A study of GPS ionospheric scintillations observed at Guilin

The occurrence of strong ionospheric scintillations with S4≥0.2 was studied using global positioning system (GPS) measurements at Guilin (25.29°N, 110.33°E; geomagnetic: 15.04°N, 181.98°E), a station located near the northern crest of equatorial anomaly in China. The results are presented for data collected from January 2007 to December 2008. The results show that amplitude scintillations occurred only during the first five months of the considered years. Nighttime amplitude scintillations, observed mainly in the south of Guilin, always occurred with phase scintillations, total electron content (TEC) depletions, and Rate Of change of TEC (ROT) fluctuations. However, TEC depletions and ROT fluctuations were weak during daytime amplitude scintillations, and daytime amplitude scintillations usually occurred in most of the azimuth directions. GPS scintillation/TEC observations recorded at Guilin and signal-to-noise-ratio measurements obtained from GPS-COSMIC radio occultation indicate that nighttime and daytime scintillations are very likely caused by ionospheric F region irregularities and sporadic E, respectively.     

2004年11月强磁暴期间武汉电离层TEC的响应和振幅闪烁特征的GPS观测

本文利用设在武汉(11436°E,3053°N,磁纬194°)的GPS电离层TEC和电波闪烁监测仪的测量数据,分析了2004年11月强磁暴期间TEC的响应以及电波闪烁和TEC起伏的特征.结果表明,在这次强磁暴期间,武汉及其邻近地区电离层TEC的响应以正暴相为主,正暴相分别出现在两次主相期间,最大正偏离达到50 TECU.这次磁暴另一个重要影响是主相期间L波段振幅闪烁的活动性及其强度显著增强.S4指数最大接近10.伴随增强的闪烁活动,多次观测到深度耗尽的等离子体泡与TEC起伏,TEC变化率的标准差ROTI指数也显著增强.分析揭示, ROTI指数与S4指数呈正相关,相关系数达到097.线性回归计算得到,ROTI和S4的比率为964.     

Effects of geomagnetic storm on GPS ionospheric scintillations at Sanya

The effects of geomagnetic storm on GPS ionospheric scintillations are studied here using GPS scintillation data recorded at Sanya (18.3°N, 109.5°E; geomagnetic: 7.6°N, 180.8°E), the southmost station in the Chinese longitude region. GPS scintillation/TEC and DMSP data are utilized to show the development of irregularities during the period year 2005 (solar minimum). Statistical analysis of K planetary index (Kp) and amplitude scintillation index (S4) indicates that most storms of the year did not trigger the scintillation occurrence at Sanya. However, cases of scintillation occurring during moderate and strong storm (Dst<−100) periods show clearly that the development of irregularities producing scintillations can be triggered by geomagnetic storms during the low scintillation occurrence season. The effects (trigger or not trigger/inhibit) depend on the maximum dDst/dt determined local time sector, and can be explained by the response of the equatorial vertical drift velocities to magnetospheric and ionospheric disturbance electric fields. For station Sanya, the maximum dDst/dt determined local time is near the noon (or post-midnight) sector for most storms of the year 2005, which inhibited (or did not trigger) the post-sunset (or post-midnight) scintillation occurrence and then led to the phenomena that the statistical results presented.     

低纬电离层TEC起伏与相位闪烁的统计特征

穿过电离层不规则体传播后的无线电波,其振幅和相位出现快速随机起伏,即电离层闪烁.为了量化电离层不规则体和相位闪烁的强度,本文提出用TEC起伏δTEC作为特征参量,并用δTEC的标准差构建一种新指数σtec.文中证明指数σtec与相位闪烁指数完全等效.在电离层强闪烁期间,经常出现信号短暂失锁和周跳,导致TEC值突跳和不连续.为此,本文设计了一种周跳检测与校正的批处理算法,用于消除TEC值突跳.在此基础上,利用位于我国中南部电离层闪烁监测台网2012—2015年的观测数据,考察了GPS信号相位闪烁和不规则体的统计特征.结果表明,我国低纬电离层不规则体和相位闪烁与振幅闪烁随地方时和月份变化的特征类似,一天之中主要出现在日落后至黎明前,一年之中,春季不规则体出现最频繁、秋季次之,呈现春秋不对称性,冬夏季出现很少.此外,我们还比较分析了指数S4与σtec的联系,两者之间显著正相关表明,小于第一菲涅尔带尺度的小尺度不规则体和大于第一菲涅尔带尺度的大尺度不规则体一般同时存在.     

