New technique to counter the effects of solar activity on GNSS

It's long been known that increased activity related to the 11-year solar cycle may disrupt Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). As we approach the 2013 solar maximum, researchers at the Nottingham Geospatial Institute (NGI) have developed a new technique which retains a high degree of accuracy under adverse ionospheric conditions. One of the major threats to our ever-increasing dependence on GNSS technology is the sun, with solar-related phenomena affecting in particular the Earth's upper atmosphere — the ionosphere. Effects such as ionospheric scintillation — fluctuations in the GNSS satellites signal phase and amplitude caused by disturbances in the ionosphere — may corrupt signal tracking. GNSS technology currently has little or no protection from this disruptive phenomenon. Researchers at the NGI have developed a new technique that improves GNSS positioning accuracy under the adverse tracking circumstances that arise during ionospheric disruptions. The technique improves position estimates without using external models to predict the distorting scintillation effects.