Status of CAS global ionospheric maps after the maximum of solar cycle 24

As a new Ionosphere Associate Analysis Center(IAAC)of the International GNSS Service(IGS),Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)started the routine computation of the real-time,rapid,and final Global Ionospheric Maps(GIMs)in 2015.The method for the generation of CAS rapid and final GIMs and recent updates are presented in the paper.The quality of CAS post-processed GIMs is assessed during 2015-2018 after the maximum of solar cycle 24.To perform an independent and fair assessment,Jason-2/3 Vertical Total Electron Contents(VTEC)are first used as the references over the ocean.GPS differential Slant TECs(dSTEC)generated from 55 Multi-GNSS Experimental(MGEX)stations of the IGS are also employed,which provides a complementing way to evaluate the ability of electron content models to reproduce the spatial and temporal gradients in the ionosphere.During the test period,Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL)GIMs present significantly positive deviations compared to the Jason VTEC and GPS dSTEC.Technical University of Catalonia(UPC)rapid GIM UQRG exhibits the best performance in both Jason VTEC and GPS dSTEC analysis.The CAS GIMs show comparable performance with the results of the first four IAACs of the IGS.As expected,the poor performance of all GIMs is in equatorial regions and the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere.The consideration of generating multi-layer or three-dimensional ionospheric maps is emphasized to mitigate the inadequacy of ionospheric single-layer assumption in the presence of pronounced latitudinal gradients.The use of ionospheric observations from the new GNSS constellations and other space-or ground-based observation techniques is also suggested in the generation of future GIMs,given the sparse GPS/GLONASS stations in the southern hemisphere.

Assessment of International GNSS Service Global Ionosphere Map products over China region based on measurements from the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China

The global ionosphere maps(GIM)provided by the International GNSS Service(IGS)are extensively utilized for ionospheric morphology monitoring,scientific research,and practical application.Assessing the credibility of GIM products in data-sparse regions is of paramount importance.In this study,measurements from the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China(CMONOC)are leveraged to evaluate the suitability of IGS-GIM products over China region in 2013-2014.The indices of mean error(ME),root mean square error(RMSE),and normalized RMSE(NRMSE)are then utilized to quantify the accuracy of IGS-GIM products.Results revealed distinct local time and latitudinal dependencies in IGS-GIM errors,with substantially high errors at nighttime(NRMSE:39%)and above 40°latitude(NRMSE:49%).Seasonal differences also emerged,with larger equinoctial deviations(NRMSE:33.5%)compared with summer(20%).A preliminary analysis implied that the irregular assimilation of sparse IGS observations,compounded by China’s distinct geomagnetic topology,may manifest as error variations.These results suggest that modeling based solely on IGS-GIM observations engenders inadequate representations across China and that a thorough examination would proffer the necessary foundation for advancing regional total electron content(TEC)constructions.

Ionospheric total electron content disturbance associated with May 12, 2008,Wenchuan earthquake

Possible ionospheric disturbances relating to the May 12, 2008, MsS.0 Wenchuan earthquake were identified by Global Positioning System （GPS）-derived total electron content （TEC）, ion- osonde observations, the global ionospheric map （GIM）, and electron density profiles detected by the Constellation Observation System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate （COSMIC）. We applied a statistical test to detect anomalous TEC signals and found that a unique enhancement in TEC, recorded at 16 GPS stations, appeared on May 9, 2008. The critical fre- quency at F2 peak （foF2）, observed by the Chinese ionosondes, and maximal plasma frequency, derived from COSMIC data, revealed a characteristic similar to GPS TEC variations. The GIM showed that the anomalous variations of May 9 were located southeast of the epicenter. Using GPS data from 13 stations near the epicenter, we analyzed the TEC variations of satellite orbit traces during 04：00-11：00 UT. We found that TEC decreased to the east and increased to the southeast of the epicenter during this period. Results showed that the abnormal disturbance on May 9 was probably an ionosphenc precursor of the Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008.

