Abstract:
Ionospheric electron density affects trans-ionospheric radio waves. Estimating elec
tnm density, therefore, is vital to mitigate the effect of ionosphere OIl radio waves. As
a
re~ult, different methods have been applied to estimate ionospheric electron den
sity from integrated measurements of ground-based GPS (Global Positioning System)
receivers recently installed in East-Africa. To
augment such efforts, ionospheric elec
tron density has been estimated from Radio Occultation (RO) total electron content
(TEC) data measured by LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites. Abel inversion onion
peeling
algorithm then is used to retrieve electron density profiles from the calibrated
TEC data. The reconstructed electron density profiles have been validated by run
ning
the standard ionospheric empirical model (International Reference Ionosphere,
IRI-2007)
at time and locations that RO electron density profiles are obtained. The
results show well agreement between the Abel inversion and IRI-2007 electron den
sity profiles, for
both bottom and topside ionosphere. Also, F2 peak density heights
from Abel inversion
and IRI-2007 have shown well agreement. However, significant
discrepancy
has been detected around the height of the F2 peak density.
