Evaluation of the Effect of Ionospheric Scintillation on Potential SBAS Systems for Tropical and Equatorial Regions

Alejandro García Miguel, Rosa Alòs I Florit, and Ramón Sánchez-Verdejo Cidfuentes

Abstract:	Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide critical positioning and timing services, but their signals are vulnerable to distortions caused by the Earth’s ionosphere. A significant disruptive effect is ionospheric scintillation: rapid fluctuations in signal amplitude and phase due to localized irregularities in electron density. These effects can degrade GNSS performance, causing signal loss, cycle slips, and reduced positioning accuracy. Scintillations are particularly severe near the geomagnetic equator, as well as in the poles, and their intensity increases with solar activity. In equatorial regions like South America, scintillations occur frequently and present a major challenge for high-integrity GNSS applications such as Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS). Although no SBAS currently operates in South America, the region offers a dense GNSS receiver network, making it ideal for studying potential SBAS performance under scintillation conditions. This study analyzes publicly available GNSS data from South America to assess how scintillations impact GNSS measurements and SBAS performances. Key objectives include: • Evaluating GNSS signal quality through observed signal loss and cycle slips. • Developing a metric to characterize scintillations based on signal loss across different satellite-receiver lines of sight. • Simulating SBAS performance using GMV’s magicSBAS® tool under real scintillation conditions. • Correlating observed signal disturbances with modeled SBAS outcomes to identify limitations and mitigation strategies. The findings aim to support the design of resilient SBAS implementations for equatorial regions, enhancing navigation reliability in areas affected by strong ionospheric disturbances. By quantifying scintillation effects and their impact on SBAS algorithms, this research aims to contribute to the development of more robust GNSS augmentation systems for aviation and other safety-critical applications in tropical zones.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 38th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2025) September 8 - 12, 2025 Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Baltimore, Maryland
Pages:	143 - 157
Cite this article:	Miguel, Alejandro García, Florit, Rosa Alòs I, Cidfuentes, Ramón Sánchez-Verdejo, "Evaluation of the Effect of Ionospheric Scintillation on Potential SBAS Systems for Tropical and Equatorial Regions," Proceedings of the 38th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2025), Baltimore, Maryland, September 2025, pp. 143-157. https://doi.org/10.33012/2025.20265
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