Ionospheric Scintillation and Dynamics of Fresnel-Scale Irregularities in the Inner Region of the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly

This paper reports differences in the occurrence statistics of global positioning system (GPS) L-band scintillations at observational sites located in the inner regions of the northern and southern crests of the equatorial ionization anomaly. Ground-based GPS data acquired at the closed magnetically aligned stations of Manaus (3.1°S; 59.9°W; dip lat. 6.2°N) and Cuiabá (15.5°S; 56.1°W; dip. lat. 6.2°S), Brazil, from December 2001 to February 2007 are used in the analysis. The drift dynamics of Fresnel-scale ionospheric irregularities at the southern station of Cuiabá are also investigated. Only geomagnetically quiet days with the sum of daily Kp < 24 were used in the analysis statistics and in the irregularity drift studies. The results reveal a clear dependence of the scintillation occurrence with the solar activity, but there exists an asymmetry in the percentage of scintillation occurrence between the two stations throughout the period analyzed. The nocturnal occurrence of the scintillations over Cuiabá is predominantly larger than over Manaus, but this scenario seems to change with the decline in the solar activity (mainly during local post-midnight hours). A broad minimum and maximum in the scintillation occurrence appears to occur over both the stations, respectively, during the June solstice (winter) and December solstice (summer) months. The dynamics of the Fresnel-scale irregularities, as investigated from the estimations of the mean zonal drift velocities, reveals that the amplitude of the eastward drifts tends to reduce with the decline in the solar activity. The magnitude of the zonal drift velocities during the December solstice months is larger than during the equinoxes, with the differences being more pronounced at solar maximum years. Other relevant aspects of the observations, with complementary data from a low-latitude ionospheric model, are highlighted and discussed.     

电离层不规则结构漂移的GPS测量及其初步结果

本文阐述了利用GPS接收机台阵测量到的闪烁和TEC变化率ROT快速起伏图样估计F层不规则结构漂移的原理和方法,并利用实测数据估计了静日和暴时电离层不规则结构的水平漂移速度.短间距台网和超短间距台链观测实例的计算结果表明,暴时武汉地区引起TEC快速起伏的电离层不规则结构沿纬圈向西漂移,21∶30至03∶00 LT,西向漂移速度在约40 m/s至130 m/s的范围内变化;在桂林地区,磁静日午夜前后引起L波段电波闪烁的电离层不规则结构沿纬圈向东漂移,漂移速度从约70 m/s下降到约55 m/s,磁扰日午夜前不规则结构向西漂移,速度从约150 m/s下降到约50 m/s,午夜后转为向东漂移,速度从约25 m/s上升到约65 m/s.文中还提出了由单站多卫星观测估计F层不规则结构漂移的设想.实例分析与计算结果表明,利用单站多卫星观测估计电离层不规则结构漂移是一种合理可行的方法.     

GPS L1-Frequency Observations of Equatorial Scintillations and Irregularity Zonal Velocities

