MONITOR Ionospheric Monitoring System: GNSS performance estimation

MONITOR is a project from the European Space Agency’s GNSS Evolutions Programme started in 2010, dedicated to the collection of data and products during active periods of solar activity for later understanding of the impact of ionospheric effects on EGNOS and Galileo system performance. In the frame of this project several tasks have been achieved, in particular the deployment of a network of scintillation receivers (Novatel + Septentrio + GISMO) mainly at low and high latitudes, the development of a real time Central Archiving and Processing Facility (CAPF) and the development of dedicated processors to generate user oriented outputs for TEC, scintillation, and space weather issues. This project, in its new phase started in 2014, is moving forward with an improved and updated scope, addressing in addition to general ionospheric monitoring, the generation of dedicated products and reports to EGNOS system evolution, international collaboration in related ionospheric topics including feasibility studies in Africa. The main new features are: an upgraded data archiving system providing improved accessibility, the integration of data from SAGAIE network from French Space Agency, CNES and the exploitation of its data for new products, new station deployment in regions of interest (mainly in West and Central Africa and in high latitudes in Europe), and the upgrade and development of new products allowing better analysis of geophysical conditions during periods of compromised system performance and service. As an example, the Along Arc TEC Rate (AATR index) is computed routinely, as it has proven to be a clear indicator of ionospheric activity that degrades SBAS system performance. In addition, Monitor already produces VTEC maps (obtained using various techniques and algorithms), several space weather indicators including solar flare detection, ROTI maps, indices related to the quality of measurements and scintillation analysis tools. This paper focuses on the relationship of an SBAS system (EGNOS, WAAS) to the ionosphere’s variability and will analyse in detail the ionospheric parameters leading to a decrease or compromise of system performance. Several case studies will highlight significant EGNOS events for this purpose. The paper will demonstrate how AATR is able to discriminate availability degradation due to ionospheric events from other effects. The ionosphere scintillation aspects and the last developments of the GISM model will also be addressed for this issue.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

MONITOR Ionospheric Monitoring System: GNSS performance estimation

MONITOR is a project from the European Space Agency’s GNSS Evolutions Programme started in 2010, dedicated to the collection of data and products during active periods of solar activity for later understanding of the impact of ionospheric effects on EGNOS and Galileo system performance. In the frame of this project several tasks have been achieved, in particular the deployment of a network of scintillation receivers (Novatel + Septentrio + GISMO) mainly at low and high latitudes, the development of a real time Central Archiving and Processing Facility (CAPF) and the development of dedicated processors to generate user oriented outputs for TEC, scintillation, and space weather issues. This project, in its new phase started in 2014, is moving forward with an improved and updated scope, addressing in addition to general ionospheric monitoring, the generation of dedicated products and reports to EGNOS system evolution, international collaboration in related ionospheric topics including feasibility studies in Africa. The main new features are: an upgraded data archiving system providing improved accessibility, the integration of data from SAGAIE network from French Space Agency, CNES and the exploitation of its data for new products, new station deployment in regions of interest (mainly in West and Central Africa and in high latitudes in Europe), and the upgrade and development of new products allowing better analysis of geophysical conditions during periods of compromised system performance and service. As an example, the Along Arc TEC Rate (AATR index) is computed routinely, as it has proven to be a clear indicator of ionospheric activity that degrades SBAS system performance. In addition, Monitor already produces VTEC maps (obtained using various techniques and algorithms), several space weather indicators including solar flare detection, ROTI maps, indices related to the quality of measurements and scintillation analysis tools. This paper focuses on the relationship of an SBAS system (EGNOS, WAAS) to the ionosphere’s variability and will analyse in detail the ionospheric parameters leading to a decrease or compromise of system performance. Several case studies will highlight significant EGNOS events for this purpose. The paper will demonstrate how AATR is able to discriminate availability degradation due to ionospheric events from other effects. The ionosphere scintillation aspects and the last developments of the GISM model will also be addressed for this issue.Peer Reviewe

