Determination of the Level of Diagnostic Slips of the Total Electron Content from GPS Observations in Different Latitudinal Regions

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the statistical analysis of the total electron content (TEC) variation rate distributions for different sets of approximately 400 IGS network stations located at high (∼200 stations), middle (> 100 stations), and equatorial latitudes (> 100 stations).. The analysis is carried out for 2010 and 2014 under different geo- and heliophysical conditions, as well as phases of the minimum and practical maximum of the 24th solar cycle. The aim of the analysis is the experimental determination of the threshold value of the magnitude of sudden TEC changes associated with the tails of the investigated distributions for a given physically adequate level of significance. It is found that the threshold value from which the measured values can be considered statistical noise depends on the latitude of the observation region. The maximum threshold occurs for the Arctic region and the minimum occurs for the equatorial group of stations.