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Non-linear couplings of the Earth’s ionosphere with the geospace environment occur in a largely varying range of spatial and temporal scales. As some radio remote sensing techniques like GNSS measurements suffer from artificial radio frequency interference (RFI) at the smallest scales representing ionospheric scintillation, is it advantageous to have ionospheric scales observations based on in-situ measurements.We investigated the variability of the in-situ plasma density and magnetic field measured by Swarm satellites creating the climatology of their scales by leveraging the Fast Iterative Filtering (FIF) technique.FIF is able to provide a very fine time-frequency representation decomposing any non-stationary, nonlinear signals, into oscillating modes, called intrinsic mode components or functions (IMCs or IMFs), characterized by their specific frequency.The results are obtained by time-integrating the instantaneous time-frequency representations, provided through the so-called “IMFogram”. These IMFograms have the potential to show the greater details of the scale sizes and their variations, illustrating the time development of the multi-scale processes during various disturbances of geospace.

The 16 Hz plasma density measurements provided by the high-resolution faceplate onboard Swarm satellites can be utilized to reconstruct the one-dimensional spectral slope (p) of the power spectrum of the plasma density irregularity. The 16 Hz sampling rate at Swarm orbital features (speed of ~7.5 km/s on quasi-polar orbits) allows modelling spatial scales of about 500 m along the flight trajectory, which are slightly above the first Fresnel zone, the upper limit of the scale sizes of the irregularities causing scintillation on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals. The p-value is a key parameter in estimating the scintillation strength and thus a Swarm ionospheric scintillation (SWIS) proxy is investigated. Such approach, once consolidated, will benefit the scientific community in studying, monitoring and modelling the small-scale irregularities; specially in contexts where ground based GNSS scintillation monitoring is not available, for example over the oceans.In this work, p-value from Swarm, combined with the reconstruction of the irregularity layer , are ingested to compute the amplitude scintillation index (S4) using Rino’s theory of weak scattering. In this work, the model formulation and sample results of S4 estimation from Swarm are demonstrated. Results of validating SWIS S4 against S4 from ground based GNSS scintillation for selected key ionospheric sectors are also shown. The results demonstrate that the model can capture the amplitude scintillation index inflation both at low and high latitudes, demonstrating the capability of detecting the equatorial and the (rare) polar amplitude scintillation from Swarm measurements.

The state of the Earth’s ionosphere is an important aspect of the Sun-Earth system. It reflects dynamical coupling of the solar wind with the Earth’s magnetosphere. Its understanding has also an applied aspect in the context of the space weather effects. For example, ionospheric plasma irregularities impact the propagation of radio waves, and they can degrade radio communication or positioning with the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The European Space Agency’s Swarm+ 4DIonosphere initiative aims at advancing our understanding and characterisation of the processes in the ionosphere to better model and eventually predict the state of the ionosphere. Within this framework, through the project “Swarm Variability of Ionospheric Plasma” (Swarm-VIP), we analyse spatiotemporal characteristics of ionospheric plasma at different geomagnetic latitudes and uncover coupling between various scales in the ionosphere. Taking advantage of the orbital characteristics of the Swarm satellites and using complementary analysis techniques, such as wavelets or Fast Iterative Filtering, we ascertain the dominant scales at given geomagnetic conditions. The result of the study is a semi-empiric model of the ionosphere based on the generalised linear modeling approach. The model determines the probability of occurrence of different scales in ionospheric plasma with respect to geomagnetic conditions. It also gives insight into ionospheric structuring and related space weather effects. The Swarm-VIP model is provided globally, along the whole orbits of the Swarm satellites, and a special emphasis is put on the polar regions, Arctic and Antarctica, and the European sector, where the validation study is carried out with a network of the ground-based instruments.

