Monitoring of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) was made possible with the help of satellite data, albeit in one dimension. However, ionospheric TEC maps can be produced from a collection of one-dimensional satellite data over a geographic area. Multiple mapping methods have been recognized; however, this study tried to test one of those methods: kriging interpolation. An algorithm was developed and used to reconstruct GIMs. The optimum number of stations and the semivariogram model were evaluated using GIM maps modeling 12 days of March 2015, accounting for different ionospheric conditions. This includes days of high scintillation and an ionospheric storm due to the St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm of 2015. It was found that 12 stations and the linear semivariogram model had the least mean error in 5 days and had the least standard deviation in 7 days, making it the optimum parameter set. This optimum set was then used to map and analyze the ionosphere using actual satellite data from the Philippine Active Geodetic Network (PAGeNet). From this, it was observed that there is a north–south gradient in VTEC in the region during the day. The VTEC in the north reaches more than 100 TECU, and, in the south, generally around 60–90 TECU depending on the ionospheric condition. VTEC was at a minimum during the night when the VTEC level decreases to around 10 TECU.
Total electron content (TEC) is an important parameter in studying the characteristics of the ionosphere of the Earth. By measuring the phase and group delays of the signals produced by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites, the slant TEC along the ray path can be measured. Assuming that the ionosphere is a thin shell, the point of intersection between the shell and the ray path is the ionospheric pierce point (IPP). The slant TEC at this point can be converted to the vertical TEC (VTEC). To produce continuous 2-dimensional TEC maps, a mapping method must be used based on the data that has been measured. While there are numerous methods to map TEC that are in used today, this study investigates the performance of Kriging interpolation over the Philippine region using the data from the Philippine Active Geodetic Network (PAGENet). To test the performance, the maps produced were compared to the Global Ionosphere Maps (GIMs) which are provided by the International GPS Service (IGS). The initial results show that the PAGENet maps have lower TEC values compared to GIMS with a mean difference of ~6 TECU with 12 UT having the highest difference.
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