Regularized estimation of TEC from GPS data for certain midlatitude stations and comparison with the IRI model

Regularized estimation of Total Electron Content (Reg-Est) is a novel technique which can combine signals from all the satellites for a given instant and given station and estimate the vertical TEC (VTEC) values for any desired period without missing any important features in the temporal or spatial domain. The preprocessed signals from all the satellites that are received for a certain time period are weighted according to their positions with respect to the local zenith. A two step regularization algorithm combines these signals and provides smooth VTEC estimates for the desired time period which can be as short as half an hour or as long as 24 h. The estimation algorithm is tried on VTEC values obtained from six midlatitude stations for the quiet and disturbed days of October, 2003. Within this period, the same estimation parameter set is used for all stations and time periods. When the regularized estimation results are compared with those from IRI-2001, JPL, CODE, UPC and ESA, best accordance is observed with JPL, UPC and CODE estimates. IRI computations usually provide a better fit for the night values. It is observed that the results from the regularized estimation algorithm are highly accurate in detecting disturbances and irregularities for various time scales and stations.