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Leveraging geodetic GPS receivers for ionospheric scintillation science
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  • Sebastijan Mrak,
  • Joshua L. Semeter,
  • Yukitoshi (Toshi) Nishimura,
  • Fabiano Rodrigues,
  • Anthea Coster,
  • Keith M. Groves
Sebastijan Mrak
Boston University, Boston University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Joshua L. Semeter
Boston University, Boston University
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Yukitoshi (Toshi) Nishimura
Boston University, Boston University
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Fabiano Rodrigues
UT Dallas, UT Dallas
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Anthea Coster
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Haystack Observatory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Haystack Observatory
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Keith M. Groves
Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Research Laboratory
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Abstract

We demonstrate scintillation analysis from a network of geodetic Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers with 1 Hz data cadence. We introduce proxy phase ($\sigma_{TEC}$) and amplitude ($SNR_4$) scintillation indices, and validate them against rate of change of TEC index (ROTI), and $S_4$. Additionally, we validate scintillation observations against a CASES scintillation receiver. We develop receiver dependent scintillation event thresholding by virtue of hardware dependent noise variance. We analyze six-days adjacent to the 7-8 September 2017 geomagnetic storm, using 169 receivers covering magnetic latitudes between 15$^\circ$ and 65$^\circ$ in the American longitude sector. We leverage the available spatial sampling coverage to construct 2D maps of scintillation, and present episodic evolution of scintillation intensifications during the storm. We show that low-latitude and high-latitude scintillation morphology match well established scintillation climatology patterns. At mid-latitudes, spatiotemporal evolution of scintillation partially agrees with known scintillation patterns. Additionally, the results reveal previously undocumented mid-latitude scintillation producing structures. The results provide unprecedented view into spatiotemporal development of scintillation-producing plasma irregularities, and provide a resource to further exploit scintillation evolution at large spatial scales.
Nov 2020Published in Radio Science volume 55 issue 11. 10.1029/2020RS007131