The ionosphere is a dynamical system exhibiting nonlinear couplings with the other “spheres” characterizing the geospace environment. Such nonlinearity manifests also through the non-trivial, largely varying range of spatial and temporal scales. We investigate how the different scales of the in situ plasma density as provided by different data products measured by Swarm satellites relate to the same range of scales of the field-aligned currents from Swarm FAC dataset and how their intensifications reflect the various conditions of the geospace.The present study compares the spatio-temporal variability in the topside ionosphere by leveraging on the Fast Iterative Filtering (FIF) technique. FIF is able to reveal the hidden features of a time series, as it decomposes any nonstationary, nonlinear signals, like those provided by Langmuir probes onboard Swarm, into oscillating modes, called intrinsic mode components or functions (IMCs or IMFs), characterized by their specific frequencies. The instantaneous time-frequency representation of the IMFs is provided through the so-called “IMFogram” which illustrates the time development of the multi-scale processes. The IMFogram has the potentiality to show the finer details of the scale sizes which intensify during the various phases of geomagnetic storms.This work is performed in the framework of the Swarm Variability of Ionospheric Plasma (Swarm-VIP) project, funded by ESA in the “Swarm+4D-Ionosphere” framework (ESA Contract No. 4000130562/20/I-DT).

We investigate the response of the topside ionosphere, auroral and polar sectors, to the forcing of the geospace during September 2017. Specifically, we aim at characterizing such a response in terms of the involved spatial scales and of their intensification during the different auroral and polar cap activity conditions experienced in the selected month, that is characterized by severe geomagnetic storm conditions. For our purposes, we leverage on and compare various in situ plasma density data products provided by the Swarm constellation of the European Space Agency (ESA). The spatio-temporal variability of the involved scales in the plasma density observation is featured through the application of the Fast Iterative Filtering (FIF) signal decomposition technique and, for the first time in the ionospheric field, of a FIF-derived dynamical spectrum called “IMFogram”. The instantaneous time-frequency representation provided through the IMFogram illustrates the time development of the multi-scale processes with spatial and temporal resolutions higher than those obtained with traditional signal processing techniques. To demonstrate this, the IMFogram is tested against Fast Fourier and Continuous Wavelet Transforms. With our fine characterization, we highlight how scale cascading and intensification processes in the plasma density observations follow the ionospheric currents activity, as depicted through the auroral activity and polar cap indices, and through the field-aligned currents data product provided by Swarm.

The Swarm satellite mission has been used for numerous studies of the ionosphere. Here we use a global product, based on electron density measurements from Swarm that characterises ionospheric variability. The IPIR (Ionospheric Plasma IRregularities product) provides characteristics of plasma irregularities in terms of their amplitudes, gradients and spatial scales and assigns them to geomagnetic regions. Ionospheric irregularities and fluctuations are often the cause of errors in position, navigation, and timing (PNT) based on the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), in which signals pass through the ionosphere. The IPIR dataset also provides an indication, in the form of a numerical value index (IPIR index), of the severity of irregularities affecting the integrity of trans-ionospheric radio signals and hence, the accuracy of GNSS positioning. We analysed datasets from Swarm A and ground-based scintillation receivers. Time intervals (when Swarm A passes over the field of view of the ground-based GPS receiver) are compared to ground-based scintillation data, collecting an azimuthal selection of the GNSS data relevant to the Swarm satellite overpass. We provide validations of the IPIR product against the ground-based measurements from 23 ground-based receivers, focusing on GPS TEC and scintillation data in low-latitude, auroral and polar regions, and in different longitudinal sectors. We have determined the median, mean, maximum and standard deviation of the parameter values for both datasets and each conjunction point. We found a weak correlation of the intensity of both phase and amplitude scintillation with the IPIR index.

Swarm is the first European Space Agency (ESA) constellation mission for Earth Observation. Three identical Swarm satellites were launched into near-polar orbits on 22 November 2013. Each satellite hosts a range of instruments, including a Langmuir probe, GPS receivers, and magnetometers, from which the ionospheric plasma can be sampled and current systems inferred. In March 2018, the CASSIOPE/e-POP mission was formally integrated into the Swarm mission through ESA’s Earthnet Third Party Mission Programme. Collectively the instruments on the Swarm satellites enable detailed studies of ionospheric plasma, together with the variability of this plasma in space and in time. This allows the driving processes to be determined and understood. The purpose of this paper is to review ionospheric results from the first seven years of the Swarm mission and to discuss scientific challenges for future work in this field.