Comparison of TEC prediction methods in mid-latitudes with GIM maps

There are many long-term and short-term prediction methods of Total Electron Content(TEC) that need to be tested for each specific region. Recently, much attention has been paid to testing TEC models in high-, low-latitude and equatorial regions. This paper compares the TEC prediction methods in the midlatitude zone according to the data of the Juliusruh, Rostov, Manzhouli stations in 2008 and 2015. For a long-term prediction, the IRI-Plas and Ne Quick models are compared with the Global Ionospheric Maps(GIM) presented by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) and the Technical University of Catalonia(UPC).For a short-term prediction, the Standard Persistence Model(SPM) method, a 27 day median model, and the proposed short-term prediction method are compared for one day ahead. It is shown that for all stations the IRI-Plas model provides better compliance with GIM maps than the Ne Quick model irrespective of a solar activity level. An average absolute error lays in the range of 3 e3.5 TECU, relative root square mean(RMS) error in the range of 22 e27% in 2015 and 1.7 e2 TECU, 20 e25% in 2008. For the Ne Quick model, these estimates were 6.7 e8.2 TECU and 42 e45% in 2015 and 2.2 e3.6 TECU, 30 e37% in2008. For the short-term forecast, the best results were obtained by the SPM method with an average absolute error in the range of 1.95 e2.15 TECU in 2015 and 0.59 e0.98 TECU in 2008, a relative RMS error in the range of 17 e21% in 2015, 11.5 e15% in 2008. For the proposed short-term prediction method, these errors were 2.04 e2.2 TECU and 12 e14% in 2015 and 0.7 e1.0 TECU, 7 e11% in 2008. Using medians, the errors were 3.1 e3.4 TECU and 17 e21% in 2015 and 1.0 e1.3 TECU, 10 e15% in 2008. The dependence of results on the Dst-index was obtained.

Determination of nighttime VTEC average in the Klobuchar ionospheric delay model

The Klobuchar model has been widely used to correct the ionospheric delay in applications. However, the NVTEC(Nighttime Vertical Total Electron Content) of the Klobuchar model employs an empirical constant of 9 TECU(Total Electron Content Unit) at L1 frequency. In this paper, the rationality and reliability of the nighttime constant setting are investigated using the GIM(Global Ionosphere Map) product of the IGS(International GNSS Service) from 1998 to 2015. Our study indicates that the suitable time span of NVTEC average in nighttime should be between 20:00 and 06:00 LT(local time). The NVTEC is highly correlated with seasons, having positive extremes in spring and autumn and negative extremes in summer through the mean values in all latitudes. In addition to seasonal dependence, solar activity in the solar cycle 23 strongly influences NVTEC as well and leads to its variation within a range between 25 and30 TECU in spring and autumn at solar maximum, which is about 1.5 times greater than that in summer and winter. The NVTEC also has a dependence on the latitude at solar maximum, with the mean value from 30 TECU in low latitudinal regions to 15 TECU in high latitudinal regions. Therefore, these results demonstrate that the nighttime VTEC has much greater deviations from the imperial constant in the Klobuchar model, and the newly estimated constant is expected to bring improvement to the predictability of the Klobuchar ionospheric delay model in nighttime.

Spatial and Temporal Response of Equatorial Ionization Anomaly to the 17 March 2015 Storm from Global Ionosphere Map

The responses of Equatorial Ionosphere Anomaly（EIA） to the storm occurred on 17 March 2015 were studied using Global Ionosphere Map（GIM）. The variations of Total Electron Content（TEC）, latitudinal TEC gradients and the rate of latitudinal TEC gradients in EIA regions were investigated in 75？E, 110？E and-60？E longitudinal sectors. The results from the GIM data showed that the distributions of the latitudinal gradient of TEC became monotonous in three longitudes on 18 March（the first day of the recovery phase）, but the variations were different. On 18 March, the magnitudes of latitudinal gradients decreased in spatial and temporal in 75？E and 110？E, which means the EIA was suppressed during the recovery phase of the storm, especially in 110？E. The magnitudes of latitudinal TEC gradients showed an obvious increase in spatial and temporal in-60？E. The SAMI2 reproduced the suppression of EIA with a disturbance dynamo electric field, which indicated that the physical process controlled the behaviors of the plasma during the recovery phase of the storm.