• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.285-292
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• 1999

To determine a geographical position by GPS signal, the effect of the ionosphere must be considered to improve accuracy. This has led us to continuously try to find the TEC of the ionosphere by using the GPS signal. So far the way to find TEC has been developed and the information obtained from this can be used not only to increase the accuracy of determining the position, but also to study the ionosphere. In this research, the TEC MAP over Korea was obtained by using the data collected from eight GPS stations around the Far East Asia, which is the common way to represent TEC over some regional or global region.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2016

The East African ionosphere (3°S-18°N, 32°E-50°E) was mapped using Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements from ground-based GPS receivers situated at Asmara, Mekelle, Bahir Dar, Robe, Arbaminch, and Nairobi. Assuming a thin shell ionosphere at 350 km altitude, we project the Ionospheric Pierce Point (IPP) of a slant TEC measurement with an elevation angle of >10° to its corresponding location on the map. We then infer the estimated values at any point of interest from the vertical TEC values at the projected locations by means of interpolation. The total number of projected IPPs is in the range of 24-66 at any one time. Since the distribution of the projected IPPs is irregularly spaced, we have used an inverse distance weighted interpolation method to obtain a spatial grid resolution of 1°×1° latitude and longitude, respectively. The TEC maps were generated for the year 2008, with a 2 hr temporal resolution. We note that TEC varies diurnally, with a peak in the late afternoon (at 1700 LT), due to the equatorial ionospheric anomaly. We have observed higher TEC values at low latitudes in both hemispheres compared to the magnetic equatorial region, capturing the ionospheric distribution of the equatorial anomaly. We have also confirmed the equatorial seasonal variation in the ionosphere, characterized by minimum TEC values during the solstices and maximum values during the equinoxes. We evaluate the reliability of the map, demonstrating a mean error (difference between the measured and interpolated values) range of 0.04-0.2 TECU (Total Electron Content Unit). As more measured TEC values become available in this region, the TEC map will be more reliable, thereby allowing us to study in detail the equatorial ionosphere of the African sector, where ionospheric measurements are currently very few.

• Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.159-165
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• 2024

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) has been used as a tool to accurately extract the Total Electron Content (TEC) in the ionosphere. The multi-GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, and QZSS) constellations bring new opportunities for ionospheric research. In this study, we develop a regional ionospheric TEC model using GPS, Galileo, and QZSS measurements. To develop an ionospheric model covering the Asia-Oceania region, we select 13 International GNSS Service (IGS) stations. The ionospheric model applies the spherical harmonic expansion method and has a spatial resolution of 2.5°×2.5° and a temporal resolution of one hour. GPS TEC, Galileo TEC, and QZSS TEC are investigated from January 1 to January 31, 2024. Different TEC values are in good agreement with each other. In addition, we compare the QZSS(J07) TEC and the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) Global Ionosphere Map (GIM) TEC. The results show that the QZSS TEC estimated in the study coincides closely with the CODE GIM TEC.

• Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.343-348
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• 2023

The ionosphere acts as the largest error source in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal transmission. Ionospheric total electron content (TEC) is also easily affected by changes in the space environment, such as solar activity and geomagnetic storms. In this study, we analyze changes in the regional ionosphere using the Qusai-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), a regional satellite navigation system. Observations from 9 GNSS stations in South Korea are used for estimating the QZSS TEC. In addition, the performance of QZSS TEC is analyzed with observations from day of year (DOY) 199 to 206, 2023. To verify the performance of our results, we compare the estimated QZSS TEC and CODE Global Ionosphere Map (GIM) at the same location. Our results are in good agreement with the GIM product provided by the CODE over this period, with an averaged difference of approximately 0.1 TECU and a root mean square (RMS) value of 2.89 TECU.

• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.149-155
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• 2009

To quantitatively analyze the positioning error due to the ionosphere over the Korean peninsula, we created 2-dimensional ionosphere map using 44 permanent Global Positioning System(GPS) stations operated by Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs. We estimated Vertical Total Electron Content(VTEC) in a fine rectangular grids of $0.1^{\circ}{\times}0.1^{\circ}$ resolution. The observables we used were phase-leveled pseudoranges which are linear combinations of pseudoranges and carrier phases. VTECs were computed for five days during January 25-29, 2003 using the data from 45 permanent stations. In comparison with the Global Ionosphere Map of the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe, RMS differences were at the level of 8 TECU(TEC Unit).