The Antarctic and Arctic regions are Earth's open windows to outer space. They provide unique opportunities for investigating the troposphere–thermosphere–ionosphere–plasmasphere system at high latitudes, which is not as well understood as the mid- and low-latitude regions mainly due to the paucity of experimental observations. In addition, different neutral and ionised atmospheric layers at high latitudes are much more variable compared to lower latitudes, and their variability is due to mechanisms not yet fully understood. Fortunately, in this new millennium the observing infrastructure in Antarctica and the Arctic has been growing, thus providing scientists with new opportunities to advance our knowledge on the polar atmosphere and geospace. This review shows that it is of paramount importance to perform integrated, multi-disciplinary research, making use of long-term multi-instrument observations combined with ad hoc measurement campaigns to improve our capability of investigating atmospheric dynamics in the polar regions from the troposphere up to the plasmasphere, as well as the coupling between atmospheric layers. Starting from the state of the art of understanding the polar atmosphere, our survey outlines the roadmap for enhancing scientific investigation of its physical mechanisms and dynamics through the full exploitation of the available infrastructures for radio-based environmental monitoring.

We investigate the reliability of the phase scintillation index determined by receiving Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals at ground in the high-latitudes. To the scope, we report about the capabilities of recently introduced detrending scheme based on the signal decomposition provided by the Fast Iterative Filtering (FIF) technique. This detrending scheme enables a fine tuning of the cutoff frequency for phase detrending used in the phase scintillation index definition, aimed at disentangling diffraction and refraction effects. On a single case study based on GPS and Galileo data taken by a GNSS Ionospheric Scintillation Monitor Receiver (ISMR) in Concordia Station (Antarctica), we show how the FIF-based detrending allows deriving adaptive cutoff frequencies, whose value changes minute-by-minute. They are found to range between 0.4 Hz and 1.2 Hz. This allows better accounting for diffractive effects in phase scintillation index calculation and also showing the limitations on the use of such index, being still widely used in the community, both to characterize the features of ionospheric irregularities and to adopt mitigation solutions.

Made available in DSpace on 2022-05-01T09:47:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-09-01 We estimate the zonal drift velocity of small-scale ionospheric irregularities at low latitude by leveraging the spaced-receivers technique applied to two GNSS receivers for scintillation monitoring installed along the magnetic parallel passing in Presidente Prudente (Brazil, magnetic latitude 12.8°S). The investigated ionospheric sector is ideal to study small-scale irregularities, being located close to the expected position of the southern crest of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly. The measurement campaign took place between September 2013 and February 2014, i.e. equinox and summer solstice seasons under solar maximum, during which the probability of formation of small-scale irregularities is expected to maximize. We found that the hourly average of the velocity increases up to 135 m/s right after the local sunset at ionospheric altitudes and then smoothly decreases in the next hours. Such measurements are in agreement with independent estimations of the velocity made by the Incoherent Scatter Radar located at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (magnetic latitude 0.1°N), by the Boa Vista Ionosonde (magnetic latitude 12.0°N), and by applying a recently-developed empirical regional short-term forecasting model. Additionally, we investigated the relationship with the percentage occurrence of amplitude scintillation; we report that it is exponentially dependent on the zonal velocity of the irregularities that cause it. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia SpacEarth Technology Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” University of Salento Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”

We contribute to the debate on the identification of phase scintillation induced by the ionosphere on the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) by introducing a phase detrending method able to provide realistic values of the phase scintillation index at high latitude. It is based on the fast iterative filtering signal decomposition technique, which is a recently developed fast implementation of the well-established adaptive local iterative filtering algorithm. FIF has been conceived to decompose nonstationary signals efficiently and provide a discrete set of oscillating functions, each of them having its frequency. It overcomes most of the problems that arise when using traditional time–frequency analysis techniques and relies on a consolidated mathematical basis since its a priori convergence and stability have been proved. By relying on the capability of FIF to efficiently identify the frequencies embedded in the GNSS raw phase, we define a method based on the FIF-derived spectral features to identify the proper cutoff frequency for phase detrending. To test such a method, we analyze the data acquired from GPS and Galileo signals over Antarctica during the September 2017 storm by the ionospheric scintillation monitor receiver (ISMR) located in Concordia Station (75.10° S, 123.33° E). Different cases of diffraction and refraction effects are provided, showing the capability of the method in deriving a more accurate determination of the $$\sigma_{\phi }$$ σ ϕ index. We found values of cutoff frequency in the range of 0.73–0.83 Hz, providing further evidence of the inadequacy of the choice of 0.1 Hz, which is often used when dealing with ionospheric scintillation monitoring at high latitudes.

