IONOSPHERIC PREDICTIONS USING GPS

This project sets forth a plan to utilize commercial GPS receivers for real time ionospheric prediction at a remote location. The project will demonstrate the feasibility of using commercial receivers and evaluate the accuracy and applicability of these measurements for improvements in HF propagation. For this we propose to survey the available receivers and select one or more for demonstration. We develop the software for converting GPS measurements to TEC. This software will include phase averaging of the pseudorange to improve TEC accuracy, satellite and receiver bias removal, and time averaging. Furthermore, we address issues on security plan, multipath mitigation and calibration. Along with TEC measurements we also investigate the utilization of phase and amplitude scintillation data. We thoroughly address various approaches and particularly the use of physical ionospheric models for improving the prediction of HF ionospheric parameters at the remote location.