Characterization of the Ionosphere over the South Atlantic Ocean by Means of Ionospheric Tomography using Dual Frequency GPS Signals Received On Board a Research Ship

• Main Authors: Cilliers, Pierre J., Mitchell, Cathryn N., Opperman, Ben D.
• Other Authors: HERMANUS MAGNETIC OBSERVATORY (SOUTH AFRICA)
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Atmospheric Physics; Test Facilities; Equipment and Methods; *IONOSPHERE; *SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE; *COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY; GEOMAGNETISM; MAGNETOSPHERE; RESEARCH SHIPS; SOUTH AFRICA; IONOSPHERIC MODELS; SYMPOSIA; NATO FURNISHED; FOREIGN REPORTS; SAA(SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY); SPACE WEATHER; Antarctic; Fairbanks; Gough; SANAE; SANAE IV; Base SANAE IV; Antarc*; South Atlantic Ocean; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA477027; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA477027

This paper reports a novel approach to extend the coverage of terrestrial ionospheric measurements over a poorly characterized region of the South Atlantic Ocean, including the South Atlantic Anomaly, by using dual frequency GPS signals received on board the South African polar research ship SA Agulhas. The routes of the SA Agulhas to the South Atlantic Islands, Gough (40 deg 17 sec S, 9 deg 58 sec W, Mag lat 42 deg S) and Marion (46 deg 52 sec S, 37 deg 5 sec E, Mag lat 51 deg S) and the South African Antarctic base SANAE IV (71 deg 40 sec S, 2 deg 51 sec W, Mag lat 61 deg S) present unique locations for investigating the variability of the upper atmosphere in the high latitudes in the vicinity of the South Atlantic Anomaly and its link with the near-Earth space environment. Prepared in cooperation with the Dept of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom and the Dept of Physics and Electronics, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. Presented at the Specialists' Meeting organised by the Information Systems Technology (IST) Panel, in conjunction with U.R.S.I., at the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, United States, 12-16 June 2006. Published in Characterising the Ionosphere, Meeting Proceedings RTO-MP-IST-056, Paper 28; ISBN 92-837-0078-3 and ISBN 978-92-837-0078-4. See also ADM002065. The original document contains color images.