphere conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic. The results show that the solar activity significantly affects the TEC variations. During polar days, the ionospheric TEC is more active than it is during polar nights. In polar days over the Antarctic, the maximum value of TEC always appears at night in the Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea area affected by the WSA. In the same year, the ionospheric TEC of the Antarctic has a larger amplitude of annual variation than that of the TEC in the Arctic. In addition, the evolution of the ionization patch during a geomagnetic storm over the Antarctic can be clearly tracked employing the SCH model, which appears to be adequate for mapping the polar TEC, and provides a sound basis for further automatic identification of ionization patches. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:19:40Z |
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| id | doaj.art-f04845e824b64f958361adf1ee1326b8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:19:40Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-f04845e824b64f958361adf1ee1326b82022-12-22T04:00:15ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202020-01-0120254010.3390/s20020540s20020540Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polar Ionospheric Total Electron Content over Nearly Thirteen YearsHui Xi0Hu Jiang1Jiachun An2Zemin Wang3Xueyong Xu4Houxuan Yan5Can Feng6Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, TaiwanNorth Information Control Research Academy Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211153, ChinaChinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaChinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaNorth Information Control Research Academy Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211153, ChinaNorth Information Control Research Academy Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211153, ChinaNorth Information Control Research Academy Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211153, ChinaIt is of great significance for the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) service to detect the polar ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and its variations, particularly under disturbed ionosphere conditions, including different phases of solar activity, the polar day and night alternation, the Weddell Sea anomaly (WSA) as well as geomagnetic storms. In this paper, four different models are utilized to map the ionospheric TEC over the Arctic and Antarctic for about one solar cycle: the polynomial (POLY) model, the generalized trigonometric series function (GTSF) model, the spherical harmonic (SH) model, and the spherical cap harmonic (SCH) model. Compared to other models, the SCH model has the best performance with ±0.8 TECU of residual mean value and 1.5−3.5 TECU of root mean square error. The spatiotemporal distributions and variations of the polar ionospheric TEC are investigated and compared under different ionosphere conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic. The results show that the solar activity significantly affects the TEC variations. During polar days, the ionospheric TEC is more active than it is during polar nights. In polar days over the Antarctic, the maximum value of TEC always appears at night in the Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea area affected by the WSA. In the same year, the ionospheric TEC of the Antarctic has a larger amplitude of annual variation than that of the TEC in the Arctic. In addition, the evolution of the ionization patch during a geomagnetic storm over the Antarctic can be clearly tracked employing the SCH model, which appears to be adequate for mapping the polar TEC, and provides a sound basis for further automatic identification of ionization patches.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/2/540global navigation satellite system (gnss)total electron content (tec)polar ionospherespherical cap harmonic (sch) modelionization patch |
| spellingShingle | Hui Xi Hu Jiang Jiachun An Zemin Wang Xueyong Xu Houxuan Yan Can Feng Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polar Ionospheric Total Electron Content over Nearly Thirteen Years Sensors global navigation satellite system (gnss) total electron content (tec) polar ionosphere spherical cap harmonic (sch) model ionization patch |
| title | Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polar Ionospheric Total Electron Content over Nearly Thirteen Years |
| title_full | Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polar Ionospheric Total Electron Content over Nearly Thirteen Years |
| title_fullStr | Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polar Ionospheric Total Electron Content over Nearly Thirteen Years |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polar Ionospheric Total Electron Content over Nearly Thirteen Years |
| title_short | Spatial and Temporal Variations of Polar Ionospheric Total Electron Content over Nearly Thirteen Years |
| title_sort | spatial and temporal variations of polar ionospheric total electron content over nearly thirteen years |
| topic | global navigation satellite system (gnss) total electron content (tec) polar ionosphere spherical cap harmonic (sch) model ionization patch |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/2/540 |
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