The integrated line-of-sight electron density within the ionosphere, known as the total electron content (TEC), is commonly used to quantify ionospheric propagation effects. In order to extrapolate singlepoint measurements of TEC to other locations and times, some characterization of the TEC spatiotemporal variation must be available. Using a four-channel receiver tracking coded signals from the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System satellites, estimates of both the mean variation and correlation coefficient have been made for the approximately 1200-km or 1-hour local time radius ionospheric region within view of a mid-latitude station. Results were obtained for morning and midday over a 4-week period near the autumnal equinox in 1989. The derived mean variation was found to be well characterized by linear functions of lhe local time and latitude separation between the ground site and the ionospheric penetration point of the signal. The correlation coefficient during midday was found to decrease linearly with latitude, longitude, and time separation, with values of about 0.91 for a 1000-km separation and 0.98 for a 1-hour separation. During morning hours the longitude and time coefficients were similar to the middayvalues, but the latitude coefficient was found to have a nonlinear dependence, with values as small as 0.70. The combined results suggest that the decorrelation is due primarily to longer term TEC fluctuations, such as day-to-day variation in the TEC spatial dependence, rather than to transient effects such as traveling ionospheric disturbances. The analysis provides a spatiotemporal characterization of TEC that can be used to extrapolate TEC values from single-point measurements.
INTRODUCI•ONThe integrated linc-of-sight electron density within the ionosphere, known as the columnar content or total electron content (TEC), is a fundamental parameter that is often used to quantify ionospheric propagation effects such as signal time delay, Faraday rotation, phase advance, and dispersion. TEC is typically derived from ground-based measurements of either the Faraday rotation angle or the group delay of coded signals transmitted by selected satellites. Such measurements define the TEC value at the time of the measurement along a single path, but the measurements cannot be extrapolated to other times and locations without further information about how TEC varies in space and time.
A statistical characterization of TEC as a function of location and time provides a solution to this problem. Suppose the vertical TEC value at location A, specified as N½(A), is determined by measurement or other means. The TEC value at some location B, denoted by N½(B), can then be estimated if the mean values ((N½(A)) and (N½(B))), as well as the correlation between [N½(A)-(N½(A)}] and [N½(B)-(N½(B))] arc known. Together, the mcan TEC variation and the TEC correlation coefficients provide sufficient information to extrapolate from single-point measurements and to assess the accuracy of the extrapolation.1Now at Ball Corporation, Broo...