Comprehensive statistical analysis of scintillations on L-band signals from six GNSS constellations over low-latitude region
-
Kursheed Mohammed
,
Lakshmanna Kuruva
Abstract
Rapid variations in the amplitude and phase of signals travelling through the ionosphere of the Earth are known as ionospheric scintillations. This study presents the results of amplitude and phase scintillation characteristics at different L-band signal frequencies of six satellite constellations. The scintillation data was acquired using Septentrio’s PolaRx5S Ionospheric GNSS scintillation monitoring receiver located at a low latitude station. Samples of S4 and σ φ data above standard threshold values with a 30° elevation mask for 293 days of the year 2023 are considered for analysis. Three aspects of scintillations are studied: i) statistics of their occurrences at different frequencies for all constellations ii) the correlation between amplitude and phase scintillation parameters for different frequencies iii) the temporal and spatial distributions of amplitude and phase scintillation at selected intensity levels. The results shows that about 70 % of total scintillation activity occurred during 20:30 to 22:59 LT. Further it is found that the signals coming in northern direction followed by southern direction are most affected compared to other directions indicating more ionospheric irregularities in those directions. This information is useful for identifying the least scintillation affected signals for position fixing.
Funding source: Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, Govt. of India
Award Identifier / Grant number: CRG/2021/001660, dated:11 February, 2022
Acknowledgments
The work presented in this paper is carried out under the project entitled “A New Model for Short Term Forecasting of Scintillations using Machine Learning Approach and Generation of Regional Scintillation Maps” sponsored by Department of Science and Technology under SERB-CRG scheme, vide sanction letter no: CRG/2021/001660, dated: February 11, 2022. All views expressed are those of the authors and not of the funding Agency.
-
Research ethics: Not applicable.
-
Informed consent: Not applicable.
-
Author contributions: The work presented in this paper was carried out in collaboration between all authors. ADS contributed to the conceptualisation, methodology, and validation of results. MK conducted data analysis, investigation, and preparation of the manuscript, including figures. KL and DLS contributed to data acquisition and validation, checking of results, data interpolation, and review of the manuscript.
-
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
-
Conflict of interest: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
-
Research funding: In this paper, the work carried out under the sponsored project funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, Govt. of India. However, there is no funding for publication processing fee under this project. Partial financial support was received from Department of Science and Technology under SERB-CRG scheme, vide sanction letter no: CRG/2021/001660, dated: February 11, 2022.
-
Data availability: A PoLaRx5S scintillation monitoring receiver data were acquired from the R&E Hub of CBIT, Gandipet, Hyderabad, Telangana State-500075. Receiver data are available from the corresponding author based on reasonable requests.
References
1. Kintner, PM, Ledvina, BM, de Paula, ER. GPS and ionospheric scintillations. Space Weather 2007;5:S09003. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006SW000260.Search in Google Scholar
2. Gandreti, VR, Miriyala, S, Tanneeru, VR, Devanaboyina, VR, Deshpande, K. Preliminary results of scintillation monitoring at KLEF-Guntur low latitude station using GNSS software defined radio. J Appl Geodesy 2024;18:687–97. https://doi.org/10.1515/jag-2024-0004.Search in Google Scholar
3. Reddy Ammana, S, Achanta, SD. Estimation of overbound on ionospheric spatial decorrelation over low-latitude region for ground-based augmentation systems. IET Radar, Sonar Navig 2016;10:637–45. https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-rsn.2015.0469.Search in Google Scholar
4. Srinivas, VS, Sarma, AD, Achanta, HK. Modeling of ionospheric time delay using anisotropic IDW with jackknife technique. IEEE Trans Geosci Rem Sens 2016;54:513–19. https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2015.2461017.Search in Google Scholar
5. Venkata Ratnam, D, Sarma, AD. Modeling of low-latitude ionosphere using GPS data with SHF model. IEEE Trans Geosci Rem Sens 2012;50:972–80. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2011.2163639.Search in Google Scholar
6. Basu, S, Basu, S. Equatorial scintillations–a review. J Atmos Terr Phys 1981;43:473–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9169(81)90110-0.Search in Google Scholar
7. Sivakrishna, K, Ratnam, DV. Analysis of differential code biases for GPS receivers over the Indian region. J Appl Geodesy 2024;18:321–34. https://doi.org/10.1515/jag-2023-0047.Search in Google Scholar
8. Thampi, SV, Ravindran, S, Devasia, C, Sreelatha, P, Pant, TK, Sridharan, R, et al.. Coherent radio beacon experiment (CRABEX) for tomographic imaging of the equatorial ionosphere in the Indian longitudes–preliminary results. Adv Space Res 2007;40:436–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2007.01.054.Search in Google Scholar
