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
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Srilatha Talluri
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Ravi Kumar Mokkapati
Abstract
The disturbance in ionospheric conditions caused by geomagnetic storms leads to problems with the ground, satellite communication, and navigation technology. The Ionospheric perturbations affect the accomplishment of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), namely accuracy, continuity, availability, and integrity. During the ionosphere’s disturbance level, the Precision and safety of GNSS applications are essential to obtain data about space weather conditions. Along different GNSS satellite receiver paths, GNSS receivers are particularly vulnerable to expeditious changes in Total Electron Content (TEC) and critical spatial variations. The ionospheric indices, namely the Gradient Ionosphere Index (GIX), Rate of TEC Index (ROTI), and the Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance Index (SIDX), are employed for monitoring ionospheric conditions. The ionospheric disturbances can be assessed using GIX and SIDX without prior data. These indices have been modeled and validated based on GNSS observations provided by the Indian region. This research work examines the effects of the ionosphere on the St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm (17th March 2015) by inspecting TEC variations from March 14 to 19, 2015, using spatial and temporal indices for GNSS stations at Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bhopal, Delhi positioned in the Indian subcontinent. In low-latitude regions, the highest GIX, ROTI, and more negative SIDX values started recording from 1,200 h UT to 1,500 h UT on 17th March 2015. On 17th March 2015, during the storm’s main phase, the selected stations showed GIX values ranging from 47.2 to 103.3 m TECU/km. On Recovery Day 19th March 2015, GIX readings range from 38.1 to 60 m TECU/km, this research plays a part in understanding ionospheric gradients in the equatorial and low latitudes, where it is applicable for improving Ground Based Augmentation Systems (GBAS) and GPS-aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) effective for aircraft landing.
Acknowledgments
This work was carried out under the project “Mitigation of Ionospheric Scintillation noise effects on Indian Satellite Navigation System (NAVIC) signals using software-defined radio GNSS receiver” (8–99/FDC/RPS/POLICY-1/2021-22) sponsored by AICTE, Govt. of India under Research Promotion Scheme.
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Research ethics: Not applicable.
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Informed consent: Not applicable.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
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Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: None declared.
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Data availability: Not applicable.
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© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- 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
Artikel in diesem Heft
- 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
