On the Diurnal, Annual, and Solar Cycle Variations of Slant Total Electron Content in the Korean Peninsula

The ionospheric error, which is one of many error elements considered during the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning, is hard to be predicted due to the influence of geomagnetic activity and irregular solar activities. Thus, the present study analyzed a change pattern in the ionosphere through Global Ionosphere Map (GIM) data for 12 years from 2003 to 2014 and a variation in the Slant Total Electron Content (STEC) between Sinuiju and Busan which was the longest range in the southeastern direction of the Korean Peninsula. The variation in the STEC verified the diurnal, annual, and solar cycle variations due to the influence of solar activity. The diurnal variation was characterized that the variation in the STEC started to increase from 6-7 am and reached the maximum at 13-14 pm followed by being decreased. The seasonal variation was characterized that the variation in the STEC was high in spring and autumn whereas it was low in summer and winter. The solar cycle variation revealed that the variation in the STEC increased during solar maximum and decreased during solar minimum. The variation in the STEC was up to 20 Total Electron Content Unit (TECU) during the solar minimum and up to 60 TECU during solar maximum.