Product Description

DLR's global total electron content (TEC) maps provide information about vertical TEC (VTEC) at a shell-height of 400 km. The provided product is a new version of the SWACI near real-time TEC Map. The new beta version product uses a new processing chain. The product is provided for test purposes without validation.

Input GPS data is acquired from different providers in real-time via the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy in Frankfurt. This 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. (Jakowski et al., 2011). Every 15 minutes a VTEC matrix with an ionospheric grid point spacing of 2.5° latitude x 5° longitude is generated and stored in JSON format. The usage of this product intends to help to improve the accuracy during GNSS positioning. The quality of the TEC map depends on the errors of the GNSS measurements. These errors are monitored through the production pipeline and displayed in a TEC error map. This TEC error map is provided as quality information along with the product.

The TEC is provided in TEC units (10^16 electrons per square meter).

Jakowski, N., C. Mayer, M. M. Hoque, and V. Wilken (2011), Total electron content models and their use in ionosphere monitoring, Radio Sci., 46, RS0D18, doi:10.1029/2010RS004620.