Total electron content and L-band amplitude and phase scintillation measurements in the polar cap ionosphere

The first measurements of absolute Total Electron Content (TEC) and L-band amplitude and phase scintillation were made from Thule, Greenland, a polar cap station, in early 1984. These measurements were made using signals transmitted from the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. The variability of the TEC, especially during the afternoon to pre-midnight hours, is large, with increases in TEC above the background values of greater than 100 percent not uncommon. During one disturbed time quasi-periodic TEC enhancements having periods as short as ten minutes and amplitudes equal to the background TEC were observed for over two hours. The TEC during some of the disturbed periods in the dark Thule ionosphere exceeded mid-latitude daytime values. Amplitude scintillations were small, not exceeding 3 dB peak to peak during the entire observing period, but they were associated with the times of TEC enhancements, with some evidence for stronger scintillation occurring during the negative gradients of the TEC enhancements. Phase scintillations were highest during some of the times of enhanced TEC, and depend critically upon the phase detrend interval used.