Polar sciences represent a unique opportunity for scientific dissemination, not only for importance, multidisciplinary values and relapse of the polar researches, but, mainly, because it addresses and transmits ethical and social values as example of strong integration between human beings and extreme environments.In this frame, the idea to communicate and to share the experience of the scientific research in Antarctica with general public and with pupils is a challenge that a team of INGV researchers, engaged for many years in scientific missions in Antarctica, carries on with great enthusiasm. The initiative contributes to several outreach activities of the Italian National Program for Antarctic Research (PNRA). The present work reports the experience of the laboratory “Expedition to the South Pole”, realized by INGV and addressed to the pupils of the primary school. The laboratory game “Expedition to the South Pole” is based on the role playing method and experiential activities.

In this study the climatology of ionospheric scintillations and the zonal drift velocities of scintillation-producing irregularities are depicted for a station located under the southern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly. Then, the α − μ ionospheric fading model is used for the first- and second-order statistical characterization of amplitude scintillations. In the statistical analyzes, data are used from single-frequency GPS receivers acquired during ∼ 17 years (September 1997–November 2014) at Cachoeira Paulista (22.4° S; 45.0° W), Brazil. The results reveal that the nocturnal occurrence of scintillations follows the seasonal distribution of plasma bubble irregularities observed in the longitudinal sector of eastern South America. In addition to the solar cycle dependence, the results suggest that the occurrence climatology of scintillations is also modulated by the secular variation in the dip latitude of Cachoeira Paulista, since the maximum occurrence of scintillations during the peak of solar cycle 24 was ∼ 20 % lower than that observed during the maximum of solar cycle 23. The dynamics of the irregularities throughout a solar cycle, as investigated from the estimates of the mean zonal drift velocities, presented a good correlation with the EUV and F10.7 cm solar fluxes. Meanwhile, the seasonal behavior showed that the magnitude of the zonal drift velocities is larger during the December solstice months than during the equinoxes. In terms of modeling, the results for the α − μ distribution fit quite well with the experimental data and with the temporal characteristics of fading events independently of the solar activity level.

The study of the preparation phase of large earthquakes is essential to understand the physical processes involved, and potentially useful also to develop a future reliable short-term warning system. Here we analyse electron density and magnetic field data measured by Swarm three-satellite constellation for 4.7 years, to look for possible in-situ ionospheric precursors of large earthquakes to study the interactions between the lithosphere and the above atmosphere and ionosphere, in what is called the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC). We define these anomalies statistically in the whole space-time interval of interest and use a Worldwide Statistical Correlation (WSC) analysis through a superposed epoch approach to study the possible relation with the earthquakes. We find some clear concentrations of electron density and magnetic anomalies from more than two months to some days before the earthquake occurrences. Such anomaly clustering is, in general, statistically significant with respect to homogeneous random simulations, supporting a LAIC during the preparation phase of earthquakes. By investigating different earthquake magnitude ranges, not only do we confirm the well-known Rikitake empirical law between ionospheric anomaly precursor time and earthquake magnitude, but we also give more reliability to the seismic source origin for many of the identified anomalies.

The paper presents an unprecedented description of the climatology of ionospheric irregularities over the Arctic derived from the longest Global Navigation Satellite Systems data series ever collected for this specific aim. Two TEC and scintillation receivers are working at Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard, NO), the first of which has been installed in late September 2003. They sample the L1 and L2 signals at 50 Hz from all the GPS satellites in view. The receivers monitor an area of about 600 km radius that includes the auroral and cusp/cap regions in the European longitudinal sector. The length of the data series and the privileged site of observation allow describing the Arctic ionosphere along about two solar cycles, from the descending phase of cycle 23 to almost the end of cycle 24. Our analysis results into a detailed assessment of the long-term behaviour of the ionosphere under solar maximum and solar minimum conditions, including several periods of perturbed ionospheric weather caused by unfavourable helio-geophysical conditions. Since November 2015, a multi-constellation GNSS receiver has been deployed in Ny-Ålesund, providing the opportunity to perform the ionospheric climatology from Galileo signals. The results offer realistic features of the high latitude ionosphere that can substantially contribute to the necessary improvements of forecasting models, providing a broad spectrum of ionospheric reactions to different space weather conditions.

