Small Multi-GNSS Data Collection Array for Ionosphere and Space Weather Monitoring

About This Grant

Space weather events create complex phenomena in the ionosphere above the polar regions, for which data collection and spatial coverage are sparse. This project aims to deploy Ground Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers to several sites in the Antarctic. The new ground stations will form an array that will monitor activity in the Earth’s ionosphere. High-latitude observations from the Southern Hemisphere are essential in improving the understanding and global forecasting tools of the geospace community, with implications for fundamental science as well as industry. In October 2020, Congress passed a space weather bill that “sets forth provisions concerning improving the ability of the United States to forecast space weather events and mitigate the effects of space weather” (PROSWIFT Act, S.881). The project funded under this award represents a step toward addressing this need. The data products will be made available on publicly accessible repositories used by researchers worldwide to store and disseminate data on the upper atmosphere. The project will also include significant educational initiatives in space science and satellite navigation. The polar ionosphere is home to many complex processes, which reflect dynamic coupling between the solar wind, magnetosphere and the upper atmosphere. As we enter an active new solar cycle and approach the solar maximum, the polar ionosphere increasingly experiences intense space weather events. GNSS signals propagating through the polar ionosphere offer a unique opportunity to enable passive observations of space weather effects. Currently, the sparsely distributed GNSS receivers in Antarctica generally do not take full advantage of the large number of multi-constellation, multi-frequency bands GNSS signals now available. The objectives of the project are to: improve observability of ionospheric plasma irregularities and their dynamics over Antarctica; provide data to enable comparative studies of northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere ionospheric responses to space weather events; augment GNSS radio occultation (GNSS-RO), reflectometry (GNSS-R), LEO satellite POD receiver, and plasma in situ measurements to localize irregularities over Antarctica; and support the efforts of the broader space sciences community conducting high latitude ionosphere and space weather research. The planned GNSS receiver array will improve observations of ionospheric irregularities and scintillation in terms of accuracy, spatial and temporal resolution. The data collected by the new ground instruments will be processed and prepared for broader community access. The products will then be analyzed in conjunction with existing ground-based instruments, GNSS-RO, GNSS-R, and other LEO satellite measurements to study patterns of ionosphere irregularities in both hemispheres. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.