Scientific objectives
In order to measure drift velocity of the plasma irregularities in the ionosphere, three GNSS receivers are installed with mutual distance of approximately 100 m. The radio waves transmitted by the satellite pass through the ionosphere. When plasma density fluctuations exists in the ionosphere, the received radio signals fluctuate in amplitude and phase. This phenomenon is known as scintillation. Scintillation sometimes degrades satellite broadcast and global navigation satellite system (GNSS). It is important to know when and where the scintillation occurs in order to mitigate degradation of the satellite broadcast, GNSS positioning and its application, which are widely used in the world. We aim to study generation mechanisms of the irregularities in the ionosphere.

Owner: Nagoya University
Contacts
PI: Yuichi Otsuka
Address:
Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
E-mail: otsuka@isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Co-PI: Yasunobu Ogawa
Address:
National Institute of Polar Research, 10-3, Midori-cho, Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo 190-8518, Japan

Co-PI: Keisuke Hosokawa
Address:
Department of Communication Engineering and Informatics, University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1, Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo 182-8585, Japan

Instrument specifications
Septentrio PolaRxS Pro receiver and PolaNt-x MF antenna tracks signals from the multi-GNSS (GPS and GLONASS) at a sampling rate of 50 Hz. The scintillation indices (S4 and Sigma Phi) and Total Electron Content (TEC) are obtained for each satellite in the sky. Drift velocity of the plasma irregularities in the ionosphere is also measured.