An Investigation of Ionospheric TEC Prediction Maps Over China Using Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory Method

Abstract The ionospheric total electron content (TEC) is an important ionospheric parameter, and it is widely utilized in research such as space weather prediction and precise positioning. However, it is still challenging to develop an ionospheric TEC prediction model with high accuracy. In this stu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shuangshuang Shi, Kefei Zhang, Suqin Wu, Jiaqi Shi, Andong Hu, Huajing Wu, Yu Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-06-01
Series:Space Weather
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003103
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841536462295662592
author Shuangshuang Shi
Kefei Zhang
Suqin Wu
Jiaqi Shi
Andong Hu
Huajing Wu
Yu Li
author_facet Shuangshuang Shi
Kefei Zhang
Suqin Wu
Jiaqi Shi
Andong Hu
Huajing Wu
Yu Li
author_sort Shuangshuang Shi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The ionospheric total electron content (TEC) is an important ionospheric parameter, and it is widely utilized in research such as space weather prediction and precise positioning. However, it is still challenging to develop an ionospheric TEC prediction model with high accuracy. In this study, a new ionospheric TEC model over China was developed using the bidirectional long short‐term memory (bi‐LSTM) method and observations from 257 ground‐based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) stations in the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China from January 2018 to December 2021. The root mean square errors of the bi‐LSTM‐based model’s 1 and 2 hr ahead predictions on the test data set (from June 2021 to December 2021) are 1.12 and 1.68 TECU, respectively, which are 75/50/32% and 72/48/22% smaller than those of the IRI‐2016, artificial neural network and LSTM‐based models, correspondingly. The bi‐LSTM‐based model shows the best performance, which is most likely due to the fact that the sequence information in both forward and backward directions is taken into consideration in the new model. In addition, the diurnal variation, seasonal variation of the ionospheric TEC, and variations under geomagnetic storm conditions are successfully captured by the bi‐LSTM‐based model. Moreover, the TEC maps resulting from the bi‐LSTM model agree well with those obtained from the final ionospheric product from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Hence, the new model can be a good choice for the investigation of the spatiotemporal variation trend in the ionosphere and GNSS navigation.
format Article
id doaj-art-176a06661ea74ff2b480d5bdfec77019
institution Kabale University
issn 1542-7390
language English
publishDate 2022-06-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Space Weather
spelling doaj-art-176a06661ea74ff2b480d5bdfec770192025-01-14T16:27:09ZengWileySpace Weather1542-73902022-06-01206n/an/a10.1029/2022SW003103An Investigation of Ionospheric TEC Prediction Maps Over China Using Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory MethodShuangshuang Shi0Kefei Zhang1Suqin Wu2Jiaqi Shi3Andong Hu4Huajing Wu5Yu Li6Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Engineering China University of Mining and Technology Xuzhou ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Engineering China University of Mining and Technology Xuzhou ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Engineering China University of Mining and Technology Xuzhou ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Engineering China University of Mining and Technology Xuzhou ChinaCIRES University of Colorado Boulder CO USAJiangsu Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Engineering China University of Mining and Technology Xuzhou ChinaChina Earthquake Networks Center China Earthquake Administration Beijing ChinaAbstract The ionospheric total electron content (TEC) is an important ionospheric parameter, and it is widely utilized in research such as space weather prediction and precise positioning. However, it is still challenging to develop an ionospheric TEC prediction model with high accuracy. In this study, a new ionospheric TEC model over China was developed using the bidirectional long short‐term memory (bi‐LSTM) method and observations from 257 ground‐based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) stations in the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China from January 2018 to December 2021. The root mean square errors of the bi‐LSTM‐based model’s 1 and 2 hr ahead predictions on the test data set (from June 2021 to December 2021) are 1.12 and 1.68 TECU, respectively, which are 75/50/32% and 72/48/22% smaller than those of the IRI‐2016, artificial neural network and LSTM‐based models, correspondingly. The bi‐LSTM‐based model shows the best performance, which is most likely due to the fact that the sequence information in both forward and backward directions is taken into consideration in the new model. In addition, the diurnal variation, seasonal variation of the ionospheric TEC, and variations under geomagnetic storm conditions are successfully captured by the bi‐LSTM‐based model. Moreover, the TEC maps resulting from the bi‐LSTM model agree well with those obtained from the final ionospheric product from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Hence, the new model can be a good choice for the investigation of the spatiotemporal variation trend in the ionosphere and GNSS navigation.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003103ionospheric TEC predictionbidirectional long short‐term memory methodregional model over Chinaground‐based GPS dataionospheric disturbance
spellingShingle Shuangshuang Shi
Kefei Zhang
Suqin Wu
Jiaqi Shi
Andong Hu
Huajing Wu
Yu Li
An Investigation of Ionospheric TEC Prediction Maps Over China Using Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory Method
Space Weather
ionospheric TEC prediction
bidirectional long short‐term memory method
regional model over China
ground‐based GPS data
ionospheric disturbance
title An Investigation of Ionospheric TEC Prediction Maps Over China Using Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory Method
title_full An Investigation of Ionospheric TEC Prediction Maps Over China Using Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory Method
title_fullStr An Investigation of Ionospheric TEC Prediction Maps Over China Using Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory Method
title_full_unstemmed An Investigation of Ionospheric TEC Prediction Maps Over China Using Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory Method
title_short An Investigation of Ionospheric TEC Prediction Maps Over China Using Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory Method
title_sort investigation of ionospheric tec prediction maps over china using bidirectional long short term memory method
topic ionospheric TEC prediction
bidirectional long short‐term memory method
regional model over China
ground‐based GPS data
ionospheric disturbance
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003103
work_keys_str_mv AT shuangshuangshi aninvestigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT kefeizhang aninvestigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT suqinwu aninvestigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT jiaqishi aninvestigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT andonghu aninvestigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT huajingwu aninvestigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT yuli aninvestigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT shuangshuangshi investigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT kefeizhang investigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT suqinwu investigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT jiaqishi investigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT andonghu investigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT huajingwu investigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod
AT yuli investigationofionospherictecpredictionmapsoverchinausingbidirectionallongshorttermmemorymethod