Observation of Scintillation Events from GPS and NavIC (IRNSS) Measurements at Bangalore Region

Abstract

Ionosphere scintillation is a random phenomenon of the ionosphere, causing abrupt fluctuations in the amplitude and phase of the signals traversing the medium, significantly impacting the performance of navigation systems, signifying the need to take up scintillation studies. Scintillation events are monitored on L5, S and L1 band signals of IRNSS and GPS navigation system respectively over low latitude Bangalore region during moderate and low solar activity period, 2015 and 2016 respectively. Investigations into scintillation variability with respect to local time, solar activity and seasonal variations are conducted to draw a trend of scintillation pattern. Comparison of L5 and L1 band scintillation events demonstrate similar scintillation pattern with varying scintillation magnitude. With S band signals exhibit minimum scintillation, suggesting the scintillation-free link for effective navigation.