9. Beach, TL. Global Positioning System studies of equatorial scintillations PhD thesis. Ithaca, New York: Cornell Univ.; 1998.Search in Google Scholar
10. Kuruva, L, Avula, MR, Achanta, DS. “Detection of GNSS ionospheric scintillations in multiple directions over a low latitude station”. J Appl Geodesy 2024;18:463–71. https://doi.org/10.1515/jag-2023-0076.Search in Google Scholar
11. Skone, S, Knudsen, K, de Jong, M. Limitations in GPS receiver tracking performance under ionospheric scintillation conditions. Phys Chem Earth 2001;26:613–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1464-1895(01)00110-7.Search in Google Scholar
12. Aarons, J. Global morphology of ionospheric scintillation. Proc IEEE 1982;70:360–78. https://doi.org/10.1109/PROC.1982.12314.Search in Google Scholar
13. Chen, D, Guo, W, Xie, Z, Xia, P, Luo, X, Ye, S, et al.. “Ionospheric irregularities responses to strong geomagnetic storms in Hong Kong region over the past two solar cycles (2001–2020)”. IEEE Trans Geosci Rem Sens 2023;61:1–9, Art no. 5604309, https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2023.3244233.Search in Google Scholar
14. Das Gupta, A, Maitra, A, Das, SK. Post-midnight equatorial scintillation activity in relation to geomagnetic disturbances. J Atmos Terr Phys 1985;47:911–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9169(85)90067-4.Search in Google Scholar
15. Ramsingh, B, Sreekumar, S, Banola, S, Emperumal, K, Tiwari, P, Kumar, BS. Low-latitude ionosphere response to super geomagnetic storm of 17/18 March 2015: results from a chain of ground-based observations over Indian sector. J Geophys Res Space Phys 2015;120:864–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015ja021509.Search in Google Scholar
16. Chakraborty, Chatterjee, S, Jana, D. A study on multifrequency scintillations near the EIA crest of the Indian zone. Adv Space Res 2017;60:1670–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2017.02.020.Search in Google Scholar
17. Liu, K, Li, G, Ning, B, Hu, L, Li, H. Statistical characteristics of low-latitude ionospheric scintillation over China. Adv Space Res 2015;55:1356–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2014.12.001.Search in Google Scholar
18. Swamy, KCT, Devanaboyina, VR, Nallagarla, R, Shaik, TA, Turpati, S. Correlation between rate of TEC index and positioning error during solar flares and geomagnetic storms using navigation with Indian constellation receiver measurements. J Appl Geodesy 2025;19:49–58. https://doi.org/10.1515/jag-2024-0022.Search in Google Scholar
19. Aarons, J. The longitudinal morphology of equatorial F-layer irregularities relevant to their occurrence. Space Sci Rev 1993;63:209–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00750769.Search in Google Scholar
20. Prasad, N, Sarma, AD. Preliminary analysis of grid ionospheric vertical error for GAGAN. GPS Solut 2007;11:281–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-007-0068-6.Search in Google Scholar
21. Basu, S, Valladares, CE, Yeh, H, MacKenzie, E. Ionospheric effects of major magnetic storms during the International Space Weather Period of September and October 1999: GPS observations, VHF/UHF scintillations, and in situ density structures at middle and equatorial latitudes. J Geophys Res 2001;106:30,389–30,413. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JA001116.Search in Google Scholar
22. Venkateswarlu, G, Sarma, AD. A new technique based on grey model for forecasting of ionospheric GPS signal delay using GAGAN data. Prog Electromagn Res M 2017;59:33–43. https://doi.org/10.2528/pierm17041403.Search in Google Scholar
23. Song, K, Hamza, AM, Jayachandran, PT, Meziane, K, Kashcheyev, A. Spectral characteristics of phase fluctuations at high latitude. J Geophys Res: Space Phys 2023;128. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JA031244.Search in Google Scholar
24. Carrano, CS, Valladares, CE, Groves, KM. Latitudinal and local time variation of ionospheric turbulence parameters during the conjugate point equatorial experiment in Brazil. Int J Geophys 2012;2012:103963–16. 16 pages, 2012 https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/103963.Search in Google Scholar
25. Salles, LA, Vani, BC, Moraes, A, Costa, E, de Paula, ER. Investigating ionospheric scintillation effects on multifrequency GPS signals. Surv Geophys 2021;42:999–1025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-021-09643-7.Search in Google Scholar
26. Goswami, S, Paul, KS, Paul, A. Assessment of GPS multifrequency signal characteristics during periods of ionospheric scintillations from an anomaly crest location. Radio Sci 2017;52:1214–22. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017RS006295.Search in Google Scholar
27. Vankadara, Seif, A, Panda, SK. Occurrence characteristics of ionospheric scintillations in the civilian GPS signals (L1, L2, and L5) through a dedicated scintillation monitoring receiver at a low-latitude location in India during the 25th solar cycle. J Appl Geodesy 2024;19:137–44. https://doi.org/10.1515/jag-2024-0041.Search in Google Scholar
28. Srinivasu, Dashora, N, Prasad, D, Niranjan, K, Gopi Krishna, S. On the occurrence and strength of multi-frequency multi-GNSS Ionospheric Scintillations in Indian sector during declining phase of solar cycle 24. Adv Space Res 2018;61:1761–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2017.08.036.Search in Google Scholar
