Ionospheric imaging in Africa

Accurate ionospheric specification is necessary for improving human activities such as radar detection, navigation, and Earth observation. This is of particular importance in Africa, where strong plasma density gradients exist due to the equatorial ionization anomaly. In this paper the accuracy of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radio science 2014-01, Vol.49 (1), p.19-27
Main Authors: Chartier, Alex T., Kinrade, Joe, Mitchell, Cathryn N., Rose, Julian A. R., Jackson, David R., Cilliers, Pierre, Habarulema, John-Bosco, Katamzi, Zama, Mckinnell, Lee-Anne, Matamba, Tshimangadzo, Opperman, Ben, Ssessanga, Nicholas, Giday, Nigussie Mezgebe, Tyalimpi, Vumile, Franceschi, Giorgiana De, Romano, Vincenzo, Scotto, Carlo, Notarpietro, Riccardo, Dovis, Fabio, Avenant, Eugene, Wonnacott, Richard, Oyeyemi, Elijah, Mahrous, Ayman, Tsidu, Gizaw Mengistu, Lekamisy, Harvey, Olwendo, Joseph Ouko, Sibanda, Patrick, Gogie, Tsegaye Kassa, Rabiu, Babatunde, Jong, Kees De, Adewale, Adekola
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
Computer simulation
Errors
Global Positioning System
Global positioning systems
GPS
imaging
ionosphere
Ionospherics
IRI
Networks
Satellite navigation systems
Specifications
tomography
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Summary:Accurate ionospheric specification is necessary for improving human activities such as radar detection, navigation, and Earth observation. This is of particular importance in Africa, where strong plasma density gradients exist due to the equatorial ionization anomaly. In this paper the accuracy of three‐dimensional ionospheric images is assessed over a 2 week test period (2–16 December 2012). These images are produced using differential Global Positioning System (GPS) slant total electron content observations and a time‐dependent tomography algorithm. The test period is selected to coincide with a period of increased GPS data availability from the African Geodetic Reference Frame (AFREF) project. A simulation approach that includes the addition of realistic errors is employed in order to provide a ground truth. Results show that the inclusion of observations from the AFREF archive significantly reduces ionospheric specification errors across the African sector, especially in regions that are poorly served by the permanent network of GPS receivers. The permanent network could be improved by adding extra sites and by reducing the number of service outages that affect the existing sites. Key Points Ionospheric image quality in Africa is assessedSimulated and real data are both usedAn extended receiver network greatly improves accuracy
ISSN:0048-6604
1944-799X
DOI:10.1002/2013RS005238