Multi-Constellation GNSS Scintillation at Mid-Latitudes

Radio wave scintillation can result in severe channel fading and random phase variations that can interfere with the performance of a radar, communication or GPS system. While it is well known that Ionospheric scintillation occurs within the high and low latitude regions, there has been minimal research done within the middle latitudes. However, recent observations have shown that mid-latitude scintillations, while perhaps different in size and extent, may occur more frequently than previously thought. In light of the ever-increasing coverage and availability of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites, we performed an analysis of multi-constellation, multi-frequency GNSS scintillation receiver data acquired during a recent minor geomagnetic storm and identified several noteworthy mid-latitude scintillation events. Data from these events were correlated by inspection with measurements made with the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) High Frequency (HF) radar network. GNSS data from the identified events and subsequent analysis demonstrate that amplitude scintillation at mid-latitudes can be severe even during relatively minor geomagnetic storm activity with amplitude scintillation levels exceeding 0.9 resulting in deep channel fading. It was also observed that L5 may be less affected by amplitude scintillation while GLONASS may be more susceptible to the impacts.