In this work, the climatology of ionospheric scintillations at global positioning system (GPS) L-band frequency and the zonal drift velocities of scintillation-producing irregularities were depicted for the equatorial observatory of São Luis (2.33°S; 44.21°W; dip latitude 1.3°S), Brazil. This is the first time that the hourly, monthly, and seasonal variations of scintillations and irregularity zonal drifts at São Luis were characterized during periods of different solar activity levels (from December 1998 to February 2007). The percentage occurrence of scintillations at different sectors of the sky was also investigated, and the results revealed that the scintillations are more probable to be observed in the west sector of the sky above São Luis, whereas the north–south asymmetries are possibly related to asymmetries in the plasma density distribution at off-equatorial latitudes. The scintillations on GPS signals occurred more frequently around solar maximum years, but it is also clear from the results of a strong variability in the scintillation activity in the years with moderate solar flux during the descending phase of the solar cycle. The equatorial scintillations occur predominantly during pre-midnight hours with a broad maximum near the December solstice months. In general, weak level of scintillations (S ₄ index between 0.2 and 0.4) dominated at all seasons; however, during the winter months around solar maximum years (although the scintillation occurrence is extremely low), stronger levels of scintillations (S ₄ > 0.6) may occur at comparable rate with the weak scintillations. The irregularity zonal velocities, as estimated from the GPS spaced-receiver technique, presented a different scenario for the two seasons analyzed; during the equinoxes, the magnitude of the zonal velocities appeared not to change with the solar activity, whereas during the December solstice months, the larger magnitudes were observed around solar maximum years. Other relevant aspects of the observations are highlighted and discussed.     

Specification and forecasting of scintillations in communication/navigation links: current status and future plans

The ionosphere often becomes turbulent and develops electron density irregularities. These irregularities scatter radio waves to cause amplitude and phase scintillation and affect satellite communication and GPS navigation systems. The effects are most intense in the equatorial region, moderate at high latitudes and minimum at middle latitudes. The thermosphere and the ionosphere seem to internally control the generation of irregularities in the equatorial region and its forcing by solar transients is an additional modulating factor. On the other hand, the irregularity generation mechanisms in the high-latitude ionosphere seem to be driven by magnetospheric processes and, therefore, high-latitude scintillations can be tracked by following the trail of energy from the sun in the form of solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The development of a global specification and forecast system for scintillation is needed in view of our increased reliance on space-based communication and navigation systems, which are vulnerable to ionospheric scintillation. Such scintillation specification systems are being developed for the equatorial region. An equatorial satellite equipped with an appropriate suite of sensors, capable of detecting ionospheric irregularities and tracking the drivers that control the formation of ionospheric irregularities, has also been planned for the purpose of specifying and forecasting equatorial scintillations. In the polar region, scintillation specification and forecast systems are yet to emerge although modeling and observations of polar cap plasma structures, their convection and associated irregularities have advanced greatly in recent years. Global scintillation observations made during the S-RAMP Space Weather Month in September 1999 are currently being analyzed to study the effects of magnetic storms on communication and navigation systems.     

海南三亚地区S4指数与C/N、ROTI的比较分析

本文通过利用海南三亚站（1834°N, 10962°E）GPS闪烁/TEC接收机2004年8月到2005年7月间观测数据，在对三亚地区闪烁初步统计分析的基础上，比较分析了观测数据中S₄（幅度闪烁指数）和C/N（载噪比），S₄和ROTI（TEC变化率标准差）的关系，同时对2004年11月7日的闪烁事件进行了具体的分析. 通过比较分析得出：（1）三亚地区全年的闪烁强度具有明显的半年变化，在春秋季出现全年闪烁强度的最大值；（2）S₄与C/N具有很好的负相关性；（3）ROTI可以作为由小尺度不规则结构引起闪烁出现的指示剂.     

海南三亚地区S4指数与C/N、ROTI的比较分析

本文通过利用海南三亚站（1834°N, 10962°E）GPS闪烁/TEC接收机2004年8月到2005年7月间观测数据，在对三亚地区闪烁初步统计分析的基础上，比较分析了观测数据中S₄（幅度闪烁指数）和C/N（载噪比），S₄和ROTI（TEC变化率标准差）的关系，同时对2004年11月7日的闪烁事件进行了具体的分析. 通过比较分析得出：（1）三亚地区全年的闪烁强度具有明显的半年变化，在春秋季出现全年闪烁强度的最大值；（2）S₄与C/N具有很好的负相关性；（3）ROTI可以作为由小尺度不规则结构引起闪烁出现的指示剂.     

