Ionospheric responses to a total solar eclipse deduced by the GPS beacon observations

The total electron content (TEC) data during the total eclipse of March 9, 1997 were collected, which were observed by means of nine GPS receivers located at the eastern Asia. The responses of total TEC to the eclipse were analyzed. The results show that: 1) the eclipse led to apparent decrement in TEC that lasted for six to eight hours; 2) the maximum decrement occurred after the middle of the eclipse with time-delays varying from twenty minutes to about three hours; 3) the maximum absolute deviations of TEC on the eclipse day do not show a simple and consistent relationship to the maximum solar obscuration. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(49684002) Biography: CHEN An-hua (1976-), female, Master candidate. Research interests: studying ionosphere by GPS beacons.