Assessment of St. Patrick's Day 2015 Geomagnetic storm impact on EGNOS

The Monitor project has been designed to monitor ionospheric events that would allow evaluating its impact on European GNSS Systems. It includes a network of ionospheric scintillation monitoring stations in various locations covering different latitude regions and its routine data collection; and, the generation and collection of relevant products that allow understanding ionospheric perturbations from the ionosphere. This paper presents an overview of the project and how it is able to support SBAS systems, including also the analysis of perturbed days in EGNOS during recent St. Patrick’s Day 2015 Geomagnetic Storm. Additionally, the potential impact of this recent ionospheric event on GBAS systems will be analyzed as well. Indeed, Monitor is a project from the European Space Agency’s GNSS Evolutions Programme started in 2010, dedicated to the collection, processing and archiving of ionospheric data and products during active periods of solar activity, to the development of improved scintillation monitoring instrumentation and to the establishment of a scintillation monitoring network, in order to build the infrastructure allowing to analyse the impact of the ionosphere on European GNSS (EGNOS and Galileo) system performance. The second phase of the Monitor project started in 2014, with the objectives: to achieve a simple and robust data collection, processing and access, to implement a flexible data access policy, to enlarge the scintillation monitoring network with new stations, and integrating data from the CNES SAGAIE network, and improved monitoring instrumentation, to generate automatic comprehensive reporting; and with main focus to support EGNOS current system and future evolutions.Monitor has the ability to support the assessment of the relationship of an SBAS system (EGNOS, WAAS) to the ionosphere’s variability, analysing in detail the ionospheric a number of perturbations cases degraded SBAS system performance. (...)Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

MONITOR - Ionospheric Monitoring System: An Analysis of Perturbed Days Affecting SBAS Performance

The Monitor project has been designed to monitor ionospheric events that would allow evaluating its impact on European GNSS Systems. It includes a network of ionospheric scintillation monitoring stations in various locations covering different latitude regions and its routine data collection; and, the generation and collection of relevant products that allow understanding ionospheric perturbations from the ionosphere. This paper presents an overview of the project and how it is able to support SBAS systems, including also the analysis of perturbed days during Solar Cycle 24.Peer Reviewe

MONITOR - Ionospheric Monitoring System: An Analysis of Perturbed Days Affecting SBAS Performance

The Monitor project has been designed to monitor ionospheric events that would allow evaluating its impact on European GNSS Systems. It includes a network of ionospheric scintillation monitoring stations in various locations covering different latitude regions and its routine data collection; and, the generation and collection of relevant products that allow understanding ionospheric perturbations from the ionosphere. This paper presents an overview of the project and how it is able to support SBAS systems, including also the analysis of perturbed days during Solar Cycle 24.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Assessment of St. Patrick's Day 2015 Geomagnetic storm impact on EGNOS

The Monitor project has been designed to monitor ionospheric events that would allow evaluating its impact on European GNSS Systems. It includes a network of ionospheric scintillation monitoring stations in various locations covering different latitude regions and its routine data collection; and, the generation and collection of relevant products that allow understanding ionospheric perturbations from the ionosphere. This paper presents an overview of the project and how it is able to support SBAS systems, including also the analysis of perturbed days in EGNOS during recent St. Patrick’s Day 2015 Geomagnetic Storm. Additionally, the potential impact of this recent ionospheric event on GBAS systems will be analyzed as well. Indeed, Monitor is a project from the European Space Agency’s GNSS Evolutions Programme started in 2010, dedicated to the collection, processing and archiving of ionospheric data and products during active periods of solar activity, to the development of improved scintillation monitoring instrumentation and to the establishment of a scintillation monitoring network, in order to build the infrastructure allowing to analyse the impact of the ionosphere on European GNSS (EGNOS and Galileo) system performance. The second phase of the Monitor project started in 2014, with the objectives: to achieve a simple and robust data collection, processing and access, to implement a flexible data access policy, to enlarge the scintillation monitoring network with new stations, and integrating data from the CNES SAGAIE network, and improved monitoring instrumentation, to generate automatic comprehensive reporting; and with main focus to support EGNOS current system and future evolutions.Monitor has the ability to support the assessment of the relationship of an SBAS system (EGNOS, WAAS) to the ionosphere’s variability, analysing in detail the ionospheric a number of perturbations cases degraded SBAS system performance. (...)Peer Reviewe

MONITOR Ionospheric Network: two case studies on scintillation and electron content variability

The ESA MONITOR network is composed of high-frequency-sampling global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers deployed mainly at low and high latitudes to study ionosphere variability and jointly with global GNSS data and ionospheric processing software in support of the GNSS and its satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) like the European EGNOS. In a recent phase of the project, the network was merged with the CNES/ASECNA network and new receivers were added to complement the latter in the western African sector. This paper summarizes MONITOR, presenting two case studies on scintillations (using almost 2 years of data measurements). The first case occurred during the major St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm in 2015. The second case study was performed in the last phase of the project, which was supported by ESA EGNOS Project Office, when we paid special attention to extreme events that might degrade the system performance of the European EGNOS