Near Real-Time TEC Map for Europe
Latest Data
Latest Data
Product Description
Product Description
DLR's European total electron content (TEC) maps provide information about vertical TEC (VTEC) at a shell-height of 400 km for the European region between 30°N - 72°N and 30°W - 50°E. As input GPS dual-frequency data is acquired from different providers in real-time, e.g. via the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy in Frankfurt. These data is preprocessed in order to derive calibrated slant TEC (STEC) and to update the coefficients of the Neustrelitz Total Electron Content Model (NTCM) serving as ionospheric background. Subsequently the calibrated STEC measurements are assimilated into NTCM, cf. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2010RS004620/abstract. Every 15 minutes a VTEC matrix with an ionospheric grid point spacing of 2° latitude x 2° longitude is generated and stored in ASCII format. The usage of this product might help to improve the accuracy during GNSS positioning. Related validations can be found for instance in link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00190-014-0698-8. More product information is listed below.
Product Specification
| Specification | Description |
|---|---|
| External parties | German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, data providers below |
| Data providers | EUREF, ASI |
| Input data | GPS dual-frequency measurements |
| Input sampling rates | 1 s |
| Reliability of data source | Data is preprocessed by DLR including e.g. cycle slip detection |
| Region of sensors | Global - Used stations for TEC map generation are listed in the |
| Sensors | cf. station list |
| Single layer shell height | 400 km |
| Spatial resolution | 2° Latitude x 2° Longitude |
| Boundaries of grid | 30°N - 72°N, 30°W - 50°E |
| Temporal resolution | 15 min |
| Time information | UTC Time |
| Reference coordinate system | ECEF coordinate system with WGS84 reference ellipsoid |
| Algorithms | 24 hours weighted least-squares estimate of DCBs, background model coefficients; 5 min updates of DCBs and background model coefficients in linear recursive filter; previous estimates serve as background for the assimilation of estimated calibrated STEC into the update background model by means of a successive correction method, cf. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2010RS004620/abstract. |
| File format | ASCII |
ASCII file format |
Header line containing: unit of TEC values, UTC time, minimum latitude in degree, maximum latitude in degree, minimum longitude in degree, maximum longitude in degree, latitude step width in degree, longitude step width in degree, size of data matrix Data matrix with VTEC values in TECU (1e+16 electrons/m²):Upper left corner value represents the minimum longitude and maximum latitude; the lower right corner value represents the maximum longitude and minimum latitude value |
Quality Information
Quality Information
Error of the NRT TEC map for Europe, derived from errors of the GNSS measurements.
Archive
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