Analysis of Bottomside Thickness Parameter-Based TEC at Equatorial and Low Latitude Stations for Global Navigation Satellite Systems

Abstract

This paper studies the total electron content (TEC) at equatorial and low latitude stations which is computed using an equation of bottomside thickness parameter with correction factor (B2botP-new) during the solar maximum of 24th solar cycle. The computed TEC is used to compute the ionospheric time delay subsequent-tially. The ionospheric stations in this work include Ramey, Ascension Island, and Jicamarca. The results show that the diurnal and seasonal variations of B2botP-new have the same trends as that of B0-obs as well as the B2botP-new values are close to the BO-obs values clearly for all three stations. The electron density diffuses from the equator toward the EIA region (15°N and 15°S) during the period of 14-23 LT. The proposed TEC (TEC-P) are computed using the B2botP-new, and then the ionospheric delay is also computed using the TEC-P. The computed TEC-P and Id-P are close to the TEC-obs and Id-obs, but they should be further studied for a solar cycle (11 years).