Comparisons of Total Ion Density Derived from IVM and GNSS TEC on the
FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 Mission
Abstract
We report on a new method to calibrate the FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 (F7/C2)
ion velocity meter (IVM) in-situ ion density data using the Tri GNSS
(Global Navigation Satellite System) Radio-occultation System (TGRS)
differential total electron content (TEC) data. This calibration is made
using collocated measurements from the IVM and TGRS instruments on the
same satellite. We found that the IVM ion density is about 8-15% lower
than the TGRS derived density at the insertion orbit (~
710 km) and 5% higher at the mission operation orbit (~
540 km). Using a linear correction specific to orbit altitude and
satellite, an adjustment is implemented for the IVM density data. These
corrections remove the offsets between the IVM and TGRS density
measurements. We believe the corrected densities eliminate any
inter-spacecraft discrepancy in the IVM density data, making it suitable
for use in multi-satellite scientific investigations of longitudinal and
local time variations and space weather operational applications.