Abstract
Abstract Measurements from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) have become a leading data source for ionospheric studies. Different technologies are used to monitor the ionospheric layer. It is possible to carry out this monitoring using GNSS networks through the indices of ionospheric irregularities, as well as through ionosondes and imagers. It has therefore become essential to correlate these forms of monitoring, presenting their advantages and disadvantages. With this in mind, the aim of this work was to perform an analysis of the behavior of the ionosphere in the Brazilian region through the ionospheric irregularity indices, along with ionosonde information and all-sky optical imagers, for a day of high solar activity (1 March 2014) and a day of low activity (12 April 2015). The results of each monitoring technique were compatible for the different scenarios, showing a moderate and positive correlation between the irregularity indices (FP) and ionosonde parameter. The imagers perform measures of greater spatial extent, however, they need favorable meteorological conditions. The ionosondes present a greater diagnostic capacity of the ionosphere but they are fewer in number than the imagers. The GNSS networks become ionosphere monitoring stations through the irregularity indices, enabling an increase in spatial resolution and a better understanding of ionospheric phenomena in the Brazilian territory.
Highlights
The atmosphere has great influence on the propagation of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, impelling numerous activities related to positioning from space observations and research related to the behavior of the ionosphere
Various information sources are used in the development of ionospheric models, offering different applications, such as GNSS positioning (Macalalad et a., 2016), the study of ionospheric morphology and dynamics (Lin et al, 2005; Biqiang et al, 2007), and ionospheric monitoring (Linty et al, 2015; McCafferey et al, 2018)
It can be said that the IROT and ROTI indices detail ionospheric irregularities better than the FP index, because both are obtained from smaller data periods than the FP index
Summary
The atmosphere has great influence on the propagation of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, impelling numerous activities related to positioning from space observations and research related to the behavior of the ionosphere. GNSS measurements have become an important source of data for these studies. Various information sources are used in the development of ionospheric models, offering different applications, such as GNSS positioning (Macalalad et a., 2016), the study of ionospheric morphology and dynamics (Lin et al, 2005; Biqiang et al, 2007), and ionospheric monitoring (Linty et al, 2015; McCafferey et al, 2018). Total electron content (TEC) is one of the most important parameters used to describe the proprieties of the ionosphere. Ionospheric models use the dispersive propriety of the ionosphere on GNSS with the aim of describing TEC in space and time. Variations in electron density cause ionospheric scintillations which lead to fluctuations in carrier-wave amplitude and phase. A weakening of received power may cause loss of lock (Leick, 1995; Conker et al, 2003)
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