Ionospheric tomography using GNSS: multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique applied to the area of Brazil

Experimental analysis was performed using multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) to map the ionosphere over Brazil. Code and phase observations from the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) together with the international reference ionosphere (IRI) enabled the estimation of ionospheric profiles and total electron content (TEC) over the entire region. Twenty-four days of data collected from existing ground-based GNSS receivers during the recent solar maximum period were used to analyze the performance of the MART algorithm. The results were compared with four ionosondes. It was demonstrated that MART estimated the electron density peak with the same degree of accuracy as the IRI model in regions with appropriate geometrical coverage by GNSS receivers for tomographic reconstruction. In addition, the slant TEC, as estimated with MART, presented lower root-mean-square error than the TEC calculated by ionospheric maps available from the International GNSS Service (IGS). Furthermore, the daily variations of the ionosphere were better represented with the algebraic techniques, compared to the IRI model and IGS maps, enabling a correlation of the elevation of the ionosphere at higher altitudes with the equatorial ionization anomaly intensification. The tomographic representations also enabled the detection of high vertical gradients at the same instants in which ionospheric irregularities were evident.