The near real-time ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) map is produced at IPS by using the IRI-90 ionospheric model driven by real-time foF2 data observed at the ionosonde stations distributed in this region. The map shows the spatial variation of Vertical TEC (VTEC) across the Australasian region, with colour contours representing TEC in units of 1016 electrons/m2.
The data on this map can be used to provide an estimate of the corrections necessary for satellite navigation measurements to account for the extra delay in the transmission of the radio signals between the satellite and a receiver on earth due to the presence of the ionosphere.