UPC contributions to GNSS monitoring of ionosphere in the frame of the IGS Iono-WG

Abstract

UPC has been acting as Ionosphere Associate Analysis Center (IAAC) from the beginning of the IGS Iono-WG activities on 1st June, 1998, providing multiple products on GNSS monitoring of ionosphere and also assuming its chairmanship for 5 years (2002 to 2007), as the result of the common work of the co-authors of this presentation. The recently formed UPC-IonSAT research group has not only continued providing rapid, final and 2-days ahead predicted Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs) at 2-hour time resolution in IONEX format labelled UPCG, UPRG and U2PG respectively) but also real time GIMs (labelled URTG) and 15-minute and 1-hour time resolution GIMs considering rapid latencies (labelled UQRG and UHRG, respectively). Such products have been generated using the TOMION SW for ionospheric modelling and precise positioning. TOMION has evolved from 1998 until nowadays in order to provide the above-mentioned recent products but also to improve the performance of the previously existing ones. This also has led to a reprocessing campaign. It is also worth mentioning that an improved Kriging interpolation technique, combined with the global tomographic modelling ([Orús et al., 2005 and Hernández-Pajares et al.1999]) has recently enabled a boost in the performance for all existing products.