GPS receiver tracking performance can be degraded during periods of enhanced ionospheric activity, where small-scale scintillation effects (phase and amplitude variations) are observed in the high latitude auroral region and the low latitude equatorial anomaly region. During periods of intense scintillation, the availability of carrier phase observations may be limited through loss of signal lock, with a significant impact on precise positioning applications. Such effects have a larger impact on the L2 tracking performance, where codeless and semicodeless technologies are employed to extract the encrypted L2 signal.
The tracking performance of a given receiver depends not only on the magnitude of scintillation activity observed, but also on the receiver tracking capabilities. Recent research has shown that tracking performance can vary significantly between receivers, under identical scintillation conditions. In this presentation, the impact of scintillation effects on various receiver tracking capabilities is presented. A comparison of receiver technologies is conducted, using both codeless and semicodeless GPS receivers. Performance comparisons are established and interpreted with respect to GPS network applications and GPS availability at solar maximum. The frequency and magnitude of receiver tracking errors is also examined on a regional basis, for both the high latitude and low latitude regions.
credit:igscb.jpl.nasa.gov
