Study of ionospheric scintillation according to the satellite elevation angle

Abstract

Today, by providing the possibility of mixing signals from different satellite constellations, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide users with better availability of precise positioning. However, GNSS often undergo a rapid variation in amplitude and phase as they pass through the ionosphere, a region of the Earth's atmosphere where plasma “bubbles” are formed. This fluctuation of the signal, called ionospheric scintillation, sometimes severely limits the performance of GNSS. At GNSS station at Korhogo ( 9° 27′ 41″ North, 5° 38′ 19″ West), located in the equatorial region of west Africa, the dependence of the ionospheric scintillation on the elevation angle of the satellite was demonstrated for the magnetically calm days of 2017. As result, there is a decreasing of the occurrence and the intensity of the ionospheric scintillation when the elevation angle of satellite increases. Signals from satellites with elevation angles of 30° to 45°are impacted by medium level ionospheric scintillation effects (0.2 < S4 < 0.5). The signals of elevation angles between 45° and 90° are almost unaffected by the scintillation (S4 < 0.2).