Regional Ionosphere Mapping with Kriging and B-spline Methods

The distribution of electrons in the ionosphere is of interest to scientists and also to engineers working on applications such as earth–space communication systems, which must transmit through the ionosphere, and skywave systems, which make use of ionospheric refraction. Electron content is commonly examined using total electron content (TEC) mapping. This mapping finds use in other applications such as studying the evolution of magnetic storms, which have, in the past, had profound effects on satellite communication systems and on other critical ground-based systems. Information on the electron content of the ionosphere can be collected using the global positioning system (GPS) and by examining the phase and amplitude changes which occur in paths between transmitting satellites and ground-based receivers. These data can then be processed in order to create maps of the ionospheric TEC.