Abstract
Abstract. The GPS data provides an effective way to estimate the total electron content (TEC) from the differential time delay of L1 and L2 transmissions from the GPS. The spacing of the constellation of GPS satellites in orbits are such that a minimum of four GPS satellites are observed at any given point in time from any location on the ground. Since these satellites are in different parts of the sky and the electron content in the ionosphere varies both spatially and temporally, the ionospheric pierce point (IPP) altitude or the assumed altitude of the centroid of mass of the ionosphere plays an important role in converting the vertical TEC from the measured slant TEC and vice versa. In this paper efforts are made to examine the validity of the IPP altitude of 350 km in the Indian zone comprising of the ever-changing and dynamic ionosphere from the equator to the ionization anomaly crest region and beyond, using the simultaneous ionosonde data from four different locations in India. From this data it is found that the peak electron density height (hpF2) varies from about 275 to 575 km at the equatorial region, and varies marginally from 300 to 350 km at and beyond the anomaly crest regions. Determination of the effective altitude of the IPP employing the inverse method suggested by Birch et al. (2002) did not yield any consistent altitude in particular for low elevation angles, but varied from a few hundred to one thousand kilometers and beyond in the Indian region. However, the vertical TEC computed from the measured GPS slant TEC for different IPP altitudes ranging from 250 to 750 km in the Indian region has revealed that the TEC does not change significantly with the IPP altitude, as long as the elevation angle of the satellite is greater than 50 degrees. However, in the case of satellites with lower elevation angles (<50°), there is a significant departure in the TEC computed using different IPP altitudes from both methods. Therefore, the IPP altitude of 350 km may be taken as valid even in the Indian sector but only in the cases of satellite passes with elevation angles greater than 50°.
Highlights
In the recent years, the measurements of total electron content (TEC) have gained importance with the increasing demand for the Global Positioning System (GPS)-based navigation applications in trans-ionospheric communications with space-borne vehicles, such as satellites, aircrafts and surface transportations
The altitude of the peak electron density measured from the data of four identical ionosondes located at different parts of India, Trivandrum, Waltair, Ahmedabad and Delhi has revealed that the hpF2 varies significantly from day to day and from day to night, and from equator to the anomaly crest and beyond
Whether the use of a constant value of the ionospheric pierce point (IPP) altitude of 350 km, commonly used in the mid latitude sector, is valid or not for the Indian sector is the topic under investigation
Summary
The measurements of total electron content (TEC) have gained importance with the increasing demand for the GPS-based navigation applications in trans-ionospheric communications with space-borne vehicles, such as satellites, aircrafts and surface transportations. As the GPS satellites are in different parts of the sky and the electron content varies both spatially and temporally, the ionospheric pierce point (IPP) altitude or the assumed altitude of the centroid of mass of the ionosphere plays an important role while converting the vertical TEC from the measured slant TEC and vice versa. Along with this ionosonde data, the TEC data measured from the dual frequency GPS receivers deployed at different locations (18) in India are used for examining the effect of the IPP altitude variation in the conversion of slant TEC to vertical TEC
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