High‐latitude GPS phase scintillation from <i>E</i> region electron density gradients during the 20–21 December 2015 geomagnetic storm

Loucks, Diana C.; Palo, S. E.; Pilinski, M.; Crowley, G.; Azeem, Irfan; Hampton, D. L.

doi:10.1002/2016ja023839

Cited by 24 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The association of auroral phenomena and GNSS signal disturbances has been established in a variety of studies (e.g., Datta‐Barua et al, ; Jin et al, , ; Kinrade et al, ; Loucks et al, ; Prikryl et al, ; Smith et al, ). The presumption has been that phase scintillations are caused by density irregularities with k ⊥ dimension similar to the radius of the first Fresnel zone (∼270 m for the L 1 signal at E region distances) (Kintner et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A steep density gradient across a moving auroral boundary can also produce arbitrary phase transients (Chartier et al, 2016). These boundary regions are also sites of instability formation, leading to a causative connection with irregularity formation (Loucks et al, 2017) and a potential mixture of sources for high-frequency phase variations on an intersecting GPS link (Chartier et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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GPS Signal Corruption by the Discrete Aurora: Precise Measurements From the Mahali Experiment

Semeter

Mrak

Hirsch

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

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Measurements from a dense network of GPS receivers have been used to clarify the relationship between substorm auroras and GPS signal corruption as manifested by loss of lock on the received signal. A network of nine receivers was deployed along roadways near the Poker Flat Research Range in central Alaska, with receiver spacing between 15 and 30 km. Instances of large‐amplitude phase fluctuations and signal loss of lock were registered in space and time with auroral forms associated with a sequence of westward traveling surges associated with a substorm onset over central Canada. The following conclusions were obtained: (1) The signal corruption originated in the ionospheric E region, between 100 and 150 km altitude, and (2) the GPS links suffering loss of lock were confined to a narrow band (<20 km wide) along the trailing edge of the moving auroral forms. The results are discussed in the context of mechanisms typically cited to account for GPS phase scintillation by auroral processes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GPS Signal Corruption by the Discrete Aurora: Precise Measurements From the Mahali Experiment

Semeter

Mrak

Hirsch

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…Prior work (Su, ) examined a number of scintillations, at least one of which was attributed to the F layer (Datta‐Barua et al, ; Su, Datta‐Barua, et al, ). More recently, individual case studies (Loucks et al, ; Semeter et al, ) showed the possibility that E layer irregularities, particularly related to auroral activity, were correlated with GPS‐effective scintillations. With a statistical study of 17 days over two Antarctic winters, Kinrade et al () showed phase scintillations to be more correlated with auroral 557.7‐nm emissions (which tend to be E layer) than 630.0‐nm emissions (throughout the F layer).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated Ionospheric Scattering Layer Hypothesis Generation for Detected and Classified Auroral Global Positioning System Scintillation Events

Sreenivash

Datta‐Barua

2020

Radio Science

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We describe a method to detect and classify global positioning system (GPS) scintillation, and then hypothesize a possible ionospheric layer scattering the signal. The objective is to routinely identify events of interest to investigate in detail in future work. Scintillation types include amplitude, phase, or both amplitude and phase. A scintillation event is one for which a scintillation index remains above a threshold across a majority of closely spaced receivers viewing a single satellite. Events are categorized by signal frequency and scintillation type. An event is then hypothesized to be due to the E or F layer using an independent data source. Data from the scintillation auroral GPS array located in Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska, are used to analyze L1 and L2C frequencies in 2014 and 2015. The irregularity layer associated with each scintillation event is hypothesized to be due to the activity in the E layer of the ionosphere (below 150 km) or in the F layer (above 195 km) using collocated Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar electron density measurements. Events in a transition layer (150-195 km) and inconclusive results are also recorded. We find that nearly all of the over 4,000 events are phase scintillations. The majority of the events are hypothesized to occur when the peak density is at E-layer altitudes. This indicates that E-layer-related scintillation may be quite common at auroral latitudes and that GPS receivers are sensitive to the irregularities occurring both there and at F layer altitudes.Plain Language Summary As global positioning system (GPS) signals pass through Earth's atmosphere, they may "twinkle" when received at the ground due to variations in the number of charged particles present in the ionized layer of the Earth's atmosphere, the ionosphere. The twinkling or rapid fluctuation in the GPS signals is called ionospheric scintillation. We develop a way, using data from GPS receivers and a nearby radar, to detect and classify scintillations measured in Alaska in 2014 and 2015, and then make an educated guess about whether they are in the upper or lower layer of the ionosphere. This method will be useful for handling large data sets of scintillation, which are now becoming more common. We find that, even though most of the ionosphere's charged particles are usually above 195 km height, GPS is sensitive to scintillations at high latitudes due to variations in a lower layer below 150 km, and these happen a majority of the time.