An increasing demand for a better modelling and understanding of the parameters of the lower and upper atmosphere is required by the scientific community and the general public that use electromagnetic wave signals reflecting on or passing through this system (e.g. GNSS, INSAR, satellite operators). While the users of radio devices often consider the atmospheric contribution to their radio measurements to be a source of error that needs to be corrected, deleted, or mitigated, atmospheric scientists who rely on radio techniques have a common interest: to isolate the atmospheric contribution and use it in the study of the near-earth space environment.

We analyze the amplitude scintillation on L-band signals over San Miguel de Tucumán (Argentina), focusing on the multi-scale variability and speculating on the possible relationship between forcing factors from the geospace and the ionospheric response. The site is nominally located below the expected position of the southern crest of the Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly (EIA). For this scope, we concentrate on the period 1?31 March 2011, during which one minor and one moderate storm characterize the first half of the month, while generally quiet conditions of the geospace stand for the second half. By leveraging on the Adaptive Local Iterative Filtering (ALIF) signal decomposition technique, weinvestigate the multi-scale properties of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) amplitude scintillation and helio-geophysical parameters, looking for possible cause-effect mechanisms relating the former to the latter. Namely, we identify resonant modes in the Akasofu (e) parameter as likely related to the frequency components in the time evolution found for the amplitude scintillation index, hence modulating the scintillation itself. Fil: Spogli, Luca. Istituto Nazionale Di Geofisica E Vulcanologia, Rome; Italia Fil: Piersanti, Mirko. National Institute For Nuclear Physics, University Of T; Italia Fil: Cesaroni, Claudio. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia; Italia Fil: Materassi, Massimo. National Research Council, Institute For Complex System; Italia Fil: Cicone, Antonio. Department Of Information Engineering, Computer Science; Italia Fil: Alfonsi, Lucilla. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia; Italia Fil: Romano, Vicenzo. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia; Italia Fil: Ezquer, Rodolfo Gerardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología. Departamento de Física. Laboratorio de Ionósfera; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; Argentina

We investigate the geospace response to the 2015 St. Patrick's Day storm leveraging on instruments spread over Southeast Asia (SEA), covering a wide longitudinal sector of the low-latitude ionosphere. A regional characterization of the storm is provided, identifying the peculiarities of ionospheric irregularity formation. The novelties of this work are the characterization in a broad longitudinal range and the methodology relying on the integration of data acquired by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, magnetometers, ionosondes, and Swarm satellites. This work is a legacy of the project EquatoRial Ionosphere Characterization in Asia (ERICA). ERICA aimed to capture the features of both crests of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly (EIA) and trough (EIT) by means of a dedicated measurement campaign. The campaign lasted from March to October 2015 and was able to observe the ionospheric variability causing effects on radio systems, GNSS in particular. The multiinstrumental and multiparametric observations of the region enabled an in-depth investigation of the response to the largest geomagnetic storm of the current solar cycle in a region scarcely reported in literature. Our work discusses the comparison between northern and southern crests of the EIA in the SEA region. The observations recorded positive and negative ionospheric storms, spread F conditions, scintillation enhancement and inhibition, and total electron content variability. The ancillary information on the local magnetic field highlights the variety of ionospheric perturbations during the different storm phases. The combined use of ionospheric bottomside, topside, and integrated information points out how the storm affects the F layer altitude and the consequent enhancement/suppression of scintillations.

This work investigates physical mechanisms triggering phase scintillations on L-band signals under strong stormy conditions. Thanks to selected ground-based Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers, located both in Antarctica and in the Arctic, an interhemispheric comparison between high latitude ionospheric observations in response to the peculiar solar wind conditions occurred on June 22, 2015 is here shown. To trace back the observed phase scintillations to the physical mechanisms driving it, we combine measurements from GNSS receivers with in-situ and ground-based observations. Our study highlights the ionospheric scenario in which irregularities causing scintillation form and move, leveraging on a multi-observation approach. Such approach allows deducing that scintillations are caused by the presence of fast-moving electron density gradients originated by particle precipitation induced by solar wind variations. In addition, we show how the numerous and fast oscillations of the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field (Bz,IMF) result to be less effective in producing moderate/intense scintillation events than during period of long lasting negative values. Finally, we also demonstrate how the in-situ electron density data can be used to reconstruct the evolution of the ionospheric dynamics, both locally and globally.

