Ionospheric total electron content (TEC) above Ecuador

Abstract

The equatorial ionosphere over the Ecuadorian territory has not been previously studied, although there are some studies in other equatorial geographical positions, local research is required to characterize the ionospheric magnetoactive plasma in this region. In this study, for the first time in Ecuador, using pseudophase and pseudorange data from the satellite signals of the GPS system, detected at the Riobamba-Ecuador (RIOP) station, the Total Electronic Content (TEC) is estimated in the period between the years 1999 and 2019. The TEC values and their daily, weekly, monthly and annual variation are calculated and compared with the observed data of the IGS network (International GNSS Service). The fit of the observed series with the series of the dispersive model has a goodness of fit of 0.88, which is quite acceptable. The adjustment can be improved by incorporating data from new local stations, as well as instrumental errors and delays and in the received signals, all of which were not considered in the present work.