Estimation of higher‐order ionospheric errors in GNSS positioning using a realistic 3‐D electron density model

[1] The accuracy of the positioning systems such as GPS, GLONASS or Galileo is heavily affected by the presence of the ionosphere. Ionosphere-free dual-frequency algorithms used for positioning applications remove most of the ionospheric error but do not take into account its higher-order terms. In addition, the raypaths and total electron content (TEC) are assumed to be the same for both frequencies. This leads to centimeter-level range errors that can cause millimeter-level errors in positioning. In this paper an accurate estimation of the higher-order ionospheric errors based on a realistic 3-D electron density model is presented. A numerical homing-in ray-tracing algorithm is implemented to rigorously calculate satellite to receiver ray trajectories. The numerical simulations performed showed that higher-order ionospheric residual range errors may reach several centimeters (up to 5 cm) at low and middle latitudes; however, at high latitudes they hardly exceed several millimeters (up to 1 cm).

[1]  Hal J. Strangeways,et al.  Rigorous calculation of ionospheric effects on GPS Earth-Satellite paths using a precise path determination method , 2002 .

[2]  A. Pytte,et al.  Radio wave propagation and the ionosphere , 1963 .

[3]  Frank van Graas,et al.  Assessment of second‐order ionosphere error in GPS range observables using Arecibo incoherent scatter radar measurements , 2009 .

[4]  R. Leitinger,et al.  Range errors due to ionospheric and tropospheric effects for signal frequencies above 100 MHz , 1984 .

[5]  Y. Kravtsov,et al.  Geometrical optics of inhomogeneous media , 2019, Geometrical Optics of Weakly Anisotropic Media.

[6]  N. Jakowski,et al.  Ionosphere-Induced Ray-Path Bending Effects in Precision Satellite Positioning Systems. , 1994 .

[7]  Sandro M. Radicella,et al.  A new version of the NeQuick ionosphere electron density model , 2008 .

[8]  A. Chulliat,et al.  International Geomagnetic Reference Field: the eleventh generation , 2010 .

[9]  Michael B. Heflin,et al.  The effect of the second order GPS ionospheric correction on receiver positions , 2003 .

[10]  Matt A. King,et al.  A first look at the effects of ionospheric signal bending on a globally processed GPS network , 2010 .

[11]  Per Enge,et al.  Bounding higher‐order ionosphere errors for the dual‐frequency GPS user , 2006 .

[12]  Peter Steigenberger,et al.  Impact of higher‐order ionospheric terms on GPS estimates , 2005 .

[13]  Manuel Hernández-Pajares,et al.  A Review of Higher Order Ionospheric Refraction Effects on Dual Frequency GPS , 2011 .

[14]  Mohammed Mainul Hoque,et al.  Estimate of higher order ionospheric errors in GNSS positioning , 2008 .

[15]  Yu Morton,et al.  Magneto‐ionic polarization and GPS signal propagation through the ionosphere , 2011 .

[16]  Mohammed Mainul Hoque,et al.  Mitigation of higher order ionospheric effects on GNSS users in Europe , 2008 .

[17]  Mohammed Mainul Hoque,et al.  Higher order ionospheric effects in precise GNSS positioning , 2007 .