Abstract
Based on the data from dual-frequency receivers of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), we analyze the changes in GNSS positioning accuracy during the August 25-26, 2018 strong geomagnetic storm on a global scale. The storm is one of the strongest geomagnetic events of the solar cycle 24. To analyze the positioning quality, we calculated coordinates using the precise point positioning (PPP) method in the kinematic mode. We recorder a significant degradation in the PPP positioning accuracy during the main phase of the storm. The maximum effect is observed in the middle and high latitudes of the US-Atlantic longitude sector. The average PPP error during the storm is shown to exceed ~0.5 m, that is up to 5 times higher than the values typical on quiet days. Areas with increased PPP errors is revealed to correspond to the regions with significant increase in the intensity of total electron content variations of 10–20 min period range. This increase is presumably due to the auroral oval expansion toward middle latitudes.
Highlights
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) have become tightly integrated into human daily lives and economic activity
While the navigation signal propagates through the ionosphere, ionospheric irregularities can lead to the signals scattering [1]
The effect is more pronounced when the irregularity scale is of the radiowave first Fresnel zone ~ √λZ
Summary
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) have become tightly integrated into human daily lives and economic activity. The effect is more pronounced when the irregularity scale is of the radiowave first Fresnel zone ~ √λZ (where λ is the signal wavelength, Z is the distance to the irregularity) It is about 100-300 m in GNSS case, i.e. socalled small-scale irregularities. Deep signal fades appearing due to small-scale irregularities result in navigation outages [3]. This can decrease the stability of the GNSS service and even arouse inability to provide coordinates to a user. Geomagnetic storms are known to be a source for small-scale ionospheric irregularities in wide latitudinal range. We analyse the dynamics in GNSS positioning error during the August 2526, 2020 strong geomagnetic storm on a global scale. Our task is to identify the changes in positioning accuracy in different latitudinal-longitudinal sectors depending on the storm evolution
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