Statistically analyzing the effect of ionospheric irregularity on GNSS radio occultation atmospheric measurement

Abstract

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) atmospheric radio occultation (RO) has been an effective method for exploring Earth's atmosphere. RO signals propagate through the ionosphere before reaching the neutral atmosphere. The GNSS signal is affected by the ionospheric irregularity including the sporadic i>E E s F E s< occurrence features. The i>F E s< can increase the failed inverted RO occurrence rate and the bending angle oscillation value during the nighttime. There also exists the seasonal dependency of the failed inverted RO event and the bending angle oscillation. Overall, the ionospheric irregularity effects on GNSS atmospheric RO measurement statistically exist in terms of failed RO event inversion and bending angle oscillation. Awareness of these effects could benefit both the data retrieval and applications of RO in the lower atmosphere.