Monitoring The Ionosphere Using A Global GPS Network: Applications and Validation

Brian D. Wilson, Anthony J. Mannucci, Dah-Ning Yuan, Byron A. Iijima, Xiaoqing Pi, Christian M. Ho, and Ulf J. Lindqwister

Abstract:	A globally distributed network of dual-frequency GPS receivers currently exists and enables the monitoring of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) on global scales. By using spatial interpolation and temporal smoothing between the GPS-based TEC measurements, combined with model information from a climatological ionospheric model, we are able to produce global ionospheric maps (GIM) of vertical TEC every 15 minutes. Comparisons to independent ionospheric measurements indicate that the global TEC maps are accurate globally to 5-10 TECU ( 1016 electrons/meter2) and enable a continuous, global ionospheric specification which is more accurate than any of the existing empirical models. The GIM technique is currently being used as the basis for three operational capabilities! (1) daily global ionospheric calibration for a single-frequency ocean altimetry mission (GFO:), (2) hourly global ionospheric monitoring in support of the 50th Weather Squadron of the Air Force, and (3) real-time ionospheric correction over the continental U. S. for use in wide-area differential GPS (WADGPS) applications.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1997 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 14 - 16, 1997 Loews Santa Monica Hotel Santa Monica, CA
Pages:	279 - 288
Cite this article:	Wilson, Brian D., Mannucci, Anthony J., Yuan, Dah-Ning, Iijima, Byron A., Pi, Xiaoqing, Ho, Christian M., Lindqwister, Ulf J., "Monitoring The Ionosphere Using A Global GPS Network: Applications and Validation," Proceedings of the 1997 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Santa Monica, CA, January 1997, pp. 279-288.
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