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“…This result is consistent with formation of scintillation‐causing irregularities in plasma gradients at the arc edges. This suggests that spatial variations (gradients) of IPP brightness correlate positively with scintillation effects observed on a GPS satellite signal (Forte et al, ; Haerendel et al, ; Loucks et al, ; Noel et al, ; Uritsky et al, ). It is also noted that low‐level fluctuations (blue, σ φ 0.2–0.4) are more probable when the IPP is inside the arc by ~10%.…”

Section: Analysis and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Understanding aurora in terms of impact on GPS signals is important as it provides information to help predict and mitigate scintillation effects due to space weather. Many studies (e.g., Jin et al, ; Kinrade et al, , ; Loucks et al, ; Prikryl et al, ; Semeter et al, ; Van der Meeren et al, ) have shown a positive correlation between GPS phase scintillations and auroral structures. The magnitude of the phase scintillation was determined to be related to the level of brightness of the aurora.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proxy Index Derived From All Sky Imagers for Space Weather Impact on GPS

et al. 2018

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Global Positioning System (GPS) signals passing through the auroral ionosphere, which exhibits multiscreen electron density structuring, maybe scintillated causing observation and possibly positioning errors. It is advantageous to determine the magnitude of GPS signal scintillation associated with a given level of auroral brightness observed around the signal's ionospheric pierce point (IPP). Such information would enable the exploitation of auroral image observations in space weather monitoring and help in assessment of impact on infrastructure/services reliant on GNSS. Studies have observed a general positive correlation between auroral brightness and GPS phase scintillation but not a definite one-to-one relationship. In this study a correlation coefficient of 0.38 is observed between the phase scintillation and the level of auroral arc brightness around the GPS signal's raypath for a data set of 292 events in the Canadian sector. Alternatively, a new pseudo-scintillation index, Rate of change of Brightness index, is introduced in this study which is derived from the changing auroral brightness around the satellite's IPP. This Rate of change of Brightness index is highly positively correlated (correlation coefficient: 0.75) with GPS phase scintillation. Spatial and spectral relationships between auroral brightness around the satellite's IPP and phase scintillation were also analyzed. It is observed that probability of GPS signals experiencing phase scintillation is high when the auroral brightness around the satellite's IPP has dominant fluctuations in the frequency band~0.06 to 0.16 Hz. These results indicate that GPS signal scintillation is related to the dynamics of the brightness around the satellite's IPP as the satellite signal propagates through the aurora.

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High‐latitude GPS phase scintillation from E region electron density gradients during the 20–21 December 2015 geomagnetic storm

Cited by 24 publications

References 40 publications

GPS Signal Corruption by the Discrete Aurora: Precise Measurements From the Mahali Experiment

GPS Signal Corruption by the Discrete Aurora: Precise Measurements From the Mahali Experiment

Automated Ionospheric Scattering Layer Hypothesis Generation for Detected and Classified Auroral Global Positioning System Scintillation Events

Proxy Index Derived From All Sky Imagers for Space Weather Impact on GPS

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