29. He, Z, Zhao, H, Feng, W. The ionospheric scintillation effects on the BeiDou signal receiver. Sensors 2016;16:1883. https://doi.org/10.3390/s16111883.Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
30. Moraes, AO. The variability of low-latitude ionospheric amplitude and phase scintillation detected by a triple-frequency GPS receiver. Radio Sci 2017;52:439–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016RS006165.Search in Google Scholar
31. Van Dierendonck, AJ, Klobuchar, J, Hua, Q. Ionospheric scintillation monitoring using commercial single frequency C/A code receivers. Paper presented at ION GPS-93. Arlington, Va, Sep: Inst. of Navig.; 1993.Search in Google Scholar
32. Gwal, A, Dubey, S, Wahi, R, Feliziani, A. Amplitude and phase scintillation study at Chiang Rai, Thailand. Adv Space Res 2006;38:2361–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2006.02.057.Search in Google Scholar
33. Luo, Li, H, Gong, X, Xie, Z, Li, Y. BDS-3 B1I signal tracking error characteristic and its advantage in PPP under ionospheric scintillation at low latitudes. IEEE Trans Geosci Rem Sens 2023;61:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2023.3307901.Search in Google Scholar
34. Xu, R, Liu, Z, Li, M, Morton, Y, Chen, W. An analysis of low-latitude ionospheric scintillation and its effects on precise point positioning. J Glob Position Syst 2012;11:22–32. https://doi.org/10.5081/jgps.11.1.22.Search in Google Scholar
35. Mushini, SC, Jayachandran, PT, Langley, RB, MacDougall, JW, Pokhotelov, D. Improved amplitude- and phase-scintillation indices derived from wavelet detrended high-latitude GPS data. GPS Solut 2012;16:363–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-011-0238-4.Search in Google Scholar
© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Review
- Research using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) products – a comprehensive literature review
- Original Research Articles
- Impact of baseline length on uncertainty in static relative GNSS positioning
- Advancing magnetometer calibration: a sequential tri-axis approach
- Application of GNSS-levelling for updating the base vertical network
- Spatiotemporal postseismic deformation due to the 2018 Palu-Donggala earthquake revealed the relative importance of viscoelastic relaxation and the afterslip distribution estimated from geodetic observations
- Evaluation of PPP software performance for TEC estimation using IRI-2020, CODE, COSMIC, and SWARM with GNSS data
- Evaluation of mobile mapping point clouds in the context of height difference estimation
- Automated gap and flush measurements between car parts assisted by a highly flexible and accurate robot system
- Comprehensive statistical analysis of scintillations on L-band signals from six GNSS constellations over low-latitude region
- Recent estimates of crustal deformation and land subsidence in the Nile Delta, Egypt using GNSS-PPP datasets over 2012–2024
- Influence of orbit and clock file diversity on GNSS ambiguity resolution
- The usefulness of the MAFA method for smartphone precise positioning
- Comparative analysis of pseudorange multipath mitigation performance using K-means and Fuzzy c-means clustering techniques
- Estimation of GPS-based ionospheric indices by GIX, SIDX, and ROTI during the St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm event in the Indian low latitude region
- Post-midnight impact of ionospheric irregularities on GPS based kinematic precise point positioning
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Review
- Research using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) products – a comprehensive literature review
- Original Research Articles
- Impact of baseline length on uncertainty in static relative GNSS positioning
- Advancing magnetometer calibration: a sequential tri-axis approach
- Application of GNSS-levelling for updating the base vertical network
- Spatiotemporal postseismic deformation due to the 2018 Palu-Donggala earthquake revealed the relative importance of viscoelastic relaxation and the afterslip distribution estimated from geodetic observations
- Evaluation of PPP software performance for TEC estimation using IRI-2020, CODE, COSMIC, and SWARM with GNSS data
- Evaluation of mobile mapping point clouds in the context of height difference estimation
- Automated gap and flush measurements between car parts assisted by a highly flexible and accurate robot system
- Comprehensive statistical analysis of scintillations on L-band signals from six GNSS constellations over low-latitude region
- Recent estimates of crustal deformation and land subsidence in the Nile Delta, Egypt using GNSS-PPP datasets over 2012–2024
- Influence of orbit and clock file diversity on GNSS ambiguity resolution
- The usefulness of the MAFA method for smartphone precise positioning
- Comparative analysis of pseudorange multipath mitigation performance using K-means and Fuzzy c-means clustering techniques
- Estimation of GPS-based ionospheric indices by GIX, SIDX, and ROTI during the St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm event in the Indian low latitude region
- Post-midnight impact of ionospheric irregularities on GPS based kinematic precise point positioning