GPS L-band scintillations and ionospheric irregularity zonal drifts inferred at equatorial and low-latitude regions

The main scientific objective of this research is to study the spatial variability and dynamics of the F-region irregularities. To achieve this, amplitude scintillations at the L-band, total electron content (TEC) and irregularity drifts were measured, as part of the Conjugate Point Equatorial Experiment (COPEX) campaign, by a network of ground-based global positioning system (GPS) receivers. The observations reveal a strong variability in the evolution of the irregularities from the equator to low-latitudes, and their zonal velocities at conjugate sites present a decrease with local time, and also with latitude. Moreover, the scintillations appear to be correlated with strong TEC gradients in the equatorward edge of the enhanced equatorial anomaly peaks. Other relevant aspects of the observations are highlighted and discussed.     

暴时低纬电离层不规则体响应特征的多手段观测

2010年10月11日发生了一次中等强度的磁暴.本文利用三亚(18.4°N,109.6°E)数字测高仪、VHF雷达和GPS TEC/闪烁监测仪数据以及120°E子午线附近我国漠河(53.5°N,122.4°E)、北京(40.3°N,116.2°E)和武汉(30.6°N,114.4°E)的数字测高仪和GPS TEC/闪烁监测仪数据,分析了磁暴期间我国中低纬地区电离层不规则体的响应特征.结果表明:这次磁暴触发了10月11日午夜前后两个时段低纬(三亚)电离层不规则体事件,而在较高的纬度地区(武汉及以北),并没有观测到电离层不规则体与闪烁.在午夜前,电离层不规则体的发生受磁暴主相期间快速穿透电场激发;在午夜后,电离层不规则体受磁暴恢复相的扰动发电机电场触发,该时段伴随行星际磁场北向翻转的过屏蔽穿透电场也可能是扰动源之一.此外,磁暴期间不同尺度的电离层不规则体会伴随发生.     

基于三亚VHF雷达的场向不规则体观测研究：4.太阳活动低年夏季F区回波

太阳活动低年夏季,低纬电离层F区场向不规则体表现出与太阳活动高年和其他季节明显不同的特征.本文利用我国三亚站（18.4°N,109.6°E,地磁倾角纬度dip latitude 12.8°N）VHF雷达、电离层测高仪、GPS闪烁监测仪和美国C/NOFS卫星观测数据,研究了太阳活动低年夏季我国低纬电离层F区场向不规则体的基本特征.分析发现无论磁静日还是磁扰日,夏季电离层F区不规则体回波主要出现于地方时午夜以后,回波出现的时间较短,高度范围较小,伴随着扩展F出现,但没有同时段的L波段电离层闪烁.太阳活动低年夏季午夜后的低纬电离层F区不规则体回波,可能并不总是与赤道等离子体泡沿磁力线向低纬地区的延伸相关,而可能由本地Es等扰动过程引起.     

Analysis of the Characteristics of Low-Latitude GPS Amplitude Scintillation Measured During Solar Maximum Conditions and Implications for Receiver Performance

Ionospheric scintillations are fluctuations in the phase and/or amplitude of trans-ionospheric radio signals caused by electron density irregularities in the ionosphere. A better understanding of the scintillation pattern is important to make a better assessment of GPS receiver performance, for instance. Additionally, scintillation can be used as a tool for remote sensing of ionospheric irregularities. Therefore, the study of ionospheric scintillation has both scientific as well as technological implications. In the past few years, there has been a significant advance in the methods for analysis of scintillation and in our understanding of the impact of scintillation on GPS receiver performance. In this work, we revisit some of the existing methods of analysis of scintillation, propose an alternative approach, and apply these techniques in a comprehensive study of the characteristics of amplitude scintillation. This comprehensive study made use of 32?days of high-rate (50?Hz) measurements made by a GPS-based scintillation monitor located in S?o José dos Campos, Brazil (23.2°S, 45.9°W, ?17.5° dip latitude) near the Equatorial Anomaly during high solar flux conditions. The variability of the decorrelation time (τ₀) of scintillation patterns is presented as a function of scintillation severity index (S ₄). We found that the values of τ₀ tend to decrease with the increase of S ₄, confirming the results of previous studies. In addition, we found that, at least for the measurements made during this campaign, averaged values of τ₀ (for fixed S ₄ index values) did not vary much as a function of local time. Our results also indicate a significant impact of τ₀ in the GPS carrier loop performance for S ₄?≥?0.7. An alternative way to compute the probability of cycle slip that takes into account the fading duration time is also presented. The results of this approach show a 38% probability of cycle slips during strong scintillation scenarios (S ₄ close to 1 and τ₀ near 0.2?s). Finally, we present results of an analysis of the individual amplitude fades observed in our set of measurements. This analysis suggests that users operating GPS receivers with C/N ₀ thresholds around 30?dB-Hz and above can be affected significantly by low-latitude scintillation.     

