Total electron content

Total electron content (TEC) is an important descriptive quantity for the <a href="/facts/Ionosphere/mT9tTBE5">ionosphere</a> of the Earth. TEC is the total number of <a href="/facts/Electron/L0KBo5cW">electrons</a> integrated between two points, along a tube of one <a href="/facts/Meter_squared/u5nT9y0W">meter squared</a> <a href="/facts/Cross_section_(geometry)/g5R1c6v2">cross section</a>, i.e., the electron <a href="/facts/Columnar_number_density/kFSauAs4">columnar number density</a>. It is often reported in multiples of the so-called TEC unit, defined as TECU=1016el/m2≈1.66×10−8 <a href="/facts/Mole_(unit)/kCMFwCc0">mol</a>⋅m−2.
TEC is significant in determining the <a href="/facts/Interplanetary_Scintillation/8Wt1gx8u">scintillation</a> and <a href="/facts/Group_and_phase_delays/gKWFV26n">group and phase delays</a> of a <a href="/facts/Radio_wave/XmB6WPpF">radio wave</a> through a medium. Ionospheric TEC is characterized by observing carrier <a href="/facts/Phase_delay/gKWFV26n">phase delays</a> of received radio signals transmitted from satellites located above the ionosphere, often using <a href="/facts/Global_Positioning_System/DKVLnzF3">Global Positioning System</a> satellites. TEC is strongly affected by <a href="/facts/Solar_variation/QrP4Egea">solar activity</a>.

Total electron content open-in-new

Total electron content