GPS Availability and Positioning Issues When the Signal Paths are Aligned with Ionospheric Plasma Bubbles

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T17:24:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-10-01Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)The propagation paths of signals through equatorial ionospheric irregularities are analyzed by evaluating their effects on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning and availability. Based on observations during 32 days by a scintillation monitor at São José dos Campos, Brazil, it was noted that there is a dominance of enhanced scintillation events for Global Positioning System (GPS) ray paths aligned with the azimuth angle of 345° (geographic northwest). This azimuth corresponds to the magnetic meridian that has a large westward declination angle in the region (21.4ºW). Such results suggest that the enhanced scintillation events were associated with GPS signals that propagated through plasma bubbles aligned along the direction of the magnetic field. It will be shown that, under this alignment condition, the longer propagation path length through plasma bubbles can result in more severe scintillation cases and more losses of signal lock, as supported by proposed statistics of bit error probability and mean time between cycle slips. Additionally, large precise positioning errors are also related to these events, as demonstrated by precise point positioning experiments.Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço IAE/Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica ITAInstituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo Campus Presidente Epitácio (IFSP-PEP)Centro de Estudos em Telecomunicações Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (CETUC/PUC-Rio), Rua Marquês de São Vicente 225Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica ITA/Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais INPEInstituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais INPEInstituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica ITAUniversidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho UNESPUniversity of BathUniversidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho UNESPCNPq: 309013/2016-0CNPq: 310802/2015-6CNPq: 465648/2014-2CAPES: 88881.134266/2016-0

GPS Availability and Positioning Issues When the Signal Paths are Aligned with Ionospheric Plasma Bubbles

The propagation paths of signals through equatorial ionospheric irregularities are analyzed by evaluating their effects on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning and availability. Based on observations during 32 days by a scintillation monitor at São José dos Campos, Brazil, it was noted that there is a dominance of enhanced scintillation events for Global Positioning System (GPS) ray paths aligned with the azimuth angle of 345° (geographic northwest). This azimuth corresponds to the magnetic meridian that has a large westward declination angle in the region (21.4ºW). Such results suggest that the enhanced scintillation events were associated with GPS signals that propagated through plasma bubbles aligned along the direction of the magnetic field. It will be shown that, under this alignment condition, the longer propagation path length through plasma bubbles can result in more severe scintillation cases and more losses of signal lock, as supported by proposed statistics of bit error probability and mean time between cycle slips. Additionally, large precise positioning errors are also related to these events, as demonstrated by precise point positioning experiments