Thermospheric Meridional Wind Control on Equatorial Scintillations and the Role of the Evening F-Region Height Rise, E?×?B Drift Velocities and F2-Peak Density Gradients

The possible role, on L-band scintillation activity, played by the nighttime magnetic meridional component of the thermospheric horizontal neutral winds, the post-sunset F-layer base height, the electrical field pre-reversal enhancement (PRE) and the latitudinal gradients of the F2-layer peak density is analyzed, considering different cases of scintillation occurrence (and their latitudinal extent) during August and September 2002. The meridional winds were derived over low-latitudes from a modified form of the nonlinear time-dependent servo-model. A chain of two scintillation monitors and three digital ionosondes was operational in Brazil and used to collect, respectively, global positioning system signal amplitude scintillation and ionospheric height (h′F; hpF2) and frequency (foF2) parameters. From the overall behavior in the 2 months analyzed, the results suggest that high near sunset upward vertical plasma drifts are conducive for the generation of spread-F irregularities, whereas large poleward meridional winds tend to suppress the development of plasma bubble irregularities and the occurrence of their associated scintillations. Even when generated, a reduced fountain effect, due to weak electric field PRE, acts for the bubbles to be expanded less effectively to higher latitudes. The results also reveal that high F-layer base and peak heights (at equatorial and off-equatorial latitudes), and intense gradients in the F2-peak density between the dip equator and the equatorial anomaly crests, are favorable conditions for the generation of F-region irregularities and increased scintillation activity. Other distinct features of the controlling factors in the cases of occurrence and non-occurrence of equatorial scintillations are presented and discussed.     

赤道-低纬电离层不规则结构和闪烁活动出现率的理论模型构建

为构建赤道-低纬电离层不规则结构和闪烁活动出现率的理论模型,本文根据分析赤道-低纬电离层的广义Rayleigh-Taylor(R-T)不稳定性得到的三维线性增长率的表达式,计算分析了线性增长率随地方时的变化特征.并选取计算得到的每日增长率的极大值表征每日的线性增长率,分析增长率随季节、太阳活动和地理经度的变化特征以及逐日变化特征,建立三维广义R-T不稳定性线性增长率的理论统计特征模型,发现增长率表现出显著的随地方时、季节、太阳活动和地理经度以及逐日变化特征.通过比较分析增长率的变化特征与不规则结构和闪烁活动的变化特征,发现三维广义R-T不稳定性的线性增长率能较好地反映不规则结构和闪烁活动随季节、太阳活动、地理经度以及逐日变化规律.本文建立的R-T不稳定性的三维线性增长率的统计特征模型可用于构建赤道-低纬电离层不规则结构和闪烁出现率的理论形态特征模型.     

Equatorial plasma bubbles studied using African slant total electron content observations

Equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) are field-aligned depletions of F-region ionospheric plasma density that grow from irregularities caused by the generalized Rayleigh–Taylor instability mechanism in the postsunset equatorial sector. Although they have been studied for some decades, they continue to be an important subject of both experimental and theoretical investigations because of their effects on trans-ionospheric radio communications.In this work, calibrated data of slant total electron content (sTEC) taken every 10 min from EGNOS System Test Bed Brazzaville (Congo), Douala (Cameroon), Lome (Togo) and N’Djamena (Chad), and International GNSS Service Ascension Island, Malindi (Kenya), and Libreville (Gabon), stations are used to detect plasma bubbles in the African equatorial region during the first 6 months of 2004. To identify these irregularities, the trend of every curve of sTEC against time is subtracted from the original data. The size of the EPBs is estimated by measuring its amplitude in the de-trended time variation of sTEC.     

