Estimation Method of Ionospheric TEC Distribution using Single Frequency Measurements of GPS Signals

The satellite-to-ground communications are influenced by ionospheric plasma which varies depending on solar and geomagnetic activities as well as regions and local times. With the expansion of use of the space, continuous monitoring of the ionospheric plasma has become an important issue. In Global Positioning System (GPS), the ionospheric delay, which is proportional to ionospheric total electron content (TEC) along the propagation path, is the largest error in signal propagation. The TEC has been observed from dual frequency GPS signals because only the ionospheric delay has frequency dependences. Costs of multi-frequency receivers are, however, much higher than those of single frequency ones. In the present study, an estimation method of TEC distribution map from single frequency GPS measurements was developed. The developed method was evaluated by comparing its results with those from dual frequency measurements. The method makes it possible to expand ionospheric TEC observation networks easily. Keywords—Global Positioning System; GPS; Signal processing and propagation; Ionospheric Delay; Total Electron Content (TEC)