The Space Weather Application Center -Ionosphere (SWACI)

Abstract

The Space Weather Application Center Ionosphere (SWACI) established at DLR Neustrelitz is a project which is essentially supported by the German State Government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. SWACI operates a powerful data processing system working both in real-time and post-processing modes in order to provide actual information to the registered customers (http://swaciweb.dlr.de). In this talk we will focus on describing transionospheric link related data products offered in near real time for operational use in various applications such as GNSS based navigation and positioning and radar techniques in remote sensing. Typical data products include European and global maps of the Total Electron Content (TEC) and corresponding derivatives such as latitudinal and longitudinal gradients and rate of change, updated every 5 minutes. Global TEC maps are generated by GPS data provided by the International GNSS Service (IGS) networks in the near-real-time streaming mode. The data products include a 1 hourly forecast of TEC. Near-real-time TEC maps help to correct range errors in navigation (e.g. for single frequency users) and remote sensing applications (e.g. polarization plane rotation). High precision and safety of life applications need actual information on the perturbation degree of the ionosphere. Recent activities focus on the development of a Disturbance Ionosphere Index (DIX) which characterizes in particular medium and large scale ionospheric disturbances.