Evaluation of Seasonal Variability of First-Order Ionospheric Delay Correction at L5 and S1 Frequencies Using Dual-Frequency NavIC System

Abstract

For the precise positioning applications it is important to determine and eliminate the positioning error introduced by various sources such as the ionosphere. To develop a standalone precise navigation system, India has launched the seven satellite constellations for NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) system which can provide precision positioning over India and surrounded landmass. Since the ionospheric delay depends on the frequency of the satellite signal and NavIC systems work at different frequencies L5 and S1 than Global Positioning System (GPS) at L1 and L2, it is not possible to use the GPS data-driven study for NavIC based location calculations directly. Thus there is a need for a specialized ionospheric study for NavIC systems. In addition, the ionospheric delay is directly proportional to Slant Total Electron Content (STEC) which is dependent upon diurnal and seasonal solar activity. To achieve accurate positioning facilities, there is also a need for evaluation for seasonal variability of ionospheric delay correction for NavIC receivers. This paper deals with the STEC estimation; it's smoothing, and removal of instrumental biases from STEC. The determined true STEC has been used to determine first-order ionospheric delay correction at L5 and S1 frequencies. The delay correction at S1 has been found less (2–7 m) as compared to L5 (10–30 m). Furthermore, the seasonal variability of ionospheric delay has been analyzed using about 19 months of data (from June 2017 to December 2018) and found that the ionospheric delay follows unique seasonal characteristics which can be utilized for delay modeling. It has been also observed that the geostationary satellites of the NavIC system are more appropriate than geosynchronous satellites for ionospheric related studies.