Ionospheric Weather Observations with FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC and Prospects with FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2

Tiger J.Y. Liu, Loren C. Chang, F.Y. Chang, C.K. Chao

Abstract:	This study reports ionospheric weather observed by radio occultation (RO) sounding of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (F3/C) together with the total electron content (TEC) of the global ionospheric map (GIM) and in situ plasma measurements of FORMOSAT5/Advanced Ionospheric Probe (F5/AIP), and shows the prospect of using FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 (F7/C2) RO sounding and the Ion Velocity Meter (IVM) in situ plasma probing. Global observations of the F3/C RO electron density profile, GIM TEC, and F5/AIP ion density are used to examine ionospheric weather of midlatitude electron density enhancement (MEDE), equatorial plasma depletion bay (PDB), non-migrating tide (NMT), and irregularity/bobble/scintillation (IBS). The F7/C2 mission constellation will deploy six satellites to six different orbital planes at altitude of 550 km and orbit inclination angle of 24 degree. The six satellites will collect 4,000 RO profiles daily between +/-50-degree latitude, which greatly increases the amount of atmospheric and ionospheric observation at low latitudes. In addition to the TGRS (TriG GNSS Radio occultation System), IVM is another onboard instrument that directly measures the temperature, velocity, and incidence angle of ions in the path of each satellite. F7/C2 TGRS RO and IVM observations will be employed to examine three-dimensional (3D) plasma structures and dynamics, and to have a better understanding on the related casual mechanisms of the ionospheric weather.
Published in:	Proceedings of the ION 2019 Pacific PNT Meeting April 8 - 11, 2019 Hilton Waikiki Beach Honolulu, Hawaii
Pages:	185 - 189
Cite this article:	Liu, Tiger J.Y., Chang, Loren C., Chang, F.Y., Chao, C.K., "Ionospheric Weather Observations with FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC and Prospects with FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2," Proceedings of the ION 2019 Pacific PNT Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2019, pp. 185-189. https://doi.org/10.33012/2019.16859
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