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) are widely used to support logistics, scientific operations, and to monitor the polar ionosphere indirectly, which is a region characterized by strong phase scintillation events that severely affect the quality and reliability of received signals. Professional commercial GNSS receivers are widely used for scintillation monitoring; on the contrary, custom-designed solutions based on data grabbers and software receivers constitute novelty. The latter enables a higher level of flexibility and configurability, which is important when working in remote and severe environments. We describe the scientific, technological, and logistical challenges of installing an ionospheric monitoring station in Antarctica, based on a multi-constellation and multi-frequency GNSS data grabber and a software-defined radio receiver. Having access to the full receiver chain and to intermediate signal processing stages allows a deep analysis of the impact of scintillation and, in turn, a better understanding of the physical phenomenon. The possibility to process high-resolution raw intermediate frequency samples of the signal enables not only the computation of scintillation indexes with the same quality as professional devices but also the design and test of innovative receiver architectures and algorithms. Furthermore, the record and replay approach offers the possibility to process in the lab the signals captured on site, with high fidelity level. It is like being in Antarctica again, but with an unlimited set of receivers and higher computational, storage, and bandwidth resources. The main advantages and disadvantages of this approach are analyzed. Examples of monitoring results are reported, confirming the monitoring capabilities, showing the good agreement with commercial receiver outputs and confirming the validity of post-processing and re-play operations.

In the last years, the use of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) data has been gradually increasing, for both scientific studies and technological applications. High-rate GNSS data, able to generate and output 50-Hz phase and amplitude samples, are commonly used to study electron density irregularities within the ionosphere. Ionospheric irregularities may cause scintillations, which are rapid and random fluctuations of the phase and the amplitude of the received GNSS signals. For scintillation analysis, usually, GNSS signals observed at an elevation angle lower than an arbitrary threshold (usually 15°, 20° or 30°) are filtered out, to remove the possible error sources due to the local environment where the receiver is deployed. Indeed, the signal scattered by the environment surrounding the receiver could mimic ionospheric scintillation, because buildings, trees, etc. might create diffusion, diffraction and reflection. Although widely adopted, the elevation angle threshold has some downsides, as it may under or overestimate the actual impact of multipath due to local environment. Certainly, an incorrect selection of the field of view spanned by the GNSS antenna may lead to the misidentification of scintillation events at low elevation angles. With the aim to tackle the non-ionospheric effects induced by multipath at ground, in this paper we introduce a filtering technique, termed SOLIDIFY (Standalone OutLiers IDentIfication Filtering analYsis technique), aiming at excluding the multipath sources of non-ionospheric origin to improve the quality of the information obtained by the GNSS signal in a given site. SOLIDIFY is a statistical filtering technique based on the signal quality parameters measured by scintillation receivers. The technique is applied and optimized on the data acquired by a scintillation receiver located at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, in Rome. The results of the exercise show that, in the considered case of a noisy site under quiet ionospheric conditions, the SOLIDIFY optimization maximizes the quality, instead of the quantity, of the data.

Geosystemics (De Santis 2009, 2014) studies the Earth system as a whole focusing on the possible coupling among the Earth layers (the so called geo-layers), and using universal tools to integrate different methods that can be applied to multi-parameter data, often taken on different platforms. Its main objective is to understand the particular phenomenon of interest from a holistic point of view. In this paper we will deal with earthquakes, considered as a long term chain of processes involving, not only the interaction between different components of the Earth’s interior, but also the coupling of the solid earth with the above neutral and ionized atmosphere, and finally culminating with the main rupture along the fault of concern (De Santis et al., 2015a). Some case studies (particular emphasis is given to recent central Italy earthquakes) will be discussed in the frame of the geosystemic approach for better understanding the physics of the underlying complex dynamical system.

