Measuring GNSS ionospheric total electron content at Concordia, and application to L-band radiometers

Vincenzo Romano Vincenzo Romano,Giuditta Marinaro Giuditta Marinaro,Giovanni Macelloni Giovanni Macelloni,Marco Brogioni Marco Brogioni,Cathryn N Mitchell Cathryn N Mitchell,Luca Spogli Luca Spogli

doi:10.4401/ag-6241

Vincenzo Romano Vincenzo Romano, Giuditta Marinaro Giuditta Marinaro + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.4401/ag-6241

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Abstract

<p>In the framework of the project BIS - Bipolar Ionospheric Scintillation and Total Electron Content Monitoring, the ISACCO-DMC0 and ISACCO-DMC1 permanent monitoring stations were installed in 2008. The principal scope of the stations is to measure the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and to monitor the ionospheric scintillations, using high-sampling-frequency global positioning system (GPS) ionospheric scintillation and TEC monitor (GISTM) receivers. The disturbances that the ionosphere can induce on the electromagnetic signals emitted by the Global Navigation Satellite System constellations are due to the presence of electron density anomalies in the ionosphere, which are particularly frequent at high latitudes, where the upper atmosphere is highly sensitive to perturbations coming from outer space. With the development of present and future low-frequency space-borne microwave missions (e.g., Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity [SMOS], Aquarius, and Soil Moisture Active Passive missions), there is an increasing need to estimate the effects of the ionosphere on the propagation of electromagnetic waves that affects satellite measurements. As an example, how the TEC data collected at Concordia station are useful for the calibration of the European Space Agency SMOS data within the framework of an experiment promoted by the European Space Agency (known as DOMEX) will be discussed. The present report shows the ability of the GISTM station to monitor ionospheric scintillation and TEC, which indicates that only the use of continuous GPS measurements can provide accurate information on TEC variability, which is necessary for continuous calibration of satellite data.</p>

Highlights

The disturbances that the ionosphere can induce on the electromagnetic signals emitted by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations are due to the presence of electron density anomalies in the ionosphere, which are frequent at high latitudes where the upper atmosphere is highly sensitive to perturbations coming from outer space
Both the L1C/N mean and standard deviations (SD) maps show that the signal quality is good in each year, with it ranging from 36 dB to 56 dB, with mean values and SD generally below 2 dB, except for a very few bins in the 2010 maps (Figure 5f )
Permanent stations have been active since 2008, to monitor the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and the ionospheric scintillations. Both of these stations have data coverage with very few data gaps; in particular, for the the ISACCO DMC0 station, the percentage of total days of data available in each year is above 97.5%

Summary

Introduction

The disturbances that the ionosphere can induce on the electromagnetic signals emitted by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations are due to the presence of electron density anomalies in the ionosphere, which are frequent at high latitudes where the upper atmosphere is highly sensitive to perturbations coming from outer space. The ionosphere can show 'patches' of high electron concentrations that can strongly jeopardize the satellite signals received at the ground [see, e.g., Yeh and Liu 1982, Wernik et al 2003] This is the main reason why scintillation monitoring has a central role in the development of forecasting tools within the space weather activities that are addressed to navigational and positioning systems [see, e.g., Fisher and Kunches 2011, Committee on the Societal and Economic Impacts of Severe Space Weather Events 2008]. The ISACCO-DMC0 and DMC1 stations enlarged the GNSS Research and Application for Polar Environment (GRAPE; http://grape.scar.org/) scintillation and TEC receiver network, to cover the lack of experimental observations at the time Such a network allows unprecedented observation of the polar ionosphere, with extended auroral and polar coverage, making it possible to map features from mid-latitudes through to polar latitudes, and to study the associated ionospheric processes

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