Temporal and spatial distributions of TEC depletions with scintillations and ROTI over south China

This study investigated the temporal and spatial distributions of TEC depletions with scintillations and ROTI over south China. Data were collected from two GPS receiver stations in south China from 2011 to 2012. Our results revealed that maxima of distribution of TEC depletions were observed in vernal and autumnal equinox months. During pre-midnight hours and in the region of northern crest of equatorial anomaly, deep TEC depletions (approximately 20 TECU) well coincided with the occurrences of intense scintillations (S4 > 0.5) and large ROTI (approximately 2). But around midnight hours or at the outer edge of northern anomaly crest, only shallow TEC depletions (<10 TECU) were recorded with small ROTI (<1) and no scintillation. Our results suggest that the temporal and spatial variability of TEC depletions during equinox months over south China could be considered as a representative of the evolution phase of the plasma bubbles during post-sunset hours.