Comparison of GPS-TEC with IRI-2012 TEC over African equatorial and low latitude regions during the period of 2012–2013

Abstract

This paper presents the performance of the latest version of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2012) model in estimating the Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) variation over equatorial and low latitude East Africa regions during the period of 2012–2013. This has been conducted by comparing the ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) VTEC inferred from nine dual frequency GPS receivers installed at different regions in the continent. In this work, the diurnal, monthly and seasonal variation in the measured VTEC have been analyzed and compared with the VTEC obtained from IRI-2012 model. It is depicted that the lowest diurnal peaks of the modeled and measured VTEC values are observed in the June solstice months, whereas the highest values are observed in the equinoctial months. The variability of the diurnal GPS-VTEC is also found to be minimal nearly at 03:00 UT and maximal mostly between 09:00 and 14:00 UT. Moreover, the maximum and minimum monthly mean hourly measured VTEC values inferred from both the Arba Minch and Entebbe stations are observed in October and July, respectively. Similarly, the highest and the lowest seasonal mean hourly measured VTEC values are observed in the September equinox and in the June solstice, respectively. The model predictions generally follow the diurnal variations of the measured VTEC, with minimum value at predawn hours and maximum at noontime hours (10:00–13:00 UT). It has been shown that the model better estimates the diurnal VTEC values mostly just after midnight hours (00:00–03:00 UT). Good agreements between the modeled and measured monthly and seasonal mean hourly VTEC values obtained from Arba Minch station are also observed in the equinoctial months. But, for the Entebbe station, the modeled monthly and seasonal VTEC values are larger than the corresponding measured VTEC values by about 75% and 60%, respectively. In addition, there are large discrepancies observed between the diurnal measured and modeled VTEC values (especially in the equinoctial months) in the time interval between 09:00 and 14:00 UT.