GNSS Observations of Ionospheric Disturbances Due to Rocket Launches

This rising project focuses on the impact rocket launches have on the GNSS satellite constellation in the form of ionospheric scintillation. Disturbance in the ionosphere comes from changing electron densities and a culmination of waves. A large-scale rocket launch is a unique phenomenon that can induce such an event due to its magnitude of power. Structures that form in the ionosphere can manipulate the ability of a GPS receiver to maintain signal contact, risking position data and threatening the economies that depend on it. In order to further understand this issue, Embry-Riddle’s Space Physics Research Lab (SPRL) team has organized a study that focuses on rocket launches that occur in Cape Canaveral, FL. GPS receivers located in the lab collect low and high rate data. This information is then put through a series of MATLAB and python codes developed by SPRL students that parses and creates graphs that take into consideration variables such as TEC (total electron content), phase, and power of signals during launch events. The team has been able to parse and locate scintillation readings. Developments in the near future include looking for patterns in scintillation occurrences, influential environmental factors, and probability assessments

Investigation into GNSS Ionospheric Scintillation from Thunderstorms in Daytona Beach, FL

The Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) has a wide variety of applications in today’s world, spanning multiple diverse industries. GNSS aids in providing data related to tracking and navigation. This network of vital information requires support, maintenance, and security. Several factors, such as space weather, are thought to have an impact on signals received from GNSS. This project is an ERAU Space Physics Research Lab (SPRL) initiative to better understand the effect that thunderstorms can have on these communications. The project will concentrate on mid-latitude regions within the ionosphere and analyze variables such as total electron content (TEC) in locating fluctuations of radio signals concurrent with thunderstorm periods in Daytona Beach. These fluctuations are also commonly known as ionospheric scintillation. The project builds upon the work of SPRL students from 2018 that utilized ERAU receivers to begin finding unique events of this phenomenon through various algorithms. The 2021 project will look to expand the task by finding and understanding more noteworthy events using recent developments such as the Embry-Riddle Ionospheric Scintillation Algorithm (EISA), with the added challenge of pinpointing lightning data in conjunction with scintillation appearances

An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Lightning and GNSS Signal Disturbances in Daytona Beach, FL

Ionospheric scintillations can affect the Global Navigation Satellite System’s (GNSS) signals by disrupting the radio waves as they travel through the upper atmosphere. Space weather events are known to cause variations in the total electron content (TEC) of the ionosphere in high and low latitude regions, leading to these scintillations. However, the extent to which these scintillations occur in the mid-latitude region and their causes is under-examined. The goal of our research is to better analyze disruptions to ground-based receivers and GNSS signals by determining whether lightning strikes cause ionospheric scintillations and other interferences with GNSS satellites. As the lightning capital of the world, Florida is an ideal place to record a large data set of thunderstorms. Using high rate (50Hz) multi constellation GNSS receivers at Daytona Beach, FL on the Embry-Riddle University campus, we parse and filter the scintillation data to obtain signal phase and amplitude fluctuations that are coincident with thunderstorms. For finding spatial correlation we compare ionospheric pierce points (IPP) of the satellites on which we observed fluctuations with a data set of lightning strikes and their coordinates, type, and peak current. After analysis of approx. 185+ hours of thunderstorm data, we have observed power drops which are most likely interference at the receiver end associated with lightning. We observed drops in the power of GNSS data on almost all visible satellite signals during the thunderstorms and we are further investigating anomalous peaks/ drops in power which are not visible on all available satellites--possibly related to more localized events. If a direct relationship is found between thunderstorms and scintillation, it would provide a better understanding of tropospheric effects on the ionosphere, besides assisting in improving the reliability of GPS receivers