Observation of the ionospheric irregularities over the Northern Hemisphere: Methodology and service

Observation and analysis of the ionospheric irregularities at the high latitudes using GPS measurements represent very actual task for both scientific point of view and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) applications, as the occurrence of the ionospheric irregularities can impact a variety of communication and navigation systems. In this paper we describe methodology and service for continuous generation of high-resolution maps of the ionospheric irregularities. To observe the high-latitude ionospheric irregularities, data collected from three ground-based GPS networks of the Northern Hemisphere are processed and analyzed. Here we used parameters ROT (rate of total electron content (TEC) change) and ROTI (index of ROT) to study the occurrence of TEC fluctuations Pi et al. (). ROTI maps are constructed with the grid of 2 degrees x2 degrees resolution as a function of the magnetic local time and corrected magnetic latitude. The ROTI maps allow to estimate the overall fluctuation activity and auroral oval evolutions, in general, the ROTI values are corresponded to the probability of the GPS signals phase fluctuations. We demonstrate that the occurrence and magnitude of TEC fluctuations, measured using GNSS networks, increase dramatically during space weather events. The irregularities oval expands considerably equatorward with simultaneous increase of the fluctuation intensity.