High Latitude Measurements of Ionospheric Scintillation Using the NSTB

Jonathan Nichols, Andrew Hansen, Todd Walter, Per Enge

Abstract:	Recent analysis of GPS data collected by the FAA's National Satellite Test Bed (NSTB) indicates that several occurrences of ionospheric scintillation occurred over Alaska on the 6 th and 27 th of August, 1998. These events coincided with magnetic storms documented by the National Geophysical Data Center. During this period, a specialized L1 GPS receiver designed to monitor scintillation was co-located with the NSTB reference station at Fairbanks, AK. This configuration provides data from two different types of receivers: codeless dual-frequency reference measurements (survey grade) and high bandwidth scintillation monitoring. Our primary goal in this investigation was to determine the effect of scintillation on both single and dual frequency users in the auroral zone. This included estimating the correlation between measured scintillation events and GPS receiver performance. Additionally, an estimate of the worst case spatial extent of the scintillation phenomenon was made by analyzing the distribution of highly active ionospheric pierce points at the F-layer (»350 km altitude).
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1999 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 25 - 27, 1999 Catamaran Resort Hotel San Diego, CA
Pages:	789 - 798
Cite this article:	Updated citation: Published in NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation
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