<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:1010136592;
mso-list-template-ids:629053670;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\25CF ;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-text-animation:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\25CB ;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-text-animation:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\25A0 ;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:1.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-text-animation:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\25CF ;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:1.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-text-animation:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\25CB ;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:2.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-text-animation:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\25A0 ;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:2.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-text-animation:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\25CF ;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:3.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-text-animation:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\25CB ;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:3.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-text-animation:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\25A0 ;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:4.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-text-animation:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
--></style>
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Dear Colleagues,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Following months of meticulous development and rigorous testing, we are pleased to announce the following upgrades of the official JPL ionospheric maps.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The products that are concerned are <b>JPL0OPSFIN</b> and
<b>JPL0OPSRAP</b>. The changes are scheduled to take effect <b>starting on the 4<sup>th</sup> of March 2024 (DOY 064)</b>. It is imperative to note that the change is
<b>not retroactive</b> - previously generated maps will remain unaffected.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Key improvements include:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Enhanced Codebase:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> We have streamlined our codebase to fortify its resilience and expedite support. This involves a transition to exclusively
Python (3.9x) and the migration to a version-controlled repository for improved management. Our backend map generation module was also made to seamlessly align with the underlying software - JPL-GIM (Martire
<i>et al.</i>, under review).<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Refined RMS Maps:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> With this upgrade, RMS maps accompanying each IONEX file will now be based on uncertainties computed internally by
the JPL-GIM software. This represents a departure from the previous approach, which utilised a singular value per solar-geomagnetic sector.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Expanded GNSS Station Coverage:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> We have augmented the number of GNSS stations factored into each map computation, and made future augmentations
easier. At the time of upgrade, the average count will increase from 200 stations to 250+, thereby enhancing the accuracy and reliability of our outputs.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Time Alignment to UTC:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> To mitigate potential delays stemming from daylight savings time adjustments, our map generation process will
now align with UTC instead of Pacific time, ensuring seamless and timely integration in other processes.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">These upgrades do not incur changes to the format of our products, and should therefore seamlessly integrate into your existing workflows.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Please do not hesitate to reach out to us, should you require any further clarification or assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Best regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Léo Martire and Panagiotis Vergados<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Léo Martire, Ph.D.</span></b><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> [<a href="https://www.thehrcfoundation.org/professional-resources/talking-about-pronouns-in-the-workplace" title="https://www.thehrcfoundation.org/professional-resources/talking-about-pronouns-in-the-workplace"><span style="color:#0563C1">they/them</span></a>]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> Research Technologist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> Central Bureau Deputy Director + Governing Board Executive Secretary, International GNSS Service<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> <a href="mailto:leo.martire@jpl.nasa.gov" title="mailto:leo.martire@jpl.nasa.gov"><span style="color:#0563C1">leo.martire@jpl.nasa.gov</span></a>, <a href="mailto:leo.martire@igs.org" title="mailto:leo.martire@igs.org"><span style="color:#0563C1">leo.martire@igs.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/LeoMartireGoogleScholar" title="http://www.tinyurl.com/LeoMartireGoogleScholar"><span style="color:#0563C1">Google Scholar</span></a>, <a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9402-6150" title="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9402-6150"><span style="color:#0563C1">ORCID</span></a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmartire/?locale=en_US" title="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmartire/?locale=en_US"><span style="color:#0563C1">LinkedIn</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> <i>I work across a number of time zones, and I am sending this message now because it works for me. Feel free to read, act on, or respond at a time that works for you.</i></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>