Signatures of Vertical Gradients Captured Southward of the Arabian Peninsula by GNSS RO Possibly Associated with Scintillation

Muhamad M. Shaikh, Abdollah M. Darya, and Manar A.K. Abusirdaneh

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The study of scintillation-causing ionospheric irregularities is important to mitigate their effects on satellite communications. It is also important to understand the spatial and temporal variability of these irregularities, given that their characteristics differ from one region to another. This study further investigates the spatial and temporal characteristics of ionospheric features which may be responsible for causing strong GNSS scintillation due southward of Arabian Peninsula at local pre-sunset (LT 15-16) and local pre-midnight time. We have used total electron content (TEC) data from radio occultation (RO) observations with reference to their tangent point locations which fall between the geographical latitudes of 25oN to 25oS and geographical longitudes of 42.5oE to 67.5oE. The observations show a strong presence of vertical TEC gradients between the altitudes of 200 km and 400 km. At the same time TEC gradients can be observed moving from west to east during pre-sunset local times (LT 15-16). This creates strong wavelike TEC structures aligned in the north-east/southwest direction which may be responsible for the observed scintillation activity at an unusual time of the day. Keywords—Radio Occultation, Total Electron Content (TEC), Vertical Gradients, Arabian Peninsula, Scintillation
Published in:	2025 IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation Symposium (PLANS) April 28 - 1, 2025 Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek Salt Lake City, UT
Pages:	539 - 545
Cite this article:	Shaikh, Muhamad M., Darya, Abdollah M., Abusirdaneh, Manar A.K., "Signatures of Vertical Gradients Captured Southward of the Arabian Peninsula by GNSS RO Possibly Associated with Scintillation," 2025 IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation Symposium (PLANS), Salt Lake City, UT, April 2025, pp. 539-545.
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