Study on the ionospheric TEC variations during the total solar eclipse of July 22, 2009

Variations of the ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) during the total solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 was investigated using GPS observed data obtained at five GPS stations (one is in total solar eclipse region, the others are in partial solar eclipse region) in China region. Results indicate that during the total solar eclipse, TEC experiences a decline and recovery process; the delay of a minimum level of TEC with respect to the maximum phase of the eclipse is about 1～10min; the Ionosphere Pierce Point (IPP) of minimum TEC is closer to total solar eclipse region, the decrease of TEC is larger, and during the total solar eclipse, the mean decay TEC compared to the TEC on reference date above WUHN station (114.35°E, 30.53°N) is the maximum, reaching 4.58TECU.