• Journal of Satellite, Information and Communications
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.30-34
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• 2012

National Meteorological Satellite Center(NMSC) of Korea Meteorological Administration(KMA) has launched to implement the application development to get prepared for the space weather operation since 2010. As a action of KMA's space weather work, NMSC constructed Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS) application system for meteorology and space weather. We will introduce NMSC's space weather application system which derives regional TEC(Total Electron Content) in near real time using nation-wide GNSS network data. First, We constructed system for collecting GNSS data, which is currently collecting about 80 stations operated by agencies like NGII(National Geographic Information Institute), Central Office of DGPS(Differential GPS), and KASI(Korea Astronomy and Space Science) including KMA's own data of 2 stations. In order to retreive regional TEC over Korean peninsular, we build up the automatic processes running every 1-hour. In these processes, firstly, GNSS data of every stations with 24 hours time window are processed to derive DCBs(Differential Code Biases) of each GNSS station and TEC values on every ionosphere piercing point(IPP). Then we made gridded regional TEC map with resolution of 0.25 degree from 31N, 121E to 41N, 135E by combination of all station results within 30 minutes window with assumption that TEC of a given point during a given 30 minutes window would have a constant value. The grid points without TEC value are interpolated using Barnes objective analysis. We presentour regional TEC maps, which can describe better on the status of ionosphere over Korean peninsular compared to IGS TEC maps.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.537-539
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• 2003

We present a GPS-derived regional ionosphere model, which estimates Total Electron Content (TEC) in rectangular grids on the spherical shell over Korea. The GPS data from nine GPS stations were used. The pseudorange data were phase-leveled by a linear combination of pseudoranges and carrier phases. During a quiet day of solar activity, the regional ionosphere map indicated 30-45 Total Electron Content Unit (TECU) at the peak of the diurnal variation. In comparison with the Global Ionosphere Map of the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe, RMS differences were at the level of 4-5 TECU for five days.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.293-301
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• 2011

The ionospheric delay is the largest error source in GPS positioning after the SA effect has been turned off in May, 2000. In this study, we used 44 permanent GPS stations being operated by National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) to estimate Total Electron Content (TEC) based on pseudorange measurements phase-leveled by a linear combination with carrier phases. The Differential Code Bias (DCB) of GPS satellites and receivers was estimated and applied for an accurate estimation of the TEC. To validate our estimates of DCB, changes of TEC values after DCB application were investigated. As a result, the RMS error went down by about an order of magnitude; from 35~45 to 3~4 TECU. After the DCB correction, ionospheric TEC maps were produced at a spatial resolution of $1^{\circ}{\times}1^{\circ}$. To analyze the effect of the number of sites used for map generation on the accuracy of TEC values, we tried 10, 20, 30, and 44 stations and the RMS error was computed with the Global Ionosphere Map as the truth. While the RMS error was 5.3 TECU when 10 sites are used, the error reduced to 3.9 TECU for the case of 44 stations.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2010.04a
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• pp.30.3-31
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• 2010

We performed a comprehensive comparison between GPS Global Ionosphere Map (GIM) and TOPEX/Jason (T-J) TEC data for the periods of 1998~2009 in order to assess the performance of GIM over the global ocean where the GPS ground stations are very sparse. Using the GIM model constructed by CODE at University of Bern, the GIM TEC values were obtained along the T-J satellite orbit at the locations and times of the measurements and then binned into various geophysical conditions for direct comparison with the T-J TECs. On the whole, the GIM model was able to reproduce the spatial and temporal variations of the global ionosphere as well as the seasonal variations. However, the GIM model was not accurate enough to represent the well-known ionospheric structures such as the equatorial anomaly, the Weddell Sea Anomaly, and the longitudinal wave structure. Furthermore, there seems to be a fundamental limitation of the model showing the unexpected negative differences (i.e., GPS < T-J) in the northern high latitude and the southern middle and high latitude regions. The positive relative differences (i.e., GIM > T-J) at night represent the plasmaspheric contribution to GPS TEC, which is maximized, reaching up to 100% of the corresponding T-J TEC values in the early morning sector. In particular, the relative differences decreased with increasing solar activity and this may indicate that the plasmaspheric contribution to the maintenance of the nighttime ionosphere does not increase with solar activity, which is different from what we normally anticipate. Among these results, the plasmaspheric contribution to the ionospheric GPS TEC will be presented in this talk and the rest of it will presented in the companion paper (poster presentation).

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2010.04a
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• pp.30.2-30.2
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• 2010

It is a mistaken impression that the midlatitude ionosphere was a very stable region with well-known morphology and physical mechanism. However, the large disturbances of midlatitude ionospheric contents in response to global thermospheric changes during geomagnetic storms are reported in recent studies using global GPS TEC map and space-born thermospheric UV images, and its importance get higher with the increasing application areas of space navigation systems and radio communication which are mostly used in the midlatitudes. Positive and negative storm phases are used to describe increase and decrease of ionospheric electron density. Negative storms result generally from the enhanced loss rate of electron density according to the neutral composition changes which are initiated by Joule heating in high-latitudes during geomagnetic storms. In contrast, positive ionospheric storms have not been well understood because of rare measurements to explain the mechanisms. The large enhancements of ground-based GPS TEC in Korea were observed on 8 and 10 November 2004. The positive ionospheric storm was continued except for dawn on 8 November, and its maximum value is ~65 TECU of ~3 times compared with the monthly mean TEC values. The other positive phase on 10 November begin to occur in day sector and lasted for more than 6 hours. The O/N2 ratios from GUVI/TIMED satellite show ~1.2 in northern hemisphere and ~0.3 in southern hemisphere of the northeast Asian sector on 8 and 10 November. We suggest the asymmetric features of O/N2 ratios in the Northeast Asian sector may play an important role in the measured GPS TEC enhancements in Korea because global thermospheric wind circulation can globally change the chemical composition during geomagnetic storms.