Climatology of total electron content near the dip equator under geomagnetic quiet-conditions

This study analyzes the TEC data during 1998–2007, observed by the AREQ (16.5°S, 71.5°W) GPS station to investigate the equatorial ionospheric variations under geomagnetic quiet-conditions. The diurnal TEC values generally have a maximum value between 1330 and 1500 LT and a minimum around 0500 LT. For the seasonal variation, the semi-annual variation apparently exists in the daytime TEC with two peaks in equinoctial months. In contrast, this semi-annual variation is not found in the nighttime. Furthermore, the results of the annual variation show that the correlation between the daytime TEC value and the solar activity factor is highly positive.     

Characteristics of L-band (1.5 GHz) and VHF (244 MHz) amplitude scintillations recorded at Kolkata during 1996–2006 and development of models for the occurrence probability of scintillations using neural network

L-band (1.5 GHz) and VHF (244 MHz) amplitude scintillations observed from Kolkata (22.58°N lat, 88.38° E long, 32°N dip), over a solar cycle 1996–2006 are presented in this paper. Situated near the northern crest of the equatorial anomaly, it is an excellent platform for scintillation studies. Based on 11 years’ data, an attempt is made to develop models of hourly percentage occurrence of scintillations for the rising and declining phases of solar cycle using Neural Network. The relation between fading rate at VHF with the S4 index at L-band is also investigated.     

Equatorial and low latitude spread-F irregularity characteristics over the Indian region and their prediction possibilities

To study the occurrence characteristics of equatorial spread-F irregularities and their latitudinal extent, simultaneous digital ionosonde data (January–December 2001) from Trivandrum (8.2°N), Waltair (17.7°N) and Delhi (28.6°N) and 4 GHz scintillation data from Sikandarabad (26.8°N) and Chenglepet (10.4°N), and 250 MHz scintillation data from Bhopal (23.2°N) for equinoxes period are analysed. It is noted that except summer months, occurrence of spread F is always maximum at Trivandrum, minimum at Delhi and moderate at Waltair. During equinoxes and winter months. Their occurrences at higher latitude station are always conditional to their prior occurrences at lower latitudes indicating their association with the generation of equatorial plasma bubble and associated irregularities. Scintillation occurrences also follow the similar pattern. During the summer months, the spread-F occurrences are highest at equatorial location Trivandrum, moderate at Delhi and minimum at Waltair and seem to be caused by irregularities generated locally especially over Delhi.To gain forecasting capability, night-to-night occurrences of spread-F/scintillation at these locations are examined in relation to post sunset rise of h’F and upward ExB drift velocity over the magnetic equator using Trivandrum ionosonde data. It is noted that except the summer months, the spread-F at Trivandrum, Waltair and Delhi are observed only when equatorial ExB (h’F) is more than about 15 m/s (325 km), 20 m/s (350 km) and 25 m/s (375 km), respectively. With these threshold values their corresponding success rate of predictions are more than 90%, 50% and 15% at the respective locations. Whereas in the case of GHz scintillations near equator are observed only when ExB (h’F) is more than 15 m/s (325 km), whereas for low latitude, the same should be 30 m/s (400 km) and their success rate of prediction is about 90% and 30%, respectively. The intensity of 4 GHz scintillation at low latitude is also found to be positively correlated with equatorial upward ExB drift velocity values, whereas correlation is poor with that of equatorial scintillations. In conclusions, near magnetic equator threshold values of ExB or h’F can be successfully used for the night-to-night prediction of spread-F/scintillations occurrences, whereas these are necessary but not sufficient for their prediction at higher latitudes. For that some other controlling parameters like background electron density, neutral winds, gravity waves, etc. should also be examined.