Irregularities in the ionosphere cause Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals to experience fluctuations in amplitude and phase called scintillations. Given the global and permanent availability of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, they have become one of the preferred methods to monitor ionosphere activity. With the coming completion of new GNSS systems like the European Galileo, which is to be interoperable and compatible with GPS, a greater number of signals will be available for monitoring purposes. In this paper we present initial results on the use of new signals, namely GPS L5 and Galileo E1b and E5a, for scintillation monitoring at a base station in Antarctica. Our results show that Galileo signals can be exploited and easily integrated with GPS measurements. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the flexibility and configurability of software receivers, new Galileo signals provide a substantial update of the monitoring capability of already deployed GPS hardware.

Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-28T18:58:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-12-01 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council We study ionospheric scintillation on GNSS signals at equatorial latitudes to draw a climatological picture of the low latitude ionosphere in the Brazilian sector during the ascending phase of the upcoming 2013 solar maximum. Such data have been acquired during the early stage of the CIGALA project (http://cigala.galileoic.org/), funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Program and the outcome of this work is part of the scientific achievements of the project itself. The considered network is based on the novel PolaRxS receivers, developed and deployed specifically to comply with the aims of the FP7 project. The PolaRxS is able to monitor ionospheric scintillation for all operational and upcoming GNSS constellations (GPS, GLONASS, Compass, GALILEO) and corresponding frequencies in the L-band. The ionosphere over the Brazilian territory, being close to the southern crest of the Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly (EIA), is heavily affected by intense scintillation conditions. The sector under investigation is also very peculiar with respect to other low latitude regions, because of its proximity to the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly (SAMA). The application of the Ground Based Scintillation Climatology (GBSC) technique, for the first time simultaneously on GPS and GLONASS data and on both L1 and L2 frequencies, highlights the joint effect of the EIA and of the SAMA in producing the irregularities leading to scintillation. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia Universidade Estadual Paulista Jùlio de Mesquita Filho Septentrio Satellite Navigation University of Nottingham Universidade Estadual Paulista Jùlio de Mesquita Filho

This paper presents ionospheric scintillation data recorded at SANAE in Antarctica during a moderate geomagnetic storm on 20–21 January 2016 which gives evidence of the advantages of the new generation of instrumentation for monitoring ionospheric scintillation. The data was collected as part of the DemoGRAPE project aimed at the demonstration of cutting edge technology for the empirical assessment of the ionospheric delay and ionospheric scintillations in the polar regions which affect the accuracy of satellite navigation.

Ionospheric storm effects at mid latitudes were analyzed using different ground-based instruments distributed in Italy during the 13-15 November 2012 geomagnetic storm. These included an all-sky imager (ASI) in Asiago (45.8°N, 11.5°E), a network of dual-frequencies GNSS receivers (RING network), and ionosondes in Rome (41.8°N, 12.5°E) and San Vito (40.6°N, 17.8°E). GPS measurements showed an unusual enhancement of Total Electron Content (TEC) in southern Italy, during the nights of 14 and 15 November. The ASI observed co-located enhancements of 630 nm airglow at the same time, as did variations in NmF2 measured by the ionosondes. Moreover, wave-like perturbations were identified propagating from the north. The Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition, applied to TEC values revealed the presence of travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) propagating southward between 01:30 UT and 03:00 UT on 15 November. These TIDs were characterized by weak TEC oscillations (~ ±0.5 TEC unit), period of 45 minutes and velocity of 500 m/s typical of Large Scale TIDs. Optical images showed enhanced airglow entering the field of view of the ASI from the N-NE at 02:00 UT and propagating to the S-SW, reaching the region covered by the GPS stations after 03:00 UT, when TEC fluctuations are very small (~ ±0.2 TEC unit). The enhancement of TEC and airglow observed in Southern Italy could be a consequence of a poleward expansion of the northern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly. The enhanced airglow propagating from the north and the TEC waves resulted from energy injected at auroral latitudes as confirmed by magnetometer observations in Scandinavia.

A recently proposed self-consistent approach to the analysis of thermospheric and ionospheric long-term trends has been applied to Rome ionosonde summer noontime observations for the (1957–2015) period. This approach includes: (i) a method to extract ionospheric parameter long-term variations; (ii) a method to retrieve from observed foF1 neutral composition (O, O2, N2), exospheric temperature, Tex and the total solar EUV flux with λ