The impact of turbulence on ionospheric plasma density irregularities

Our society is becoming increasingly dependent on Global Navigation
Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the global positioning system (GPS),
GLONASS and GALILEO. These systems provide an efficient response to the needs
of positioning on our planet and are also used by many infrastructures and applications
for timing and synchronization. One of the natural factors that most contribute
to the malfunction of these systems, leading to a degradation of their performance,
accuracy and reliability, is represented by the ionospheric irregularities, i.e., plasma
density variations that may affect the electromagnetic signals propagating through
them. By using data recorded onboard the ESA’s Swarm constellation, the possible
dependence of the loss of lock of GPS signals on a specific typology of ionospheric
irregularities is assessed. It is shown that ionospheric irregularities characterized by
a turbulent nature and extremely high-density fluctuations can lead to malfunctions
of GNSS, thus paving the way for new prediction approaches of their adverse effects.