Abstract. We have constructed latitudinal profiles of the total electron content (TEC) using measurements from six GPS receivers conducted during 1998. The TEC profiles have been divided into two groups: One corresponds to days when plumes or equatorial spread F (ESF) develops, and the second group portrays days of no-ESF condition.

Abstract. Simulated observations of total electron cornera (TEC) along ray paths from Global Positiomng System (GPS) satellites have been used to validate the estimation of TEC using GPS measuremeres. The Sheffield Umversity plasmasphere ionosphere model (SUPIM) has been used to create electron densities that were integrated along ray paths from actual configurations of the GPS constellation. The resultant slant electron contents were then used as inputs to validate the self-calibration of pseudo-range errors (SCORE) process for the deternfination of TEC from GPS observations. It is shown that if the plasma resides only in the ionosphere below 1100 km, then the SCORE procedure determines the TEC to a high degree of accuracy. When the contribution of the electrons in the protonosphere above 1100 km is included, the analysis results in TEC estimates that are high by some 2 TEC umts (TECU) for conditions appropriate to European nfidlatimdes at solar nfimmum However, if a restriction is placed in the analysis on use of observations equatorward of the station, then allowance can be made for the effect of the proionosphere. It is shown that with appropriate selection of the boundary for the observations, TEC can be estimated by SCORE to better than 1 TECU for the conditions of the simulation. Sample results are included from actual experimemal observations using GPS to demonstrate the effect of compensation for the protonosphenc plasma.

Abstract. Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites have orbital altitudes of about 20,200 km, while satellites in the Navy Ionospheric Monitoring System (NIMS) constellation are in circular orbits at heights of about 1100 kin. Independent measurements of the electron content in the ionized atmosphere can be made using the radio signals from both satellite constellations. Differences between the two estimates can be related to the electron content on the GPS ray paths above 1100 kin, through the tenuous plasma of the protonosphere. Results are reported from some 21 months of simultaneous observations of both GPS and NIMS transmissions at a European midlatitude station at solar minimum. It is shown that the average differences between the electron contents measured by the two systems are in broad agreement with the predictions from an earlier modeling study of the effects of the protonosphere on GPS total electron content. The expected influence of ray path / flux tube geometry and the rapid depletion and slow refilling of the protonosphere in response to geomagnetic storm activity can be seen in the averaged measurements.

[1] Plasmasphere effects on total electron content (TEC) measurements conducted using Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers are typically neglected for the North American region, because of the relatively high magnetic latitudes there, but model and measurement cases for this region are presented here to demonstrate the magnitude of the effects for GPS TEC measurements away from vertical and for the associated equivalent vertical TEC values. For high solar flux conditions, the effects of high, distant electron content can range up to 25 TEC units for equivalent vertical TEC, or up to 65 TEC units for slant TEC determinations derived from vertical TEC measurements. The effects of the plasmasphere for TEC calibrations conducted in North America include systematic overestimation of the equivalent vertical TEC and excessive latitudinal gradients, especially at night. These may not be readily evident in the calibration results, and some alternatives for addressing these circumstances are considered.

[1] The plasmasphere (also denoted as the protonosphere) is a large toroidal domain of light ionized particles situated above the ionosphere and confined by the Earth's magnetic field. While plasmaspheric charge densities are considerably less than those of the ionosphere, the large extent of the plasmasphere can produce significant charge column densities, or total electron content (TEC), for lines-of-sight passing through the plasmasphere. A method for Self-Calibration of Range Errors (SCORE) has been developed previously both to determine combined bias calibration values for GPS receivers and satellites and to calculate absolute TEC values for the ionosphere. An enhanced SCORE process, described here, retains the ''self-calibration'' feature of the original SCORE process, by not requiring any measurements beyond those performed by the GPS receiver system being calibrated. The enhanced SCORE process also determines a characteristic plasmasphere amplitude parameter, thus providing an autonomous determination of both the ionospheric and plasmaspheric TEC. Case studies for a nearequatorial site are presented, with model parameters derived from 1998 data being applied to determine ionospheric and plasmaspheric TEC for measurements made in 1999.