Development and use of a GPS ionospheric scintillation monitor
Development and use of a GPS ionospheric scintillation monitor
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DOI：
10.1109/36.921409
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发表时间：
2001-05
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
T. Beach;P. Kintner
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
T. Beach;P. Kintner
全球定位系统（GPS）卫星信号为电离层研究提供了方便的无线电信标。在其他传播现象中，电离层通过无线电波通过电离层电子密度不规则传播后产生的幅度闪烁影响GPS信号的传播。本文概述了一种专门用于监测l波段幅度闪烁的GPS接收机的设计、测试和操作：康奈尔闪烁监视器。康奈尔闪烁监视器由商用GPS接收机开发套件组成，其软件经过修改，可以在高数据速率（50个样本/秒）下记录多达12个通道的信号强度。该接收机的其他特点包括可选分配信道，在没有信号跟踪的情况下监测接收机噪声水平，以及在附近独立接收机之间同步测量以执行漂移测量和相关性研究的手段。康奈尔闪烁监测器提供了操作l波段闪烁环境的特征，另外还允许研究静态天线的多径环境，GPS闪烁监测器也可以为纯粹的研究目的提供有关电离层不规则状态的信息。它们的优势在于它们价格低廉，结构紧凑，因此可以很容易地扩散。即使一个闪烁监测器也能以有限的方式补充雷达对不规则现象的空间覆盖，因为它同时监测几条卫星视线。
Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite signals provide convenient radio beacons for ionospheric studies. Among other propagation phenomena, the ionosphere affects GPS signal propagation through amplitude scintillations that develop after radio waves propagate through ionospheric electron density irregularities. This paper outlines the design, testing, and operation of a specialized GPS receiver to monitor L-band amplitude scintillations: the Cornell scintillation monitor. The Cornell scintillation monitor consists of a commercial GPS receiver development kit with its software modified to log signal strength from up to 12 channels at a high data rate (50 samples/s). Other features of the receiver include the optional assignment of a channel to monitor the receiver noise level in the absence of signal tracking and the means to synchronize measurements between nearby independent receivers to perform drift measurements and correlation studies. The Cornell scintillation monitor provides characterization of the operational L-band scintillation environment and additionally permits study of the multipath environment of a static antenna, GPS scintillation monitors can provide information about the state of ionospheric irregularities for pure research purposes as well. Their strength lies in the fact that they are inexpensive and compact and therefore can he readily proliferated. Even a single scintillation monitor can supplement radar spatial coverage of irregularities in a limited way because it monitors several satellite lines of sight simultaneously.